Industry is the largest energy consumer in Germany, but private households are right behind. They use the majority of their energy to heat apartments and houses. Despite improved insulation in recent decades, energy demand continues to rise as living space increases.
Efficient energy planning can be supported by the Nexiga heat demand map, which shows the heat demand in detail down to street level (more on Solutions for the energy sector).
Energy consumption and heat demand
Determine heat requirement
More than half of final energy consumption (EEV) is accounted for by heating and cooling buildings and heating water in private households and industrial processes. In Germany, private households are the second largest energy consumer after industry, followed by transportation and the service sector. The energy consumption of residential buildings depends heavily on outdoor temperatures, especially in winter, which leads to considerable fluctuations.
Space heating accounts for around 70 % of energy consumption in private households. Despite improved insulation in many buildings in recent decades, energy demand is growing due to the increase in living space. Natural gas and heating oil still account for the largest share of household energy consumption, but renewable energies and district heating are becoming increasingly important. District heating supplies buildings with heat and hot water via insulated pipes and comes from various sources such as fossil fuels, biomass, waste, industrial waste heat and renewable energies.
In the long term, the energy consumption of private households in Germany is falling, albeit only slightly since the 1990s. According to the Federal Environment Agency, efficiency gains and savings are partially offset by economic growth and rising consumption, which prevents a stronger decline in final energy consumption.
In the energy sector, and particularly in municipal heating planning, knowledge of heating requirements is crucial. The municipal heat planning aims to put the heat supply of cities and municipalities on a sustainable and climate-friendly footing. The focus is on switching to renewable energies and unavoidable waste heat in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and achieve climate targets.
The Nexiga heat demand map shows the heat demand (kWh) for each individual Street segment , allowing areas with high or low energy demand to be quickly identified. This facilitates the optimization of existing networks and the targeted planning of future investments. This effectively supports the energy transition at municipal level.
Our interactive map for the federal city of Bonn and the surrounding Rhine-Sieg region provides an illustrative example:County. Here, the heat demand per metre of street is shown in kilowatt hours (kWh) as heat lines, so that the heat demand is visualized in detail.
Heat map using the example of Bonn
- The map shows:
The overview map shows a heat map, in the truest sense of the word, which clearly highlights areas with high heating requirements. Particularly affected are districts with a high population density and older buildings ("upscale old buildings"), especially around Bonn's city center. When zooming in (via the plus button at the top left), the display switches to street sections that visualize the heat demand per metre (kWh). Red coloring indicates areas with high heat demand (legend can be displayed using the button at the top right). If you zoom in further, the individual buildings are shown classified according to their heat demand.
The data for the interactive map comes from the Nexiga database and our partner DBI - Gastechnologisches Institut gGmbH, a subsidiary of the DBI Group. Various factors are taken into account to determine the heat demand, including specific building data such as number of floors, building type, year of construction, renovation status and information from 3D building data (LOD2). Socio-demographic characteristics such as household size and regional climate data are also included in the calculations.
Where investments in the heating network pay off
By analyzing the data, cities and municipalities in particular can identify more quickly where investments in heating networks are worthwhile or where buildings should be renovated to be particularly energy-efficient.
Possible areas of application are
-
Analysis of heating requirements: Where investments in the heating network are worthwhile
-
Optimization of supply networks: With heat lines, engineers can see where more powerful lines are needed or where energy losses can be avoided.
-
Integration of renewable energies: Heat lines help to find locations for solar or geothermal systems in order to design the heat distribution efficiently.
-
Climate adaptation: Heat lines show areas with overheating in order to plan targeted measures such as green spaces or water reservoirs.
