One reason: Many houses are old, poorly insulated and are mostly heated with gas or oil. The federal government wants to change both of these with the new Climate Protection Act, which came into force this summer. Because the CO2 emissions from buildings are to fall by 43 percent by 2030, to only 67 million tons.
Experts at consumer advice centers estimate that it can cost up to 150,000 euros to bring a single-family home completely up to date in terms of energy. Even if the state is involved, the complete renovation remains complex and expensive. So what to do
In many cases, it is not even necessary to renew a house or apartment from the boiler room to the roof: “If you don’t have a lot of money and still want to improve the energy balance of your house, you can achieve a lot with simple renovation measures,” says Hans Weinreuter from the consumer center Rhineland-Palatinate. For example, in the first step you could just insulate your facade, replace all windows or install a new heating system. The good news: You can get funding from the state for this too.
The so-called immediate climate protection program alone, on which the new government still has to make a final decision in the coming weeks, is to provide an additional 4.5 billion euros for the next two years, with which Germans can make their homes climate-friendly.
Modernize heating, insulate basement and attic
If you want to reduce the CO2 emissions of your house without investing a lot, you should first look up and down: The attic floor and the basement ceiling are considered to be neuralgic weak points: “There you can prevent significant heat losses,” explains consumer advocate Weinreuter .
If the basement and attic are unheated, heat often escapes unnecessarily through the floor and ceiling. The material costs for the ceiling insulation are somewhat limited at around 20 to 60 euros per square meter: “Those who are skilled at handwork can do it themselves,” says Weinreuter – and thus save the costs for craftsmen.
It is equally effective and cost-efficient to optimize your heating system. The advice of a specialist is recommended: Installers can, for example, replace pumps, insulate pipes or use hydraulic balancing to reduce the amount of water in the heating system. According to the consumer advice center, such simple improvements cost between 300 and 1250 euros for a single-family home.
Install a new heater
Heating optimization is not an option for everyone. “Anyone who has a heater that is more than fifteen years old should consider replacing it,” says engineer Bodo Bröcker from the consulting company Eeplus21. The state offers particularly high funding amounts for this. A new heating system can cost between 6,000 and 9,000 euros, and between 20 and 50 percent of the total costs are subsidized – depending on the type of new heating system.
For a system that uses only renewable energies, usually a solar thermal or biomass system, there is more money from the state than for a classic gas condensing boiler.
Anyone who still has an old oil heater in the house and replaces it can have another ten percent reimbursed of the costs. For example, anyone who swaps an old oil boiler for a pellet boiler with storage technology must expect investment costs of 15,000 to 30,000 euros for a single-family house with 150 square meters of living space, according to the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer center. If the sum is 25,000 euros, the state will contribute 11,250 euros, i.e. almost half of the costs.
Insulate the facade
Property owners who want to insulate their external facade have to dig a little deeper into their pockets. The costs for facade insulation are between 25 and 250 euros per square meter, depending on the insulation material and installation effort. At ten euros, cellulose is much cheaper than cork at around 200 euros per square meter. If a facade measures 120 square meters, 30,000 euros are quickly due.
Homeowners can also get an attractive subsidy for this. However, the new external insulation must be at least 16 centimeters thick. The rule is: the better the insulation, the greater the savings – in terms of energy and costs. So it can be worthwhile to have a few more centimeters of insulation applied.
Replace old windows
Replacing windows is next to the facade insulation the most expensive renovation measure, says energy consultant Bröcker. On the other hand, a lot of heating energy is lost through old windows; even more so when it comes to single-glazed windows. Double or triple glazed windows can help. These cost between 300 and 1000 euros per piece. The state provides around 20 percent subsidy for this.
Before owners have their windows replaced, there is one thing they should consider: “It makes no sense to build good windows into an uninsulated outer wall,” says Bröcker. On the contrary: the thicker windows reduce air circulation, which in combination with uninsulated walls increases the risk of dangerous mold growth. “So homeowners should always look at windows and facade together, especially if they want to apply for state subsidies,” says Bröcker.
It’s all in the station wagon
Anyone who wants to make the best possible use of state funding and has the necessary change can combine measures. “With buildings that are not more than 20 years old, owners have the chance to turn their house into an efficiency house with a few technical measures,” says Bröcker. “Modernizing a house to the efficiency house standard brings the most grants.” Those who achieve the efficiency house standard will be rewarded extra by the state. He can receive a subsidy of up to 37.5 percent for renovation costs.
Broecker’s tip: always hire an expert first. He can then draw up a renovation schedule in which the current status of the building is recorded and the sequence of the renovation measures is determined. The best thing is that there is even another five percent subsidy from the state for such a timetable.
More: From single-family to high-rise office buildings: Why wood is the material of the hour as a building material.