Thermal baths in Germany: where do you get the energy from?

Snice. Dive up to your chin in 35-degree warm water and, with half-closed eyes, follow the wafts of steam that rise from the pool into the cold air and dissolve in it. There’s nothing more to do right now. If only it weren’t for that voice in my head. “Does that have to be?” she says: “Let’s think how much it costs? of energy. How much CO2 is blown into the environment for this.”

A furtive all-round view of the pool neighbors. They also don’t look as if the bad conscience is painfully gnawing at them. If they move at all, it’s only to direct the bubble massage from the left to the right shoulder. Measured by the admission prices and the utilization of the system, at least on this Saturday afternoon in November, many people are still a long way from personal bankruptcy due to increased energy prices.

The thermal baths in Bad Aibling near Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria are one of the few municipal baths that have so far been operating without any restrictions. “We intend to stay open for as long as the law allows. And there will be no restrictions whatsoever – neither in terms of supply nor in terms of pool temperature,” announced the local municipal utility manager Stefan Barber back in September. This is remarkable insofar as the thermal baths are operated with gas – like 90 percent of all public baths in Germany according to the baths alliance. Together with the adjacent ice rink, the system in Bad Aibling is the largest customer of the local Gas und Wärme GmbH and, according to official figures, consumes around 7800 megawatt hours (MWh). Converted into the kilowatt hours (kWh) more commonly used by consumers, that is 7,800,000.

For comparison: In a two-person household with an 80 square meter apartment, around 15,000 kilowatt hours of energy are used for heating, electricity and hot water in one year. The immense need for water is also clear. The pools in Bad Aibling alone are over 800 cubic meters in size, meaning they hold more than 800,000 liters of water. According to the municipal utility, around 115,000 liters of fresh water are fed in every day. Only a one-digit percentage is thermal water, which comes out of the ground at 39 degrees. The rest is drinking water, which has to be heated and kept warm accordingly. This accounts for 45 percent of the heat requirement.

Numerous municipal suppliers fear that they could slide into insolvency this winter – because many of their customers may no longer be able to pay the salty bills. Swimming pools are usually also an expensive subsidy business. In many places, the water and room temperatures have been reduced by one to two degrees. This often results in savings of 25 percent. Most public saunas are closed.

Another shooting would have devastating consequences

The fact that Bad Aibling still defends the unrestricted operation of its thermal baths is due to their economic importance for the area. The town with a view of the Wendelstein and the Bavarian Limestone Alps is the oldest mud spa in Bavaria, and has held the title for over 125 years. But one by one health reform saw the spa guests dwindle, many applications are no longer paid for by the health insurance companies. The thermal baths, which opened in 2007 and combine fun pools and a feel-good oasis, are thriving and make a significant contribution to maintaining the tourist offer. The concerts and cabarets, the documentary film festival, the international guitar festival, the markets. Also restaurants, hotels and guesthouses. Corona has left its mark, another closure, they fear in Bad Aibling, would have devastating consequences.