The Bavarian Solar Energy Promotion Association (SeV) is offering the 27,000 euro competition for architecturally and technically sophisticated solar systems for the 7th time The use of solar energy in and on buildings is a central topic in the context of energy-efficient construction. Solar technology systems should be a natural component of innovative building envelopes as well as building blocks of energy-efficient renovation. The task [...]
Kategorie für Blog: Ecology
613 posts
In an elaborate programme, NDR devoted itself to the topic of "Who owns the road? Anyone who cycles a lot will know many of the situations shown only too well. Examples from northern Germany, including Oldenburg and Hamburg, as well as the Koppenhagen model with wide and demarcated cycle paths and the first high-speed cycle path in Germany in NRW "SR1" are shown, but the sense of cycle lanes on the road is also discussed.
For the third time, the BMEL awarded prizes to innovative and pioneering building projects that make significant use of wood and other renewable raw materials. From a total of 127 submissions, a ten-member jury selected eight outstanding building projects and a further 12 special competition entries. The eight winners in the new construction and [...]
The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is creating more space for cyclists and pedestrians - and wants to push cars out of the city in the long term. Everything else is "old-fashioned". Read what is planned in the article from 9.1.2017: www.faz.net/...paris-buergermeisterin-anne-hidalgo-sagt-autos-den-kampf-an-14611364.html
City as a pioneer of mobility change Wuppertal is making a name for itself in terms of sustainable and modern transport systems. It is not only the 100-year-old suspension railway that has long stood for the city as a symbol of innovative modes of transport. The new Nordbahn route for cyclists and pedestrians above the roofs of the city has brought great recognition nationwide. A modern [...]
It's an attitude to life: without a car, but a bike. Whereas it can also be more, to have the right bike for all undertakings, without a car it also works When the brakes of my car were rusted due to too long standing time, it was clear: I no longer need one. What does it have for [...]
After one and a half years of consultation, the black-green Hessian state government has adopted its Climate Protection Plan 2025. According to this plan, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 30 percent by 2020, by 40 percent by 2025 and by at least 90 percent by 2050 (compared to the base year 1990). By achieving these goals, Hesse aims to [...]
With a new law, Paris calls on its residents to garden the public space. Wherever possible, vertical and horizontal gardens are to be created, urban agriculture is promoted. There is even a starter kit with planting soil. Among other things, 100 hectares of living facades and roofs are to be created by 2020. Links to read more: http://inhabitat.com/paris-allows-anyone-to-plant-an-urban-garden-anywhere/ [...]
Extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain, floods and storms do not stop at property boundaries. That is why adapting to the consequences of climate change is an issue for everyone - both for politicians and administrators, who are responsible for protecting public space, and for every private owner and tenant. Task of [...]
New labelling mandatory from 1 April Since 1 April 2017, the EU energy efficiency label now also applies to wood heating systems such as pellet, woodchip and log heating systems. The energy efficiency class scale for wood heaters ranges from A++ to G, and from 26 September 2019 from A+++ to D. Pellet boilers are generally rated A+, [...]
Federal Ministry for the Environment provides 2.4 million euros from the Climate Protection Fund The Senator for the Environment, Construction and Transport and Bremen University of Applied Sciences have jointly applied for funding in a competitive procedure in the "Federal Competition for Climate Protection in Cycling" of the National Climate Initiative (NKI) for a "Bicycle Model Quarter Alte Neustadt Bremen - from bicycle street to [...]
Since February 2017, the houses of Chiemgauer Holzhaus have been able to distinguish themselves with the RAL quality mark GZ 425. This is because the solid wood houses achieve a GWP (Global Warming Potential) value of less than zero in their carbon footprint. This has been tested by the "Gütegemeinschaft CO2 neutrale Bauwerke in Holz e.V.". Taking into account all the necessary materials, such as [...]
"While cars are getting heavier and heavier and the farewell to the diesel engine is not succeeding, electric vehicles on two and three wheels have moved into the fast lane. The Zweirad-Industrie-Verband (ZIV) also published a market estimate for electrically powered cargo bikes for the first time in addition to its sales figures for 2016 presented in March. Berlin-based cargo bike expert Arne Behrensen [...]
Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl is in demand worldwide as a source of inspiration for urban redevelopment. He explains what Stuttgart can do in the face of increasing traffic and environmental problems and why he thinks nothing of self-driving cars.
Gartenstadt21 is characterised by communal organisational and financing models that ensure its development and long-term maintenance Gartenstadt21 enables adaptable and sustainable models of general involvement and participation to be developed and made permanent Gartenstadt21 brings about a qualification and networking of existing settlement and open space structures in the metropolitan region Gartenstadt21 has [...]
The share of renewable energies in total energy consumption in the EU was 16.7 percent in 2015. That is almost twice as much as a decade earlier. Compared with the previous year, the share rose by 0.6 percentage points, the statistics authority Eurostat announced on Tuesday. In 2004, when data first became available, the [...]
The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) are supporting municipalities that want to use new approaches to activate more unused land for housing construction. To this end, the cities are employing inner development managers and expanding active inner development with various building blocks. The model projects in Aalen, Berlin, Hamburg-Altona, Ludwigsfelde, Offenburg, Regensburg, Solingen and [...]
