Erfurt (dpa/th) – In contrast to a case in Saxony, the supply of hot water continues to run normally for tenants in the Free State, according to the Thuringian Housing Association (VTW). In Thuringia he does not know of any cooperative that has temporarily turned off hot water in view of energy prices, VTW director Frank Emrich told the German Press Agency on Monday. “That’s certainly on the list of measures – but I would put it further down.”
In the Saxon town of Dippoldiswalde (district of Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge), the housing cooperative had previously reduced the hot water supply for its around 600 apartments. Hot water remains available during the main times of use in the morning, midday and evening. Only at night and in the meantime does the water come out of the tap cold. In addition, the heating is not turned on until September.
From his point of view, a more sensible approach to saving energy would be to switch off the circulation pump for hot water overnight, said Emrich. Then the warm water only comes out of the tap at night with a delay. But there are problems here, too, since legionella in the water pipes, for example, can only be killed if the water is always circulating at 60 degrees.
Overall, it makes sense to talk about the heating temperature – i.e. whether landlords actually only provide the legally prescribed minimum temperature of 20 degrees during the day. “And at some point we would have to talk about whether you can cope with 18 degrees.” The heating systems would also have to be set correctly by the landlords.
According to the VTW, around 220 housing companies are organized, most of them municipal housing companies and housing cooperatives. They manage around 264,000 apartments in the Free State.
