News


New Funding Guidelines for Building Construction & Renovation in Germany.


16/01/2023

In the German pilot region of EUROPA, 2023 has begun with a change in the funding guidelines for construction and renovation of buildings. Buildings must now meet higher energy efficiency standards to receive funding. 

 

 

There are also new requirements for integrating renewable energy sources and new subsidy rates for individual renovation measures.

Since this is already the second change within a year – and the next adjustment has already been announced for March – there is a great deal of uncertainty in the construction industry and among private individuals who wish to renovate their home.

Despite this, both the number of funding applications and the total funding amount increased during the last year. The demand for energy consulting services is correspondingly high.

This is also noticeable in our EUROPA project. Last year, we at eza! had over 120 inquiries from condominium associations, property management companies and apartment buildings. Because of the high cost of energy following the war in Ukraine, most of the inquiries focused on the heating system and other ways to quickly reduce energy consumption. Nevertheless, there were of course projects aiming for a full renovation of the building.

In line with the goals of the EU and the EUROPA project, we try to achieve an efficiency house standard when consulting homeowners. The bar for these standards has now been raised in Germany. To qualify for subsidies, refurbished buildings must now use 25% less energy in operation than last year. The underlying idea is to reduce the consumption of the building stock to a sustainable level in order to meet the climate targets. In addition, there are increased requirements for the building technology. Especially heat pump systems and photovoltaics are in the focus of the new funding guidelines in order to deliver the heating demands ecologically. Making existing buildings fit for these technologies is one of our core tasks for the coming years.