Online tool helps municipalities with planning

19.11.2025

Source: E & M powernews

German Zero has launched a free online tool with the Öko-Institut and the Kompetenzzentrum Wärmewende (KWW) to help local authorities get started with heat planning.

German Zero is now offering local authorities the "WärmeGuide". According to the organization, the free online tool is designed to make it easier to get started with a climate-neutral heat supply. The Öko-Institut from Freiburg provided scientific support for the platform, while the German Energy Agency's (Dena) Competence Center for Heat Transition (KWW) provided technical support.

The Heat Guide bundles statistical data from the federal level and prepares it for each local authority. The platform shows the technical status of the local heat supply, the building and ownership structures and possible development paths up to 2045. According to German Zero, the tool supports all stages of the early planning phase and provides municipalities with a clear structure for the first steps. This includes defined process steps, information on potentials from waste heat, renewable energies and efficiency options as well as recommendations for the transition from planning to implementation.

Practical examples from various regions complement the offer. They are intended to show how municipalities can proceed under different framework conditions. According to the project managers, the tool also takes socio-economic aspects into account in order to include different life situations in municipal heating planning.

Making it easier to get started with planning

Johannes Hofmann, project manager at German Zero, believes that smaller towns and municipalities in particular face major challenges. He says that limited personnel and financial capacities make it difficult to get started with planning. In his view, there has been a lack of guidance in particular up to now. The Warmth Guide closes this gap by providing easy access to basic information.

The Öko-Institut provided the data basis. Sibylle Braungardt, Senior Researcher at the Institute, explains that her research combines geodata and statistical analyses in a model-based approach. This methodology forms the central basis of the Heat Guide.

According to the project partners, the tool does not replace legally prescribed municipal heat planning. However, it is intended to help people get started and supplement existing processes - for example by collecting local examples and taking socio-economic conditions into account. Local authorities can use the tool without registering.

Dena's KWW closely supported the project. The institution points out that the Heat Guide uses standardized models and assumptions for the potential analyses. Deviations from data from federal states or local authorities are possible. From KWW's point of view, the tool nevertheless offers valuable initial indications. In combination with local knowledge, a municipality can make a well-founded start to heat planning.

The Heat Guide is available on the Internet.

Author: Susanne Harmsen