As the heating season approaches, Czech households are stocking up on fuel, scheduling boiler inspections, and some have already switched energy suppliers. The potential savings can reach thousands annually. Currently, over 1.7 million households use district heating from heating plants or communal boiler rooms, making it the most common heating solution in the country. Cities and new development projects are increasingly connecting to hot water systems, while energy sharing is also gaining popularity.
Communities are taking different approaches to heating. In northern Meziboří, after switching from coal to gas boilers, the town has now connected to a hot water pipeline from the Komořany heating plant. Nearly two-thirds of local households will be heated this way in winter, with the rest expected to connect in the future. The heating plant plans to increase prices only by inflation, offering residents more stable costs.
Meanwhile, in southern Třeboň, residents took the opposite approach by disconnecting from central heating. “The price per gigajoule was so enormous that after calculating the costs of a new boiler room, we found we could have it for half the price with a return on investment within three to five years,” explains Pavel Zajíček, a representative of the homeowners association. As a result, almost all local apartment buildings now have chimneys and produce their own heat.
Energy sharing has emerged as another cost-saving strategy. In Žernov, a village in the Náchod region, residents have formed an energy cooperative. The community can share approximately 40% of its energy, with producers selling electricity to the cooperative for 1.10 CZK per kilowatt-hour, while consumers purchase it for 1.90 CZK. The village has also pioneered heat storage technology, building a facility under a community building that provides heating for most of the year.
Similar initiatives are spreading across the country. In Hradec Králové, fifteen buildings—including twelve schools—share energy, with the city hall hoping to save 2.5 million crowns annually on municipal property. Electricity generated on school rooftops will power facilities with high energy consumption, such as the Flošna summer swimming pool. Currently, these programs are limited to regional organizations, but discussions about extending them to residential buildings are planned for the future.
