There has been huge discussions on both national and EU level about housing efficiency.
Germany is planning on banning any new heating systems that can not run on at least 65% renewable fuel.
Which basically means almost any combustion based heating system. By 2024 or 2025.
There is a carve out for installing gas heating if it is possible to convert that to hydrogen later on IF the supplying company does intend to convert to hydrogen - which is one of these quasi- possibilities that will either be not usable at all or won't end up going anywhere.
At the same time, the EU has decided (or is on the way to deciding) that all houses below a certain efficiency have to meet or exceed that efficiency standard by 2030 or 2033 respectively.
Now we have the first estimates at efficiency levels that need to be reached.
By 2033, all houses will need to use below 130kWh per square meter per year.
Our house was remodeld and extended in the second half of the 80s.
We were looking at using a German subsidy program to do a complete efficiency renovation last year.
That program has been cut since though.
However, we still have the planning documentation that compares several improvements.
My mum has already ordered new windows since the current ones are starting to fail after 35 years of service.
Since she has underfloor heating installed in part of the lowest of the flats she'll be moving into the basement ceiling will be partially insulated aswell.
Once she has all of the basement ceiling insulated (part from aboth, part from below) - our house will be down from 170kWh to 140kWh.
That will slot us into the second renovation timeline.
Given the installation of a heatpump will bring us way below the required levels and heating load according to that planing documentation is in range for a reasonable heatpump and our heating system (condensing oil furnace for both hot water and heating) will probably need replacing until then, that's not to big if a hazzle.
However, there are estimations that several hundreds of thousands of buildings need far more extensive renovations.
Now that there are first guess as to what the EU might use as efficiency targets - which will only get more specific as time goes on - these numbers will get more and more realistic.
As much as that will suck financially for many of us - for our family as well - that step was obvious to come at some point and had to come sometime before 2050.
Germany is planning on banning any new heating systems that can not run on at least 65% renewable fuel.
Which basically means almost any combustion based heating system. By 2024 or 2025.
There is a carve out for installing gas heating if it is possible to convert that to hydrogen later on IF the supplying company does intend to convert to hydrogen - which is one of these quasi- possibilities that will either be not usable at all or won't end up going anywhere.
At the same time, the EU has decided (or is on the way to deciding) that all houses below a certain efficiency have to meet or exceed that efficiency standard by 2030 or 2033 respectively.
Now we have the first estimates at efficiency levels that need to be reached.
By 2033, all houses will need to use below 130kWh per square meter per year.
Our house was remodeld and extended in the second half of the 80s.
We were looking at using a German subsidy program to do a complete efficiency renovation last year.
That program has been cut since though.
However, we still have the planning documentation that compares several improvements.
My mum has already ordered new windows since the current ones are starting to fail after 35 years of service.
Since she has underfloor heating installed in part of the lowest of the flats she'll be moving into the basement ceiling will be partially insulated aswell.
Once she has all of the basement ceiling insulated (part from aboth, part from below) - our house will be down from 170kWh to 140kWh.
That will slot us into the second renovation timeline.
Given the installation of a heatpump will bring us way below the required levels and heating load according to that planing documentation is in range for a reasonable heatpump and our heating system (condensing oil furnace for both hot water and heating) will probably need replacing until then, that's not to big if a hazzle.
However, there are estimations that several hundreds of thousands of buildings need far more extensive renovations.
Now that there are first guess as to what the EU might use as efficiency targets - which will only get more specific as time goes on - these numbers will get more and more realistic.
As much as that will suck financially for many of us - for our family as well - that step was obvious to come at some point and had to come sometime before 2050.
