
Further information about the Ellener Hof Foundation Village:
http://sdg21.eu/db/stiftungsdorf-ellener-hof-oekologisch-gebaut-bunt-gemischt
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Further information about the Ellener Hof Foundation Village:
http://sdg21.eu/db/stiftungsdorf-ellener-hof-oekologisch-gebaut-bunt-gemischt
6/2014 Swedish housing association awards major timber construction contractSwedish housing association Rikshem Ab has signed a major contract with the northern Swedish timber construction company Lindbäcks Bygg, Piteå, to build 2,000 rental flats across the country over the next five years. The volume of the order is estimated at SEK 2 billion (equivalent to around EUR 220 million). The contract includes an option for a further 500 units. The rental flats are to be built in the country's urban centres, primarily in the capital region and the Öresund region in the south, where there is a housing shortage. Lindbäcks Bygg is a family business that was founded in 1924 as a village sawmill and generated sales of SEK 600 million in 2013 with around 200 employees. Lindbäcks started building industrially prefabricated wooden apartment blocks 20 years ago.
(Source: Holzbau Deutschland-Institut e. V.)
3/2014 large sustainable construction areas in Germany:
2/2014 Fuel cells: The world's largest fuel cell park has gone into operation in South Korea. The plant was built by the American company Fuelcell Energy in Hwaseong City. With an output of 59 megawatts, the plant converts natural gas into electricity and heat and is said to be particularly efficient. (Bloomberg)
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Europe's largest ecological neighbourhood is being built in France
A sustainable neighbourhood is to be built on more than 200 hectares for 30,000 private individuals in Montreuil, France. The neighbourhood is part of a new development area covering a total of 892 hectares and is being funded with 3.5 million euros from the NQU initiative (Nouveaux Quartiers Urbains = New Urban Districts).
www.montreuil.fr/grands-projets/les-hauts-de-montreuil
1/2014 New book publication by Rob Hopkins: "Simple. Now. Do!" Hopkins is the founder of the Transition Towns movement
www.oekom.de/buecher/vorschau/buch/einfach-jetzt-machen.html
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DE-News
In a second, somewhat more extensive update of the sdg21 web database, there were these innovations:
- the Home page was completely revised
- many new projects and Photo galleries
- the Europe projects reorganised
- FNB blog on the sdg21 website at blog.sdg21.eu moved
- Improved structuring and new plugins improve functionality
Keywords:
sdg21 news
On 18 June 2020, the German Bundestag passed the Building Energy Act (GEG) in its third reading. With this law, the federal government is combining the existing requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG) and the Energy Saving Act (EnEG). For the information programme Zukunft Altbau (Future of Old Buildings), which is supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, the specifications of the new law are not ambitious enough. To bring climate-friendly building and renovation nationwide on the way is not possible in the future. "The legislator has missed it to introduce more demanding standards," says Frank Hettler of Zukunft Altbau. "For a sustainable building stock in Germany, however, these are urgently needed to achieve the climate targets." The GEG will now be forwarded to the Bundesrat, which, however, does not require approval, and is expected to come into force by the end of the year.
The Building Energy Act brings together the previously inconsistent specifications for energy requirements for existing buildings and new buildings as well as the use of renewable energies. "Unfortunately, the opportunity to simplify, reduce bureaucracy and take climate policy necessities into account is not being seized," criticises Hettler. "With the GEG, almost nothing changes for building owners. This is a problem: the climate policy goals of the federal government and the EU, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement of the UN, cannot be achieved in this way. The goals for the building sector defined by the federal government in the Climate Protection Plan 2050 will be missed with the legal requirements if those willing to renovate are guided by them."
Important course missed
If Germany wants to achieve the climate protection targets it has set itself, new buildings and refurbishments must be significantly better in terms of energy than the GEG requires. Otherwise, in addition to the necessary purchase of CO2 certificates and high compensation payments to more exemplary EU neighbouring countries, there is also the threat of decades of lock-in effects. After all, once insufficient insulation thicknesses have been installed, they can no longer be improved economically. Buildings constructed or refurbished in accordance with legal requirements would therefore have to be refurbished again at a disproportionately early stage in order to meet future standards and climate protection requirements. If, on the other hand, they are not refurbished, this means high long-term expenses for the owners in the form of energy costs and CO2 pricing.
