When it comes to energy, the housing and property industry can be dizzy at times. With the amendment to the German Building Energy Act (Energieeinsparverordnung - EnEV), its short implementation periods and almost unattainable subsidies, the industry is at breaking point. Nevertheless, the rapid rise in energy costs cannot be ignored, nor can the property industry's necessary contribution to the energy turnaround. The fact is that of the almost 19 million residential buildings in Germany, the lion's share of around 12.4 million were built in 1979 or earlier - and are therefore at least 44 years old (source: Statistikportal).
Sustainability involves much more than just maintaining the status quo. It can also be a key driver of innovation. One sector that could benefit from that is real estate: if the industry is to achieve the goal of virtual climate neutrality by 2045, it must rapidly undergo fundamental transformation.
This year the issue of energy saving has taken on a new relevance among the wider public. Whereas in previous years one generally had the feeling that climate protection requirements were a tiresome duty that had to be performed, this year it is different: Triggered by Russiaʼs war in Ukraine and the associated supply and energy crisis, the issue has clearly gained traction.
Everything happened very quickly: In October, Economics Minister Robert Habeck announced a planned amendment to the Metering Point Operation Act, and in early December the media reported the first details of the Federal Economics Ministry's "Act to Restart the Digitalisation of the Energy Turnaround". The resumption of the digitisation of the energy transition thus appears to be within reach. Processes relating to smart meters are to be made less bureaucratic, much simpler and more cost-effective for consumers.
noventic talk with Marco Hofmann, ZIA Committee Chairman for Digitalisation, and Dr Dirk Then, Managing Director of noventic GmbH, on the topic of data, digitalisation and climate protection in the housing industry.
Faced with rising rents and the current high energy prices, it is only a matter of time before the debate about limits in residential housing climate protection comes to a head.
Clearly climate protection does not come for free. However, often this quickly gives way to the question of who is going to pay for it. The debate over whether tenants or landlords should pay the additional costs is understandable, but fails to get to the heart of the matter. This is also shown by the findings of a recent tenant study conducted for us by Professor Pfnür of Darmstadt Technical University.
Climate protection in the building sector needs quick successes. A study commissioned by the noventic group on the role of tenants in climate protection shows that tenants are willing to make greater climate protection efforts within their own four walls, provided the cost, convenience and simplicity are right. To achieve rapid CO2 savings, the 1,000 tenant households surveyed showed a high level of acceptance of both the automation of heating and hot water supply and sharing of their own consumption data.
Professor Dr. Andreas Pfnür, of Darmstadt Technical University (TU Darmstadt), and noventic Managing Director Dr. Dirk Then discuss the noventic study, in which 1,000 tenants were asked about their role in climate protection in the housing industry. How great is their willingness to participate in residential housing climate protection? And what role do costs, automated processes, digitisation and sharing consumption data play?
In a panel discussion organised by the noventic group as part of this year’s Berlin Energietage, EU Commission Head of Unit Stefan Moser sets out the goals pursued by the Renovation Wave and how these will affect the German housing industry.
The reconciliation of climate protection and economic concerns is what Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, calls for in his opening speech at the 2020 Energy Transition Congress. His 20-point plan "Protecting the climate & strengthening the economy" lays the foundation for these concerns. The spotlight also falls on the real estate industry: how can the necessary efficiency potential in the building stock be realised through refurbishment concepts and digitisation? For the economy, Altmaier notes, the biggest problem is uncertainty, which could lead to a failure to make the investment needed. His approach is to create a clear framework over the long term, extending across several electoral terms.
Discussions over recent weeks have shown that, alongside Covid-19, familiar issues such as climate protection, digitisation and integrated energy have not gone away. The protective measures taken against the pandemic in recent months have created new impetus, for instance the federal government's stimulus package. What does that mean for the climate-smart transformation of our building stock?
The federal government finally launched the new COVID-19 contact tracing app at the start of this week. The aim of the app is to notify people that they have come into contact with infected individuals before they develop any symptoms themselves.