The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) has published two brochures providing information on the portals ÖKOBAUDAT and WECOBIS. WECOBIS - Web-based ecological building materials information system Download (PDF, 5MB) www.bbsr.bund.de/...2014-16/band-07-dl.pdf ÖKOBAUDAT - Basis for life cycle assessment Download (PDF, 7MB) www.bbsr.bund.de/...2017/band-09-dl.pdf
International agreements and implementation programs to limit climate change often fail to do justice to the importance of cities in CO2 mitigation, as solution approaches dominate that primarily target the level of states. Nevertheless, in some countries, national climate change targets and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are already consistently applied to regions [...]
Some cities subsidize the use of certified insulation materials with a bonus to support resource conservation, carbon storage and particularly environmentally friendly products. This also includes many insulation materials made from renewable raw materials. The overview lists the cities that grant an extra subsidy for certified natural insulation materials: Düsseldorf 10 - 25 EUR/m² Hamburg 10 EUR/m² Hanover [...]
The potential of photovoltaics (PV) has not yet been exhausted; industry and research are working intensively on further increasing the efficiency and reducing the costs of solar cells, the heart of PV power plants. For multicrystalline silicon, the workhorse of the solar cell industry, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have now achieved an efficiency of 21.9 percent, breaking the world record [...]
15.02.2017 SRU member Prof. Dr. Messari-Becker speaks today in the Bundestag as an expert on the amendment of the Building Code. The SRU welcomes the new area category "Urban Area". However, the noise protection level in these areas must not be lowered. It is also problematic that the amendment is also intended to promote construction activity on the outskirts of settlements.
Today, almost everyone has a mobile phone; that was different 20 years ago. Sometimes, contrary to forecasts, technical change can happen very quickly. In 20 years, scientists say, one in two of us will be driving an electric car. Read the Feb. 22, 2017, article in Perspective Daily [Editor's note: In [...]
According to the PC Price Index, prices for photovoltaic modules from all regions of the world fell by an average of over 15 % to between €0.40 and €0.57/Wp in the last 12 months.
More than 1.7 million CarSharing users in Germany The number of CarSharing users in Germany rose sharply again in 2016. On 01.01.2017, a good 1.7 million customers were registered with German CarSharing providers. This is 36 percent more than in the previous year. The federal government now wants to promote the further spread of the service by [...]
In the Federal Republic of Germany, more than 720 million square metres of building space have been covered with polystyrene since the Second World War. Now, according to manager magazin, a series of major fires in the industry has startled the insurance industry. According to the report, the insurance industry is now openly advising against the use of Styrofoam not only as an insulating material for commercial buildings, but also [...]
With the targets for the Climate Protection Plan 2050, the German government is pursuing ambitious plans. For the building sector, this means that a nearly climate-neutral building stock is to be achieved by 2050. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs has launched model projects, such as Efficiency Houses Plus in Old Buildings, with which ways of achieving this [...]
Classic building material in a flexible system Wood is considered a visually and haptically appealing material, it is sustainable, renewable and usually readily available. However, the fact that wood is also suitable almost without restriction for use in multi-storey building construction is new and requires a creative approach to the previously practised method of building construction. Modern timber construction [...]
City planners present two new scenarios for Patrick Henry Village at the IBA Citizens' Forum. Both plan with more residents.
At least 18 million birds die each year from bird strikes on glass. It is more than disconcerting that the 100,000 to 200,000 victims of wind energy are discussed so intensively, but the main causes of bird deaths are not.
The blog against the building mania Daniel Fuhrhop published the book "Verbietet das Bauen!" by oekom Verlag on August 24, 2015. The blog bears the same title and messages on the subject are published accordingly. The central thesis in Fuhrhop's book and blog: "Building new is often associated with waste and prestige addiction [...].
Publication of the final report The project "Energy Sufficiency - Strategies and Instruments for a Technical, Systemic and Cultural Transformation to Sustainably Limit Energy Demand in the Consumer Field of Building/Housing", funded by the BMBF, was successfully completed at the end of 2016. The project investigated how energy-sufficiency-related everyday routines, social practices and lifestyle aspects can be reconciled with the requirements of a [...]
How people live and what mobility services they find in their surroundings determine the costs and the environmental balance of their daily journeys. Municipalities and companies can reduce housing costs with measures for sustainable mobility.
Broadcast: 11.12.2016 Talk: KenFM Running time: 1 h 37 min 31 s Content overview: 00:10:25 The secret of trees: the perfect cycle 00:27:13 Lunar wood: how the moon influences growth 00:37:52 Real energy transition 00:41:16 Energy self-sufficient houses and: Why wood doesn't burn 00:50:06 Common good, big corporations and tax avoidance 01:02:55 Modern thermodynamics: the model of [...]
Ireland no longer wants to make money from fossil fuels. With 90 votes and 53 against, the members of the Irish parliament voted in favour of a corresponding law last Thursday. According to the law, the state-owned Strategic Investment Fund is to withdraw its money from fossil investments. The island state would be the first country to [...]
In Norderstedt, there is a housing project where you can only live if you have a special electric car with a rechargeable car charging box. Small catch: this doesn't even exist yet.
How can people be helped to leave their cars behind more often for short journeys? Answers to this question are to be provided by a new project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment. The project "Living Leads Mobility" aims to create new opportunities and offers for climate-friendly mobility in the residential environment.
