Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Apply for the house connection through an electrician? Here in Bavaria, or rather in my city, we were able to do it ourselves. The form is available on the supplier's website. Filled it out and sent it in. Our electrician wanted a 50A main house connection (HAS) and a 35A pre-fuse. We then applied for a 63A HAS and 50A pre-fuse. It costs a few hundred euros more, but if you want a 22kW wallbox someday (the batteries in cars are getting bigger), a pool heater, air conditioning, home technology, etc., it gets tight.

Then you are lucky. Here in Brandenburg, only a master electrician is allowed to do that.

And here in the Dresden area, SachsenEnergie wants this to be done by a partner company. I can manage the general application for the house connection. But I cannot handle the application for the installation of the house connections; it's technical jargon for me what is asked in the form. You need expertise in the field of electrical engineering for that. Also, I don’t know or cannot assess where the connection will be made. We have no electricity in the street; electricity only comes to the neighboring property via overhead line and then goes underground towards the second row.
If necessary, I’ll call the supplier again or write to 10 more.

You are not allowed to do this yourself here either. It must be done by an [Elektrikmeisterbetrieb]. They have to apply for it and confirm it. We also had this during the renovation because the entire electrical system, including the panel, was replaced.

I love, for example, the smell of burnt wood smell/fireplace smell.

There are also plenty of people who claim that about tobacco smoke, which is sincerely their right. I do it occasionally too, but of course never in a way that harms uninvolved people. But that is no justification for turning entire neighborhoods into evening no-go areas, or causing neighbors to fear with every airing out that especially children will suffer irreversible damage.

So the fact that Winniefred wants to buy his wood from the local forest owner is first of all a good idea. I don't know if you currently have the prices in mind, but they really charge quite a lot. Regionally still different. Of course.

But you have to buy it as round timber, have it transported to your garden, saw it into meter lengths there, then split it, then stack it, dry it for 3 years, then saw it again to stove size and split it small again, then stack it again and transport it into the house for heating.

With hip problems or a slipped disc at an advanced age, certainly a small fitness program. If you want to buy stove-ready wood today, then we’re talking about 250 euros per cubic meter loose volume.

Of course, you can get yourself equipment. A tractor with a forwarder wagon, wood splitter, chainsaws, protective clothing, chainsaw license, circular saw and various other tools for firewood production.

Or you buy yourself a forest right away.

Here and elsewhere, people were still philosophizing about falling electricity prices not long ago. They will almost double for most people at the beginning of the new year. The trend is still upward. Heating and driving electrically will become a luxury. Everything else will of course follow.

There remains only one solution and it is called heating less living space. Reducing ceiling heights saves just as much as reducing area.
Huge open kitchens with living and dining areas combined are just hard to heat. And what is completely sufficient in younger years becomes unpleasant in old age.

And don’t let anyone tell me that a heat pump still makes economic sense with an electricity price of 1 euro.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Without cheap energy from Russia, Germany will become the poorhouse of Europe. Wages and salaries have drastically halved. Unfortunately, liabilities have not halved. Anyone who thinks they are safe with a monthly income of 6000 euros will be in for a surprise.

Huh? We have a trailer, or you buy it in meters as log wood with delivery. Split it with an axe. Store it. Or buy it ready. We do not intend to cut it ourselves in the forest. We are still young. No one knows what will happen in 30 or 40 years anyway. And there are cheap sources too, you just have to know them and invest some time. You can also talk everything to death or complicate it. And we have small rooms and little living space, old building. All of that works wonderfully.