My question about building a new KfW 55 or better house: What exactly does it mean? Yesterday, I spoke with the managing director of a public construction company, and he advised me not to build a KfW house.
a) You would need a building supervisor (who is also specialized in this field).
b) If you insulate the house well, etc., the additional costs are low.
Furthermore, he recommended using a gas boiler + solar including battery instead of an air-to-water heat pump + solar including battery. The initial costs are much lower, and you will never recover the higher acquisition costs.
I am a bit confused. I originally planned to build at least a KfW 55 house.
For your information, our plot is fully developed, and a gas connection is available.
a) You would need a building supervisor (who is also specialized in this field).
b) If you insulate the house well, etc., the additional costs are low.
Furthermore, he recommended using a gas boiler + solar including battery instead of an air-to-water heat pump + solar including battery. The initial costs are much lower, and you will never recover the higher acquisition costs.
I am a bit confused. I originally planned to build at least a KfW 55 house.
For your information, our plot is fully developed, and a gas connection is available.
pagoni2020 schrieb:
That's right!
It's always about the bigger picture, especially considering personal lifestyle. That is actually the general consensus here.
For example, my parents didn’t even know the word ecology. Back then, people used chemicals in the garden that are now mostly banned, and lived in essentially uninsulated houses heated with oil or wood. All of this wasn’t that long ago.
Yet, overall, they achieved ecological values that none of us today could even come close to reaching—and certainly wouldn’t want to.
No car, no travel, vegetables and fruit only from the garden, forest or neighbors, hardly any meat and if so, slaughtered themselves, homemade pasta, and no unnecessary consumption or energy-consuming technology, etc.
This is not meant to be the old cliché that "everything was better in the past," because it wasn’t, and I do appreciate innovation, a comfortable life, and beautiful things.
But this generation could rightfully have called themselves super-ecologists given their overall lifestyle, which they considered normal and possible.
When I see this comparison with our (including my own) consumption today, none of us can honestly consider ourselves ecologically responsible, with or without certification.
For this reason, I am critical of all these certificates, because our current lifestyle simply cannot be ecological.
We would have to give up so many conveniences (which I would be reluctant to do), and many people could not manage at all.
We should be honest with ourselves, whether or not we have a KfW certification or something else.
The best approach is for everyone to start on their own...
I welcome every nature-preserving action; for example, I plan to barely develop my property and just leave it as a meadow in its natural state. However, I am aware that even the excavator digging the foundation causes irreversible damage to the ecosystem of this beautiful, large meadow, regardless of whether I build a parking lot, playground, or house on it. For me, the main issue was the common small talk nonsense claiming that battery storage (whether in cars or homes) is the worst thing in the world, while combustion engines are the solution to all environmental problems, and are supposedly environmentally friendly both in production and operation—and that battery solutions are bad.
I visited the local construction company today. They offer KfW 55 standard, but they mentioned that only one of the recently built houses actually met the full KfW criteria. Their recommendation was to use red bricks, as they provide the best comfort. They also offer an air-to-water heat pump combined with a photovoltaic system, which they consider the best combination. They do not personally recommend controlled mechanical ventilation. The approximate price will be around €1,300 - €1,500 net. The offer is for a turnkey house excluding painting. They will draw up a floor plan and calculate the costs precisely based on it. After that, the plans will be finalized by architects. So, it looks like it will not be a full KfW-certified house.
The company made a very good impression, so I’m curious to see how it goes.
The company made a very good impression, so I’m curious to see how it goes.
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T_im_Norden25 Jun 2020 19:09These statements are too vague for me. Controlled residential ventilation is sometimes avoided because it involves more work for the company. Without more detailed information, it cannot be properly assessed. Does he have a construction specification?
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nordanney25 Jun 2020 19:24Ybias78 schrieb:
He personally does not recommend controlled residential ventilation. Why? It requires extra effort (for the contractor) and increases the price (which looks bad in the cost per square meter for the customer). There are no rational reasons.
Ybias78 schrieb:
So it seems it won’t be a KfW house. Every new house is a KfW house. Specifically, an Efficiency House 100, which exactly meets the energy-saving regulations.
T_im_Norden schrieb:
These statements seem too vague to me; controlled residential ventilation is sometimes avoided because it requires more effort from the company.
Without more detailed information, it’s impossible to assess.
Does he have a construction scope description? He is one of the main builders in the area, including prestigious projects.
He is providing me with a quote that also includes controlled residential ventilation. That was my initial impression. I will know more once the quote arrives.
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pagoni202025 Jun 2020 21:52Ybias78 schrieb:
I visited a local construction company today. They offer kfw55 standard houses, but out of the houses they recently built, only one met KfW standards. Their recommendation was to use red bricks, as they provide the best comfort. They also offer an air-to-water heat pump combined with a photovoltaic system, which they consider the best combination. However, they do not personally recommend controlled ventilation systems. The estimated price would be around 1,300 € - 1,500 € net. Turnkey delivery without painting. They will draft a floor plan and calculate costs based on that. Then it goes to architects who finalize the design. So, it looks like it won’t be a KfW-certified house after all.
They made a very good impression; I’m curious to see how it goes. That already sounds quite good. Of course, you can and should critically question their statements, but they may be able to show you reference projects. My former house was built with 36cm (14 inch) bricks at that time, and I enjoyed living there. Naturally, the floor plan, window placement, and many other factors are also very important. Personally, I prefer to rely on someone who gives me a solid, down-to-earth impression and recommends what they know well.
However, with the floor plan, I would definitely want my very personal needs to be reflected.
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