Germany’s New Favourite Sport: Competing to Save Energy

FRANKFURT, Germany—Psychologist Maria-Christina Nimmerfroh was doing her best to deliver an online lecture to business executives last month, but every few minutes an energy-saver switch in her empty classroom killed the lights.

Finally, she got tired of standing up to trigger the motion-detecting switch and lighted her face with her cellphone flashlight.

Russia stopped piping natural gas to much of Europe this fall, hoping to show Europeans that supporting Ukraine in the war might become too uncomfortable to bear. It didn’t count on Germans’ love of thrift.

Many Germans see frugality as part of their national identify, and bargain-hunting as a way of life. So they have embraced the energy challenge, finding ever more creative ways to slash consumption. So far, they are killing it.

Gas consumption by households and businesses in September and October declined by about a quarter from those same months in 2018 through 2020, even after adjusting for unseasonably warm weather, according to Oxford Economics, a think tank. The nation’s gas storage facilities are now 97% full, well ahead of the government’s most optimistic projections.

Germans have boasted on social media about who has kept the heat off longest as the weather turned colder, posting temperature readings as proof. They are swapping hot showers for washcloth wipe-downs, stocking up on thermal underwear, even lighting outdoor grills and camping stoves in their apartments.

Town councils have dimmed streetlights, lowered temperatures in public buildings and switched off hot water in public washrooms and showers. Swimming pools are left unheated. Some towns are considering turning off traffic lights. Saunas have closed. The city of Düsseldorf is considering lowering the temperature in a crematorium.

Grocery stores have shortened their hours and switched off some refrigerators. Churches are turning down the thermostat as low as 45 degrees and asking parishioners to donate blankets to older members. The Zugspitze ski resort is running chairlifts more slowly, and leaving their seats unheated.

Germans are trading tips on social media: Use the toaster to bake bread rolls. Do laundry every other week. Delete unneeded programs and apps from digital devices. Use the right lid for every pot.

A charity in the city of Bielefeld organized an energy-saving competition: Take two photos of your energy meter, six months apart. If your consumption is at least 10% lower than the average household’s, you have a chance to win €1,000, equivalent to $1,050.

“I have to admit, I’ve developed a certain sporting ambition about keeping the heating off for as long as possible,” Lion Hirth, professor of energy policy at the Hertie School in Berlin, posted on Twitter in October, triggering a deluge of me-too comments.

The Berlin Zoo has dimmed the lights and lowered the heat a bit for some animals, including giraffes and hippos, said spokeswoman Svenja Eisenbarth. At the city’s animal shelter, the thermostat in the dog kennels was dropped to 64 degrees. Dogs without warm fur are given winter coats.

Owners of exotic pets such as iguanas, which need to be kept at a balmy 77 to 82 degrees, have been dropping them off at the shelter, said spokeswoman Ute Reinhardt, and there is a waiting list of 50 for dog owners who want to do the same with their pets.

In Wolfratshausen, the town council cut in half the energy used by streetlights by converting them to LEDs and dimming them between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Even that wasn’t good enough for some local officials. “The LED lighting is too bright,” said city councillor Rudi Seibt, who wants the lights turned down to the lowest legal level.

Politicians in other countries often refrain from preaching about energy use, but not in Germany. Winfried Kretschmann, state premier of Baden-Württemberg, posted a video saying people should turn down their thermostats. He told a local newspaper that people didn’t need to shower as much, noting that “the washcloth is also a useful innovation.”

To shame officials or companies that aren’t taking their energy saving seriously, citizens are posting videos of well-lit monuments and overheated stores.

Last month, the Bild newspaper reported that a political party in eastern Germany had ordered portable oil radiators for the state parliament after room temperatures were reduced to 66 degrees. The newspaper published photos of the incriminating packages stacked in the parliament’s post room. “Uncooperative louts,” its front page blared.

Germany’s 21,000 chimney sweeps are helping police the energy-saving. The sweeps do more than clean chimneys. They check for gas leaks and problems in heating systems. Their inspections are mandatory.

“Suddenly, everything that emits heat in some form is an option,” said Andreas Walburg, a master sweep. “We see a dangerous trend here.” He said his clients have been experimenting with gas grills and gasoline-powered camping stoves indoors. “These heat sources are not suitable for closed rooms,” he said.

Now, Germans’ energy-saving fervour is colliding with another national passion: Christmas. Around the country, local authorities have been debating whether to allow traditional street markets, ice rinks and festive lights.

In Halle, the council decided to pare back Christmas lights. A fairy-tale forest on a market square will be illuminated only from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., reducing energy consumption by half, according to officials. Civic buildings, monuments and fountains will remain dark. There will be no illuminated Christmas tree on another market square.

“In our opinion, Christmas can also be atmospheric under reduced lighting,” said Mayor Egbert Geier.