Theme article
Warm rooms, a good indoor climate - with lower energy consumption costs. And doing something for climate protection at the same time. That sounds good - but it costs money to produce. In the public perception, energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings is often accompanied by rent increases that make your own home unaffordable.
We all want and need climate protection. We are committed to the two-degree target of international climate policy and the German government's ‘Climate Targets 2050’. However, the targets are ambitious, the ‘2020 interim target’ is highly unlikely to be achieved - and the measures are not free. It is becoming increasingly clear to all stakeholders that all social and economic interests must be continuously brought together and harmonised on the way to a virtually climate-neutral building stock in 2050 - a consensus across society as a whole must be constantly debated and developed.
In the debate entitled "Compatibility of Energy-Efficient Refurbishment and Affordable Housing," The panel, comprising Prof. Dr Andreas Holm (Research Institute for Thermal Insulation), Ulrich Ropertz (Managing Director of the German Tenants' Association) and Kirsten Seeger (Head of Corporate Development at the noventic group and representative of the Energy Task Force of the Central Real Estate Committee), addressed this question at the 'Berliner Energietage 2018'.
Prof Andreas Holm presented a current research project entitled ‘Thermal insulation in the context of the energy transition’. For him, the success or failure of the energy transition lies in the building stock: suitable building materials and technologies are available, but the refurbishment rate has been too low for years.
However, according to Ulrich Ropertz, energy refurbishments must not be borne by tenants alone: ‘Despite the undisputed relevance of climate protection and the energy refurbishments that are absolutely necessary in the building sector, it is imperative that this is organised in a socially acceptable manner, if only to avoid jeopardising social acceptance of the energy transition. One solution to be discussed is to reduce the ability to pass on energy-related investments to rents and, in return, to increase the funding opportunities for energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings.
Kirsten Seeger also warns against overly restrictive regulatory law on the rental and property market: ‘If private capital is to be activated for climate protection - and the size of this project demands this - the design of the measures on the property must be as individual and technology-open as possible for building owners to implement,’ she says. Only in this way can the energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings be optimised and implemented cost-effectively.
The noventic group is committed to climate-intelligent solutions in the building sector.
The noventic group is committed to becoming a leader in climate-intelligent building control, making a significant impact on economic efficiency, energy efficiency and global climate protection. The energy-efficient redesign of living space is of particular importance, given that the building sector accounts for approximately 40% of our energy consumption.
What are the key considerations for successfully combining climate-friendly refurbishment with affordable housing? We have distilled the complex issues into three theses.
1st thesis
Ensure economic viability and social acceptance.
It is essential that climate protection is economically viable in the long term, taking into account the costs of follow-up measures. This applies to all stakeholders, including public budgets, tenants and building owners, who must be able to shoulder the energy-related commitment in the long term.
The German government's 2050 climate targets are ambitious - according to the interim conclusion of dena's flagship study ‘Integrierte Energiewende’ or the BDI study ‘Klimapfade für Deutschland’, even the 80 per cent target can only be achieved through intelligent political redirection or incentive systems, strong private sector commitment and broad social acceptance.
To achieve the more ambitious 95 per cent target, zero emissions will be necessary for a significant portion of the German economy, including the building sector and, in particular, the large stock of residential buildings.
In addition to the modernisation of the building envelope and energy technology, which are central to climate protection, greater emphasis must therefore also be placed on the 'climate levers' from the low-investment area. These levers help to reduce costs and thus mitigate the debate surrounding the fair distribution of costs and the 'investor-user dilemma'. This is because in the low-investment area of climate protection measures, the leverage of avoided CO2 emissions per euro invested is often significantly greater, meaning that the investment burden for building owners and tenants is lower for the same climate benefit. In order to better utilise this potential, adjustments must be made to the legislation in order to provide additional investment incentives in this area.
2nd thesis
Shape the leverage of state control intelligently.
It is the responsibility of the state to establish transparent target ranges and a framework of conditions for climate protection in the construction industry. Nevertheless, overly stringent regulatory measures may prove detrimental to the efficacy of climate protection initiatives, given the considerable heterogeneity of existing building structures in Germany and the accompanying variability in energy efficiency requirements. Technological openness is therefore a crucial prerequisite for the success of climate targets in the building sector. It is only through technological openness that energy modernisation can be implemented in an individually optimal way. In concrete terms, this means that the interaction between the energy-efficient building envelope and the technical building systems, as well as between intelligent operating systems and renewable energies, can be brought together in the best possible way.
The dena's distribution grid study also emphasises the advantages of an open-technology approach when designing climate protection measures - only a high degree of freedom would offer the necessary flexibility to react to future developments and integrate them into existing infrastructures.
One positive example is the smart meter rollout defined in the Act on the Digitisation of the Energy Transition. It will create the central prerequisite for this in the building sector: The Smart Meter Gateway will enable the intelligent, efficiency-enhancing linking of electricity grids, electricity generation and consumption - enabling the efficient integration of ‘renewable electricity’, for example. An intelligent infrastructure set up in this way reduces the duplication of infrastructure that is common today and also guarantees the flexibility required by the housing industry for future developments and value-added services.
3rd aspect
Use digitalisation for conscious consumption behaviour.
Experience in recent years has shown that actual energy consumption in energy-efficient refurbished buildings does not fall in line with planning forecasts. This is because the new structural conditions also change the consumption behaviour of residents (Federal Environment Agency, see footnote). These effects are summarised under the term ‘rebound effect’.
Two levers can be used to counteract this:
-
- In order to foster continuous awareness of energy-saving practices in everyday life, it is essential to visualize one's own individual consumption patterns and make them recognizable through the intelligent networking of sensor technology and tenant interfaces. This approach empowers consumers to draw intrinsic, directly relevant conclusions from their user behavior and reflect on their own consumption patterns.
- In order to achieve the planned and calculated CO₂ savings in everyday operation, it is necessary for the housing industry to develop intelligent operational management systems. Furthermore, intelligent metering systems facilitate the transparent monitoring of building and neighbourhood consumption, thereby enabling existing owners to identify potential avenues for optimisation. In operational management - but also in refurbishment efforts.
Conclusion
The intelligent control of buildings, defined as the digitalisation of the building sector that is open to all technologies, has the potential to make a significant contribution to the implementation of energy-efficient refurbishments in a cost-effective manner. Nevertheless, this necessitates the provision of supplementary incentives and the establishment of more favourable framework conditions within the housing sector for the implementation of low-investment measures in the context of the energy transition. The introduction of smart meters with a smart meter gateway represents a crucial and appropriate initial step.
It is anticipated that the Digitalisation Act and the rollout of smart meters will facilitate the creation of an infrastructure that will enable the provision of load-dependent tariffs. In this way, customers – comprising buildings and individual consumers – could be rewarded with financial incentives if they utilise electricity when the supply in the electricity grid is (too) high due to renewable electricity sources. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy characterises it as 'the communication platform in the smart energy grid of the future' and considers it to be a sustainable solution for reducing the consumption of fossil fuels in Germany.
In addressing the issue of fair cost distribution, or the investor-user dilemma, it is evident that digitalisation will facilitate new avenues for resolution. However, it is not a panacea. It is imperative that a transparent and ongoing discourse be conducted on the subject of sustainable burden sharing between public budgets, private investors and tenants. This is in order to counteract any undesirable developments that may play off climate targets and social compatibility against each other.