Thermal planning on the rise

The topic of heat planning is not only at the top of the agenda for those who want to build and convert their own homes to make them fit for the future. For an efficient heat transition, local authorities are also called upon to define an ecological and economic framework.

The municipalities' heat planning forms the basis for a climate-neutral heat supply and the improvement of energy security. To achieve this, a reduction in the heat demand of buildings is fundamentally necessary. The process of municipal heat planning brings together potential and demand. In this way, the possible uses of energy sources in the future energy system can be defined and implemented locally.

The Öko-Institut ifeu has presented the current status of the legal framework and the anchoring of heat planning in a report and developed recommendations for action. Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein are the most advanced in municipal heat planning. The laws already in place there are regularly updated.

The information programme Zukunft Altbau (Future Old Buildings), funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, points out the so-called rebound effect. Energy-efficient renovation of existing residential buildings reduces the energy demand by up to 80 percent. If the savings do not materialise to the desired extent afterwards, homeowners are often disappointed and at a loss.

The reason for the reduced savings effect is usually the changed behaviour of the residents after the renovation work. Before the renovation, heating was often used sparingly; after the renovation, this is often no longer consistently the case. The result: heating energy consumption decreases less than expected.

It is therefore important to be aware of the rebound effect. The effect in a nutshell: an energy-efficient renovation only saves energy if heating and electricity consumption are just as economical afterwards as they were before.

(Photo: © Melk Hagelslag, Pixabay)