70 percent of Germans are saving a lot of energy

Energy-saving refrigerator with efficiency class A+++? No need, the old one is still running. Change your electricity provider regularly to pay less? Too much effort. That's how spoiled our minds were until recently, before Germany's energy supplier Russia decided to attack its neighbour Ukraine. A boycott of Russian energy supplies was the result. Now we have to cope with significantly higher prices for electricity and gas.

In response, Germans have invested in energy-saving products and adjusted their lifestyles in 2022. Most of the adults living in Germany surveyed by GfK on behalf of Galaxus (1,000 representatively selected respondents) spend up to 500 euros on this. More precisely: more than one in three (39.8 per cent) spends a maximum of 100 euros. But more than one in five spent between 101 and 500 euros on energy-saving products in 2022. Just under ten percent of Germans even spend more than 500 euros.

Somewhat surprisingly, younger people spend more money on energy-saving products than older people, although the 60-plus and 70-plus age cohorts say they save energy more often than younger people. Almost 30 percent of 18 to 39 year-olds have spent 101 to 500 euros on new products. All age groups from 40 onwards are clearly below 20 percent. Even among those who have spent between 500 and 2,000 euros, the share of younger people up to 50 years of age is twice as high as the share of those over 50. Take solar panels, for example: 9.6 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds have bought solar panels and as many as 6.8 percent of 40- to 49-year-olds. However, only 3.3 percent of the 50- to 59-year-olds and 1.5 percent of the 60- to 69-year-olds have done so. What older people do more often than younger people, on the other hand: Cooking with a lid, showering instead of bathing, turning off lights.

Our new lifestyle: lights off, heating down, less frequent use of the bath

. What ways do we use to save energy? Most respondents say they turn off the lights when they are no longer needed. This is followed by "turning down the heating", "taking a shower instead of a bath", "cooking with a lid on" and turning off appliances completely (switching off stand-by). Every third German also drives less / takes the train more. But this proportion is only half as large as the proportion of respondents who heat and light more consciously. . The situation is different in Austria, for example: The proportion of those who use the car less often is larger in the Alpine republic than in this country, and turning off the lights and cooking more consciously is also implemented significantly more often. However, Austrians turn down the heating somewhat less often than Germans. Germany's greater dependence on Russian gas could play a role. The fact that Austria has a more modern energy infrastructure was ranked by Galaxus in August. You can access all GfK results from Austria and Switzerland at galaxus.at and galaxus.ch. .

LED lamps are a hit, not only in Germany

. "LED lamps are more expensive, but the very low power consumption makes the purchase worthwhile," explains Valentin Lukacs, Junior Category Business Manager at Digitec Galaxus (see also calculated example). Word has apparently got around: When asked "Which product did you buy this year?", three out of ten Germans (35.8 percent) ticked LED lamps. Incidentally, this is mainly a male topic: more than 40 percent of men bought LED lamps, but only 30 percent of women. Next in line are firewood for stoves, candles, kettles, water-saving showerheads and power-saving plug-in strips. . Germans, however, are even reluctant to buy LED lamps, at least in an international comparison. In Switzerland, 45 percent of those surveyed bought the energy-saving alternatives, in Austria as many as 52 percent.

What about you? Have you invested money in buying energy-saving products? Or have you adjusted your habits?

Graphics (more pictures on request):
This is how much money is spent
These energy-saving tips are applied DE / DACH
These energy-saving products are bought DE / DACH
Are you already saving energy?
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