Survey: More and more oil and gas households want to switch

Anyone still heating with oil today is thinking about stopping more and more often. In the latest energy price barometer from consultancy firm EY, 64 per cent of surveyed households with oil heating say they want to switch to another energy source. For gas households, it is fully half. So if you are considering a switch yourself, you are in good company. That makes it all the more important to prepare the decision well and not wait until a breakdown occurs.

What the survey shows

EY surveyed a total of 1,000 people aged between 18 and 65 from late August to mid-September 2026. Among oil households, a good third (34 per cent) are already planning the switch in the short to medium term. A further 30 per cent would like to switch, but do not yet have a concrete plan. A year earlier, according to EY, only slightly more than a third had thought about a switch at all or were already in the middle of one.

For gas, a total of 51 per cent are willing to switch: 26 per cent are already planning or in the middle of switching, while 25 per cent have not yet taken action.

The reasons are similar. Oil households primarily cite price trends (60 per cent), independence from the oil market (52 per cent) and climate protection (47 per cent). For gas, the order is the same, at 52, 49 and 38 per cent. Costs and concerns about dependency therefore carry more weight than the climate.

Heat pumps are growing, district heating even faster

Things have moved among existing heating systems too. 15 per cent of respondents state an air-to-water heat pump as their main heat source. In the previous year it was 10 per cent, and in 2022 just under 9 per cent. District heating increased even more sharply, from 27 to 36 per cent. Gas stands at 25 per cent, pellets and wood at 17 per cent, and oil at just under 10 per cent.

To put this into context: this is a survey, not a count of installed heating systems. It shows what households report and plan, not how many boilers are actually being replaced. Nevertheless, the direction is clear, and it matches what we have been seeing in forums and readers' questions for weeks.

Public grant: Kesseltausch is running again

After the break since July, the federal Kesseltausch (boiler replacement scheme) is running again: deliveries and services from 7 October 2026 are eligible for public grants, and registration for the new edition is possible from 2 November 2026. Since 16 October it has been confirmed: 5.000 Euro is available for a heat pump. For 2027, according to a press release from the responsible ministries on 15 October, 179 million Euro is earmarked for Kesseltausch and 321 million Euro for thermal renovation, with procedures set to become simpler. All conditions are in the article Kesseltausch from 2 November: amounts and deadlines fixed.

What you can do now

• Have your heating load calculated. It is the basis for any reliable quote and prevents choosing an oversized or undersized unit.
• Check the flow temperature. On cold days, note down how warm the heating water needs to be. The lower it is, the better the heat pump operates.
• Look into federal state public subsidies. Many federal states offer additional public subsidies; you can find the conditions under Public subsidies and in the Subsidy Manager.
• Calculate the costs. With the calculator, you can see what switching will yield for your level of consumption.
• District heating nearby? Then compare both options before making a commitment.

If you want to obtain quotes, you can find installers in your region via our request for quotes.