Heating dispute: do pellet stoves still have a future?

The federal government wants to make heating with pellet stoves more difficult. But in the traffic light, the future of wood fuel is controversial. For affected companies, the hanging section is a burden.

A tiled stove banging along comfortably in the living room, grandma or grandpa in front of it in a rocking chair: That was yesterday. A wood stove that communicates how much carbon dioxide it emits: this is the new reality. “Today, ovens can also talk to Alexa,” says Christiane Wodtke.

However, communication with language assistants is not the convincing argument for the entrepreneur from Tübingen. For them, “heating with wood and wood pellets is practical environmental protection, ecologically and economically sensible and part of the climate solution”. Wodtke’s medium-sized company has been manufacturing pellet heating systems for around 40 years – back then they were among the first.

Criticism not only on forest consumption

The industrial association for house, heating and kitchen technology, which Wodtke also heads, assumes that there are more than eleven million fireplaces and wood-burning stoves nationwide. This means that every fourth household in Germany would have such an oven – which does not mean that everyone is in operation. The numbers match those of the Nature Conservation Union (NABU).

What NABU sees critically is not only the high consumption: millions of tons of wood are burned every year, and soon the wood from local forests will no longer be enough, also because the industry is increasingly relying on wood burning. The result is increasing imports, which is bad for forests elsewhere.

In addition, it is questioned whether it is an environmentally friendly heating medium at all: Heating with wood emits more CO2 than with conventional energy sources such as coal or gas. The Federal Environment Ministry argues similarly.

Pellet stove entrepreneur Christiane Wodtke counters: As a renewable raw material, wood is already climate-friendly. More wood is currently growing in Germany than is consumed. Pellets are mainly based on sawdust, i.e. residual wood, which has no effect on the forest stock.

In addition, the industry has shown that it can contribute to making technologies more climate-friendly through innovations and research, for example with filter technology. Even the Federal Environment Agency points out that the share of pellet heating systems in potentially carcinogenic fine dust emissions is low – even if the authority advises against wood stoves.

What the government is planning so far

In the draft for the building energy law, which has been passed by the federal cabinet and is to be discussed for the first time in the Bundestag before the summer break, it was originally intended to make the installation of pellet heating systems subject to conditions in the future. For example, by prescribing the combination with other, more environmentally friendly technologies.

The aim is to make the heating of buildings much more climate-friendly. A pure ban is not planned. While the Greens are mainly sticking to the planned tightening, there are demands from the SPD and FDP to continue to allow pellet heating without conditions.

The Greens member of the Bundestag Harald Ebner from Schwäbisch Hall pointed out in SWR point out that existing heating systems may remain in place under the planned law. It is also not intended that existing pellet stoves will have to be retrofitted. Ebner himself has grown fond of his own pellet heating system. He finally wants to discuss the present draft in the Bundestag instead of changing it beforehand.

The Bundestag member Nina Warken from the opposition CDU, on the other hand, calls for the draft law to be revised beforehand. Like the FDP within the governing coalition, she argues with “technology openness”. A term that is often used by the pellet pioneer Christiane Wodtke from Tübingen.

Pellet heating versus heat pump?

She wants one thing above all: clarity. As an entrepreneur, she can no longer wait to see what the federal government is planning with pellet heating systems. It also lacks the balance between economy and ecology: “If the balance is not there, there is no acceptance among the population. Heating must be accessible and affordable.”

Christiane Wodtke has nothing against heat pumps: they make sense, especially in new builds, but are too expensive for existing buildings. Therefore, the technologies could complement each other. “It has to be a healthy mix,” says the company boss. And a wood heating system can do one thing like no other: provide cozy warmth. Even if the political handling of it seems more heated than comfortable at the moment.