ᐅ Energy-Free House with Octopus Energy and Roth Massivhaus?

nordanney schrieb:

And in winter at -10°C (14°F) with snowfall?

Well, it depends on the time period considered, and as @RotorMotor also mentioned – in the end, I sell significantly more than I need to buy, so overall it balances out to approximately zero by the end of the year.

Marketing. Just throw out a few buzzwords, add some English phrases, and suddenly lots of people fall for it. For example: highly efficient heat pump — it’s just a standard basic heat pump from Vaillant. Every photovoltaic system has a smart meter. Overall, it’s a KfW 40+ house, but that doesn’t sound as impressive. Final energy demand 14 kWh according to the energy performance certificate. Just wait until the occupants don’t behave exactly as specified. And so on. When I then read that this is the first house in Germany with no energy costs at all, that’s borderline misleading.

Rübe1 schrieb:

when I read that it’s the first house in Germany with no energy costs,

To me, that sounds different. It only means “energy cost-free” for the residents.
The term “zero-energy-cost house” does not refer to zero consumption, but to zero costs, limited to 5 or 10 years. There is a quota that is centrally managed by Octopus.
“The zero-bills concept is simple: we handle the complexity, so our customers don’t have to worry about anything. Green technologies like solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps installed in the houses make it possible! Underneath these assets, our technology platform Kraken manages and intelligently optimizes consumption. We want it to be easy for our customers. Hardly anyone wants to constantly manage their home’s energy use. The zero-energy-cost house completely eliminates that risk for them.”

ypg schrieb:

It reads differently to me. It is only "energy cost-free" for the occupants.

Okay, then I'll just rephrase the sentence to reassure you. The result remains the same. And if I add x euros on top of my selling price beforehand, I can even guarantee zero energy costs for y years. That’s just fooling people.

Zero-energy houses are the natural evolution of passive houses and have now become quite mainstream. For those focused on achieving the best possible energy balance, the current goal is to build plus-energy houses (meaning they produce more energy than they consume overall).

Fraunhofer has had, I believe, an efficiency house+ calculator for about 10 years, which allows you to adjust parameters to see what is needed to reach that standard.

Rübe1 schrieb:

Alright, then I'll rephrase the sentence so you can be reassured.

I'm not getting upset.
This isn't about the house itself, but rather the concept behind Octopus. It reads like a 5-year contract with an allocated amount of energy that Octopus controls for you externally. They activate energy for you when it's cheaper. The fact that the house already uses very little energy due to photovoltaic panels and storage systems is simply because it’s a passive house. However, the discussion is about the additional energy the passive house requires.
“However, the Zero Bills Homes concept does not allow for unlimited energy consumption in the homes. The Zero Bills Homes include a so-called ‘fair allowance’, which is individually based on your household’s consumption. Octopus Energy defines this as a free electricity allowance that you receive as a Zero Bills customer. If your annual electricity allowance is used up, any additional electricity you need will be automatically supplied through the provider’s cheapest standard tariff.”