(Yicai Global) Sept. 27 -- Europe is getting ready for a cold winter with restricted access to costly heating and Chinese manufacturers of space heaters and electric blankets are quick to respond to the demand.

From March to July, Germany imported 700,300 electric heaters and nearly two-thirds of them were made in China, with a value of EUR120.6 million (USD116.1 million), according to data from the Federal Statistical Office.  

In the first half, at least 600,000 heating devices were sold in Germany, rising by 35 percent from a year ago, based on data from market researcher GfK. 

In the first seven months of this year, China's export volume of electric heaters jumped while that of electric blankets almost doubled, per statistics from the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

European countries are setting up restrictions in public spaces to keep their utility bills reasonable. Everyone in Germany is trying to figure out how to save electricity, Angela, who lives in a northern city in the European country, said to Yicai Global. Her employer said that restrooms will only have cold water from October and basically all her friends have bought electric blankets to use at night.

People have also started to consider installing solar panels or geothermal heat pumps as natural gas prices are rising but they will have to wait for deliveries for several months, Angela said, adding that some residents are escaping the cold and will spend their winter holidays overseas such as Turkey or the Canary Islands.

A student surnamed Zhang, who studies at the University of Amsterdam, said that the electricity bill could reach as high as EUR5,000 (USD4,820) next year if dormitory residents were allowed to freely turn up the thermostat. So the number of people coming to the university premises for centralized heating will probably skyrocket, Zhang predicted. "My dad told me yesterday that he would buy and send me an electric blanket."

Even in the United Kingdom people are getting ready for a chilly winter with peak energy pricing, according to a spokesperson of British home appliance seller Lakeland. From January to July, sales of electric blankets surged to equal almost 13 times the volume of 2021, the company revealed.

Xia Chuanjian, an executive at SD Express, said to Yicai Global that the container logistics firm has lately been delivering electric blankets and heating pads to Europe and North America. One of the clients sent three electric blankets at once, Xia added.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi