Energy efficiency

The GdW Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies and the energy services group Getec are offering a "Heating Check Online" for housing companies. The aim of the heating check is to increase system efficiency, lower energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. The heating check comprises four steps. Step 1 involves an inspection of the system and the...

Waterbeds are equipped with integrated heaters. On the one hand, this provides the necessary warmth. On the other hand, this heat ensures that perspiration evaporates. However, waterbeds also give off heat to the room through the integrated heaters. This is particularly the case when it is cool in the bedroom. The Saarland consumer advice center advises using a waterbed for a week in winter.

In order to improve climate protection, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is planning to implement various immediate measures in the near future. There are to be innovations with regard to the EEG amendment, solar energy, wind energy, the electricity price, climate protection contracts with industry, the heating strategy, building standards and subsidies and hydrogen energy, among other things. Planned...

The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center has summarized in a press release what will change in 2022 in terms of energy, the environment and housing. Among other things, consumers will have to expect higher heating costs. This is due to the CO2 price, which has risen from 25 euros per tonne to 30 euros per tonne of CO2. On the other hand, consumers will be able to...

German supermarkets (food retail) are now consuming less and less electricity. This is according to the study "Energy management in retail compact: Update on key energy indicators 2021" by the research and consulting institute EHI Retail Institute. This is due to better refrigeration technology and the use of LED lighting. The electricity consumption per square meter...

The association Haus & Grund Rheinland Westfalen advises owners who want to renovate their home to make it more energy-efficient to seek professional advice in advance and have an individual renovation roadmap drawn up. Among other things, this can help to avoid bad investments. According to the association, special software is used to create the renovation roadmap. The owners then receive a...

How can the block development of Hamburg's Speicherstadt warehouse district be supplied with C02-neutral energy by 2040? HHLA Real Estate is investigating this question together with several project partners. Among other things, they are jointly researching how the energy required to operate the property can be generated, stored and used in the building itself. A particular challenge here is the protection of listed buildings...

In an evaluation of 1,681 existing and new buildings marketed by McMakler, it emerged that on average only 13 percent of all energy performance certificates issued were awarded energy efficiency classes A+, A or B and therefore the three best possible energy efficiency classes. If you only look at new-build homes, things look better: Here, 71 percent receive energy efficiency classes A+, A or...

The TÜV association draws attention to the advantages of smart heating controls. These can be operated from a smartphone via an app and learn from user behavior. For example, smart heating controls can remember when and how many degrees the residents want to heat certain rooms. In addition, the thermostats have a so-called window open detection function and switch...

The Federal Council has approved a new Heating Costs Ordinance (HeizKV). Among other things, newly installed meters must be remotely readable. Devices that have already been installed must be retrofitted with this function or replaced by January 1, 2027. Tenants will also receive a different bill in future. This must include a comparison between the current consumption and the consumption...