Resident satisfaction with low-temperature district heating: The role of cost perceptions and energy-crisis protection

Peer-reviewed paper 1-229-26

Decarbonizing residential heating is essential for achieving climate targets in the building sector, yet the success of innovative heating systems also depends on residents’ acceptance and satisfaction. This study examines tenants’ perceptions of an energy concept incorporating low-temperature district heating (LTDH) in a climate-neutral neighbourhood in Germany. The analysis is based on a survey of 63 tenants conducted in September 2025.

Tenants’ satisfaction with the energy concept was higher the more reasonable tenants find their current energy costs and the more they expect that climate-friendly heating can provide protection against future energy crises. Other factors including subjective knowledge, social norms, future price expectations, and perceived ability to influence energy consumption and costs did not significantly explain satisfaction. However, mean scores for expected future cost advantages of climate-friendly heating over fossil fuel use were high, indicating that tenants were aware of the risks associated with dependencies on oil and gas. Overall, awareness of the specific heating technology was limited, with only a minority of tenants aware that their neighbourhood uses an LTDH system and knowing their current energy costs. Most respondents also expressed a low willingness to pay a premium for climate-neutral heating. However, general support for decarbonizing heat generation was strong among the tenants of the neighbourhood and was higher the more tenants expect that using renewable energy can provide long-term cost advantages and greater resilience to future energy crises compared to fossil fuel use.

Taken together, our findings suggest that, among tenants in LTDH-supplied newly built multifamily houses, satisfaction with the energy concept is most strongly associated with their current exposure to energy costs. For more distal outcomes that capture the importance people attach to decarbonizing residential heat, anticipated future developments in cost advantages and energy security are more relevant.