Hand turning a home thermostat knob to set temperature on energy saving mode. celcius units

KfW Research

KfW Energy Transition Barometer

The KfW Energy Transition Barometer is a study conducted annually since 2018 on the basis of a survey of a random sample of some 4,000 representative households in Germany. Responses from each household were received from one household member of full age who takes decisions on household energy supply and consumption. The aim of the survey was to find out to what extent energy transition technologies are being used in the different households. The survey also covered any planned use in order to estimate in what areas the greatest growth was to be expected. Taken together, the surveyed data provide an overview of current sentiment and households’ participation in the energy transition in Germany.

Edition 2024

Energy transition in private households moving ahead despite uncertain environment

The energy transition is making progress: around 13 million households in Germany now use at least one energy transition technology – e.g. an electric car, a photovoltaic system or a heat pump. That is over 1 million more households than the previous year. A further 6% of households are planning to purchase one of the technologies in the next 12 months. This is especially pleasing as approval of the energy transition has fallen in the current survey. Around 82% of households stated that they consider the energy transition to be very important or important – compared to 88% a year earlier. This indicates a certain degree of uncertainty among the population. The KfW Energy Transition Barometer, which is representative of households, continues to show that the focus lies on the economic viability of technologies. In fact, scientific life cycle assessments are now often more positive than those of many households.