Dear Forum,
Since 2014, we have owned our semi-detached house from 1962. There is significant renovation needed, and now we are ready to start. The following measures are planned:
- Replacement of windows and doors
- Heating system change from a central oil-fired stove to a gas central heating system (condensing boiler including solar thermal)
- Roof insulation and re-roofing
- Renovation of the existing bathroom plus installation of a new bathroom in the converted attic
That’s quite a project. Altogether, this will cost around 180,000€ (approximately 195,000 USD). We plan to finance it with 25,000€ (about 27,000 USD) of equity, 50,000€ (around 54,000 USD) from KfW individual measure funding, and a bank loan of 105,000€ (about 114,000 USD). This plan does not include external insulation.
For the KfW individual measures, we need a certified energy consultant from the official expert list. The consultant now recommends the KfW 115 standard house: this would include external insulation (mineral wool) and different windows with a lower U-value. The additional costs are about 28,800€ (approximately 31,400 USD), according to a quote from a renovation company. Only two of the three walls would be insulated; the south side is clad externally with lime panels, giving the house a nice 60s look. We would want to keep this anyway; for the KfW 115 option, lime-silicate panels would be installed on the interior walls on that side.
We are actually leaning towards the option without insulation. I don’t really see the advantages, and anyway I think that if we have problems after replacing the windows in the non-insulated version, we could at worst adjust with lime-silicate panels later. What do you think? Tomorrow we’re going to the bank first, and a comparison meeting with Interhyp is also planned. Oh, and we currently live in the house, as we used to rent it before.
Best regards and many thanks for your ideas,
Stefan
Since 2014, we have owned our semi-detached house from 1962. There is significant renovation needed, and now we are ready to start. The following measures are planned:
- Replacement of windows and doors
- Heating system change from a central oil-fired stove to a gas central heating system (condensing boiler including solar thermal)
- Roof insulation and re-roofing
- Renovation of the existing bathroom plus installation of a new bathroom in the converted attic
That’s quite a project. Altogether, this will cost around 180,000€ (approximately 195,000 USD). We plan to finance it with 25,000€ (about 27,000 USD) of equity, 50,000€ (around 54,000 USD) from KfW individual measure funding, and a bank loan of 105,000€ (about 114,000 USD). This plan does not include external insulation.
For the KfW individual measures, we need a certified energy consultant from the official expert list. The consultant now recommends the KfW 115 standard house: this would include external insulation (mineral wool) and different windows with a lower U-value. The additional costs are about 28,800€ (approximately 31,400 USD), according to a quote from a renovation company. Only two of the three walls would be insulated; the south side is clad externally with lime panels, giving the house a nice 60s look. We would want to keep this anyway; for the KfW 115 option, lime-silicate panels would be installed on the interior walls on that side.
We are actually leaning towards the option without insulation. I don’t really see the advantages, and anyway I think that if we have problems after replacing the windows in the non-insulated version, we could at worst adjust with lime-silicate panels later. What do you think? Tomorrow we’re going to the bank first, and a comparison meeting with Interhyp is also planned. Oh, and we currently live in the house, as we used to rent it before.
Best regards and many thanks for your ideas,
Stefan
Has the energy consultant already prepared a detailed calculation outlining what exactly needs to be done to meet the requirements? Achieving the KfW 115 standard is difficult with a gas heating system.
I would first have everything carefully calculated to see if it is “worth it”—there are a few more criteria to fulfill compared to individual measures. If one area has worse values, you have to compensate elsewhere. This also includes insulation against the ground, and if there is an exterior cladding on the facade that is to remain, does that mean 16 cm (6 inches) of insulation needs to be applied to the inside of the wall? A thickness of 2–3 cm (1 inch) won’t be enough in that case.
We bought a house built in 1976 that was already pretty well insulated, but we had to add 16 cm (6 inches) all around the lower part, 6 cm (2.5 inches) on the facade above (actually 10 cm (4 inches) would have been better, but due to no roof overhang it wasn’t possible), 10 cm (4 inches) underfloor insulation, 20 cm (8 inches) in the attic, completely new windows and front door, a new heating system, etc. And even with all that, we barely met the requirements. I really recommend having the energy consultant run a detailed calculation with their software.
I would first have everything carefully calculated to see if it is “worth it”—there are a few more criteria to fulfill compared to individual measures. If one area has worse values, you have to compensate elsewhere. This also includes insulation against the ground, and if there is an exterior cladding on the facade that is to remain, does that mean 16 cm (6 inches) of insulation needs to be applied to the inside of the wall? A thickness of 2–3 cm (1 inch) won’t be enough in that case.
We bought a house built in 1976 that was already pretty well insulated, but we had to add 16 cm (6 inches) all around the lower part, 6 cm (2.5 inches) on the facade above (actually 10 cm (4 inches) would have been better, but due to no roof overhang it wasn’t possible), 10 cm (4 inches) underfloor insulation, 20 cm (8 inches) in the attic, completely new windows and front door, a new heating system, etc. And even with all that, we barely met the requirements. I really recommend having the energy consultant run a detailed calculation with their software.
Hello Elina,
the energy consultant has, of course, calculated this in detail. He estimates a reduction of the primary energy demand from about 340 kWh/m2 to 78 kWh/m2. I also did a rough calculation myself using the BMWi renovation configurator, and that seems to be roughly accurate. The fact is, we have to take action; the ‘small’ solutions we considered last year are all not feasible because if I change something in one area (for example, the heating system), I will have to start elsewhere as well (in this case, the electrical system). Insulating would then just be an additional step; according to my calculations, the interest savings from the higher repayment bonus possible with KfW 115 wouldn’t be that significant anyway. But I still need to wait for the appointment with the bank.
the energy consultant has, of course, calculated this in detail. He estimates a reduction of the primary energy demand from about 340 kWh/m2 to 78 kWh/m2. I also did a rough calculation myself using the BMWi renovation configurator, and that seems to be roughly accurate. The fact is, we have to take action; the ‘small’ solutions we considered last year are all not feasible because if I change something in one area (for example, the heating system), I will have to start elsewhere as well (in this case, the electrical system). Insulating would then just be an additional step; according to my calculations, the interest savings from the higher repayment bonus possible with KfW 115 wouldn’t be that significant anyway. But I still need to wait for the appointment with the bank.
The repayment grant has increased significantly. When we renovated back then under the old guidelines, we received 3,000 euros, but now it would have been 10,500 euros *crying
However, the effort required to meet all the requirements was considerable.
An advantage of the energy-efficient house compared to individual measures is that personal labor is allowed.
However, the effort required to meet all the requirements was considerable.
An advantage of the energy-efficient house compared to individual measures is that personal labor is allowed.
P
Peanuts742 Aug 2016 12:09How large is the house actually, and what did it cost? After all, for €180,000 you can almost get a small semi-detached house (without land, etc.).
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