Hajo Schörle from W&D Schörle has given some thought to how the next generation can be involved in energy consulting. The result is the book "There's a lot of energy in it". On 40 pages, children learn more about the topic - from energy-efficient refurbishment to storing energy and generating their own energy. The book...

Neighbors are not allowed to install surveillance cameras that record their own property as well as that of their neighbors. This has now been decided by the Bad Iburg District Court (AZ: 4 C 366/21). In this case, a neighbor of a semi-detached house had installed surveillance cameras with intelligent video technology on his property, which, among other things, were able to identify objects and people in real time....

How can a site like the one on the banks of the River Main in Heidingsfeld in Würzburg be upgraded? Students on the Geovisualization course at the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences tackled this question. Under the motto "Living on the water", they had to develop designs that combine the areas of living, working and leisure. The challenge...

A team from the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg and the company DBI Gas- und Umwelttechnik GmbH are currently researching how mine water from the former Lugau-Oelsnitz coalfield in north-western Saxony can be used to supply heat. The idea is to heat the mine water with heat pumps and use it for heat and power generation.

The University of Göttingen has developed a process for a granulate that can be used to make panels and walls from hemp, falch and popcorn granulate. According to the responsible working group "Chemistry and Process Engineering of Composite Materials" at the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, the material used is reusable, recyclable and compostable....

The German Facility Management Association (GEFMA) and the German Business Initiative for Energy Efficiency (DENEFF) have concluded a cooperation agreement to ensure greater energy efficiency, resource conservation and sustainability. Through the cooperation agreement, GEFMA and DENEFF also hope to achieve a stronger exchange between their own members and...

An architect commissioned to carry out the basic assessment and design planning is not obliged to protect his client from possible tax damages. This was recently decided by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (OLG, Ref. 29 U 185/20). In this case, clients wanted to renovate their attic apartment and commissioned an architect to provide services. They paid the architect...

The German Quality Association for Furniture (DGM) now advises tenants and owners on how to be environmentally conscious when buying furniture. It has three tips for interested parties. Firstly: Tenants or homeowners can pay attention to good furniture quality and choose durable, healthy and environmentally friendly products. According to the DGM, the RAL quality mark "Golden M" indicates...

Insurers like to invest in real estate. This is according to the study "Trendbarometer Real Estate Investments of the Insurance Industry" by the tax consultancy firm EY. With a so-called real estate ratio of 12.1 percent, this was the highest level since the survey began in 2008. However, the study also shows that insurers are becoming more cautious. Half of those surveyed...

IG-Bau is calling on the real estate industry to look for alternative solutions in view of the difficult conditions for new construction, such as a shortage of materials. Among other things, the union is considering the conversion of vacant offices into living space and the addition of extra storeys to the roofs of residential buildings that were built in the post-war period up to the end of the 1990s. The...