Energy-efficient renovation roadmap 2024! Our guide to saving costs & protecting the environment

3. January 2024

General information on the topic of renovation roadmaps

The topic of energy-efficient refurbishment is currently becoming increasingly important.

This can be attributed both to the effects of climate change and the associated concept of sustainability, as well as to the energy crisis, which has led to a rapid rise in energy prices.

Energy refurbishment refers to the modernization of buildings, with the main objective being to minimize the energy consumption of a property, taking into account the areas of heating, hot water and ventilation.

In order to inform owners or potential buyers about which measures make sense for their property in order to save energy in the long term, customized energy renovation roadmaps are created, so-called individual renovation roadmaps (iSFP). These individual plans take into account all the structural, cultural and personal circumstances of the respective residential building.

The aim of this advisory tool is to sensitize owners to renovation measures and motivate them to renovate buildings to make them more energy efficient.

A refurbishment roadmap can be designed either as a comprehensive overall measure or as a step-by-step approach with packages of measures, depending on the specific characteristics of the property. The measures in the refurbishment roadmap are not mandatory, but offer a sensible sequence of refurbishment steps. The roadmap provides information and a basis for decision-making in order to plan and implement the energy improvement of a house.

Various aspects are presented in the refurbishment roadmap, such as

Introduction to energy efficiency and climate protection
Energy assessment of the building in its current state
Overview of packages of measures and status after refurbishment
Detailed explanation of the steps in the restructuring process
Detailed explanation of the refurbishment roadmap
Confirmation of the qualification of the energy consultant
Consideration of the various systems (ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, lighting)

Energy renovation roadmaps can be issued by energy consultants, tradesmen and chimney sweeps who have the appropriate training and qualifications.

State subsidies

A few years ago, subsidies were available for the mere preparation of renovation roadmaps. Recently, these subsidies are no longer issued by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) via the Federal Subsidy for Energy Advice for Residential Buildings (EBW). However, there are subsidies from various institutions that are issued for planned measures.

Federal subsidy for efficient buildings (BEG)

BAFA funding covers various measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. These include insulating the building, replacing windows and exterior doors, implementing summer heat insulation, ventilation systems and digital systems to optimize energy requirements. To be eligible, owners must make a minimum investment of 2,000 euros gross and can claim up to 60,000 euros in costs per residential unit per year. The subsidy rate is 15 percent of the expenditure incurred. In this way, BAFA creates incentives for comprehensive energy modernization, supports the introduction of efficient technologies and thus contributes to sustainable development in the construction sector.

Owners have the option of claiming costs ranging from a minimum of 2,000 euros to a maximum of 60,000 euros per residential unit. Depending on the type of measures carried out, you will receive a refund of ten to 30 percent. In addition, if the old oil, gas or coal heating system is still in working order, a further subsidy of ten percentage points is granted as a reward. This subsidy program thus creates incentives for a wide range of energy modernizations and rewards in particular the switch from outdated heating systems to more efficient alternatives.

To pave the way for homeowners to convert their homes, the federal government has made generous subsidies available as part of the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG). These pioneering regulations were introduced in 2022 and came into force at the beginning of 2023. But that’s not all – with the new Building Energy Act (GEG) due to come into force in January 2024, special changes are on the horizon, particularly in the area of heating system replacements.

From 2024, a basic subsidy of 30 percent will come into force for heating replacements. In addition to this fixed rate, there is the option of benefiting from a climate speed bonus, which can be up to 20 percent. This bonus is granted if an old fossil fuel heating system is replaced at an early stage. Owner-occupiers in particular have the opportunity to receive a further bonus of 30 percent, provided their taxable household income does not exceed 40,000 euros per year.

The bonuses are not only applicable individually, but can also be accumulated. This makes it possible to achieve a maximum subsidy rate of 70 percent. However, this only applies to total costs of no more than 30,000 euros.

A basic subsidy of 30 percent is provided for comprehensive funding for heating systems, which applies to all residential and non-residential buildings, regardless of the applicant group. In addition, heat pumps that use water, soil or waste water as a heat source or use a natural refrigerant receive a further efficiency bonus of 5 percent. For biomass heating systems that comply with the dust emission limit of 2.5 mg/m³, a supplement of 2,500 euros is granted.

A special incentive is a climate speed bonus of 20 percent, which applies until 2028 for the early replacement of old fossil fuel heating systems, including night storage heaters and old biomass heating systems. From January 1, 2029, this bonus will be reduced by 3 percent every two years, starting at 17 percent.

These comprehensive funding opportunities are intended not only to promote the modernization of heating systems, but also to provide incentives for sustainable and efficient energy use.

With immediate effect, total renovation measures of up to 90,000 euros are eligible for funding, of which 60,000 euros are earmarked for measures on the building itself and 30,000 euros for replacing the heating system.

As an additional highlight, an innovative offer for interest-reduced loans was introduced, tailored to owners with a taxable household income of up to EUR 90,000 per year.

And that’s not all – anyone who implements the measures in their individual renovation roadmap has the opportunity to apply for further funding via the federal subsidy for efficient buildings and thus maximize their bonus.

KfW loans (297 and 298)

The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) is known for its various promotional programs for energy-efficient refurbishment, whether for existing buildings or new builds. Two very popular funding programs were the KfW loans (297 and 298) introduced in March, which enabled owners to obtain loans with an interest rate of 0.81% in the most favorable cases. According to the Ministry of Construction, the funding for this has now been exhausted. As a result, applications for these funding programs have been stopped. According to KfW, applications should be possible again from the beginning of the year, although it has not yet been confirmed whether this will actually happen.

Criticism

The energy-efficient renovation roadmap is often criticized.

Critics are of the opinion that the energy-efficient refurbishment roadmap provides far too little information about the cost-effectiveness of the measures and only presents the best possible view from an energy efficiency perspective, which is not always the most sensible approach. Another point of criticism is that some providers issue the refurbishment roadmap without an on-site consultation and instead collect measures on the basis of an online discussion.

This may limit the informative value and legal validity of the iSFP.

Conclusion

In summary, the energy renovation roadmap has become an increasingly important document that is not only relevant for owners, but also contains essential information for potential buyers.

In addition, energy renovation roadmaps offer the opportunity to benefit from state subsidies, which reduces the financial outlay for building owners and thus creates incentives.

Overall, energy renovation roadmaps therefore offer an opportunity to meet the challenges of climate change and rising energy costs.

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Sources

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