In accordance with European law, the next review of the GEG will not take place until 2023, when the energy standards for residential and non-residential buildings are to be further developed. In plain language, this is a further delay of several years. These long, unused periods of time, combined with the minimum standards that have been set too low - especially for renovations - are far from adequate for the building sector to make an appropriate contribution to averting the climate crisis.
Better promotion provides important support
Building owners should therefore not only adhere to the GEG specifications, but also tackle new construction and renovation with an eye to the future, recommends Hettler. The financial subsidies that have been greatly improved since this year, for example from the KfW development bank, are helpful in this respect. As a rule, they compensate for the additional costs incurred for construction measures on the building envelope. Since the beginning of the year, the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) has been awarding extensive financial subsidies for the replacement of heating systems - especially existing oil heating systems - if renewable energies are used and legal standards are exceeded.
Conclusion: Those who rely on ambitious, individually tailored energy concepts will save money in the long run - and also protect the climate, advises Hettler. In accordance with this requirement, it is advisable to use at least the KfW Efficiency House Standard (EH) 40 as a basis for new buildings and at least EH 55 as a standard for extensive renovations. To simplify the integration of local renewable energy sources such as geothermal or solar thermal energy, it is also advisable to switch to low-temperature heating systems - provided there are no restrictions such as listed buildings.
Neutral information to questions approximately around the energetic reorganization gives it also free of charge at the consulting telephone of future old building under 08000 12 33 33 (Monday to Friday from 9 to 13 o'clock) or by E-Mail to consultingphone(at)zukunftaltbau.de.
Up-to-date information on the energy-efficient refurbishment of residential buildings is also available at
www.zukunftaltbau.de
Background
Zukunft Altbau provides neutral information to home and building owners about the benefits of energy-efficient renovation and promotes qualified and holistic building energy advice. The information programme, which is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management, provides neutral, interdisciplinary and free advice. Zukunft Altbau is based in Stuttgart and is implemented by KEA Klimaschutz- und Energieagentur Baden-Württemberg.
Keywords:
Stock, DE-News, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Housing, Housing policy
In addition to the established standard for certifying the sustainability of federal buildings (BNB), the Federal Ministry of Building (BBSR) has also developed a new simplified standard for small residential buildings (BNK). As part of this standard, requirements are also defined for wood products and materials that must be met in order for them to receive full points here. Compliance with these requirements can now also be demonstrated with a WOOD FROM HERE certificate for the wood products.
Significance of the BNK for timber construction
It is the political will that new buildings in Germany should increasingly be subject to sustainability certification. So far, this has failed for the vast majority of buildings, especially smaller ones, due to the enormous costs and the considerable effort required for the corresponding certification. For this reason, the BBSR has developed a simplified standard for small residential buildings. This standard can now be used to certify single-family or multi-family houses more easily. In the meantime, various prefabricated house manufacturers offer their customers a corresponding sustainability certification.
What are the benefits for companies in the timber industry with a certificate for timber from here?
Manufacturers of timber construction products can now fulfil the requirements of the BNK for timber products used by means of a Holz von Hier certificate as an alternative to FSC or PEFC as proof of sustainable forest management. These requirements are set out in the standard's information sheet 3.3.1.
This is of course especially true for timber construction companies in case they want to offer their customers a corresponding certification according to the BNK. In addition to the suitability for the BNK standard, wood from here also offers a direct marketing advantage for timber construction companies, as regionally manufactured products are experiencing a growing trend among consumers and they can thus address a growing target group of environmentally conscious buyers.
The use of the Holz von Hier certification system is very simple for interested companies and involves little administrative, personnel and financial effort. The product- or object-related issuing of a certificate is carried out via an electronic controlling system, similar to the one used in the German biogas register in the context of carbon certificate trading. Holz von Hier thus offers companies in the timber industry additional market opportunities without complicating or restricting their operations.
PM from holz-von-hier.eu 2/2018
Keywords:
NBB, BNK, Certification & Labels