Meeting Energy Concept Targets for Residential Retrofits in Germany

The briefing examines the feasibility of Germany's goal to reduce building primary energy requirements by 80% by 2050. It finds that deep thermal retrofits for multi-family houses are economically viable for owners who capture full energy savings, especially when supported by KfW loans and grants. To achieve a 2% annual retrofit rate, public support would need to increase to between 2 billion and 8 billion EUR per year, depending on the energy standard targeted. If these targets are met, Germany could save 110 TWh and 7.5 billion EUR in energy bills annually by 2020.

• The German government's 2010 Energy Concept aims to reduce the primary energy requirement of buildings by 80% by 2050 and increase the annual thermal retrofit rate from 0.8% to 2%.
• Energy-related incremental costs for retrofitting multi-family houses to the new building standard range from 80 to 185 EUR/m2, while costs to reach 55% of that standard range from 105 to 230 EUR/m2.
• Deep thermal retrofits are economically viable for building owners across all cost estimates if they capture full energy savings and utilize KfW public support, which covers approximately one-third of costs for the new building standard and 50% for the 55% standard.
• To achieve a 2% annual retrofit rate without increasing individual support levels, annual public funding would need to rise to 2-4 billion EUR for the new building standard, or 4-8 billion EUR for the 55% standard.
• By 2020, Germany could save 110 TWh of energy and 7.5 billion EUR in energy bills annually if retrofits average 70% of the new building standard and tighten to 55% by 2015.
• Approximately 70% of German residential units were built before 1978, prior to the first energy ordinance, making them the primary target for retrofit efforts.

APA

Neuhoff, K., Amecke, H., Stelmakh, K., Rosenberg, A., & Novikova, A. (2011). Meeting Energy Concept Targets for Residential Retrofits in Germany. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Costs-Benefits-and-Financial-Support-for-Thermal-Retrofit.pdf

Chicago

Neuhoff, Karsten, Hermann Amecke, Kateryna Stelmakh, Anja Rosenberg, and Aleksandra Novikova. Meeting Energy Concept Targets for Residential Retrofits in Germany. Climate Policy Initiative, 2011. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Costs-Benefits-and-Financial-Support-for-Thermal-Retrofit.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Neuhoff |first1=Karsten |last2=Amecke |first2=Hermann |last3=Stelmakh |first3=Kateryna |last4=Rosenberg |first4=Anja |last5=Novikova |first5=Aleksandra |title=Meeting Energy Concept Targets for Residential Retrofits in Germany |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=May 2011 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Costs-Benefits-and-Financial-Support-for-Thermal-Retrofit.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{neuhoff2011meeting, author = {Neuhoff, Karsten and Amecke, Hermann and Stelmakh, Kateryna and Rosenberg, Anja and Novikova, Aleksandra}, title = {{Meeting Energy Concept Targets for Residential Retrofits in Germany}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2011}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Costs-Benefits-and-Financial-Support-for-Thermal-Retrofit.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }