ᐅ Buying a New Single-Family Home: Is the Energy Efficiency Standard Currently Required by Building Codes Likely to Be Adequate in the Future?
Created on: 3 Mar 2021 10:22
A
Atilla08
Hello everyone,
I have recently become a member of this forum and have mainly been reading quietly and gathering information so far. My research on the above-mentioned topic has not yielded satisfactory results, which is why I am now starting my first thread.
We are a family of four and are in the process of purchasing a detached house with about 165m2 (1,775 sq ft) of living space and a large plot of land in the Hamburg area or its surroundings. This is a new build project being carried out by Bonava.
To keep it brief: Bonava only builds according to the Energy Saving Ordinance standard. The energy is supplied via district heating. There is no possibility to improve the efficiency. A few weeks ago, I inquired whether the standard double-glazed windows could be replaced with triple-glazed ones, and this was later confirmed as possible. So, an upgrade would have been available for a small additional cost.
However, two days ago, I received a call stating this would no longer be possible because some neighbors had previously asked the same question and were denied (for reasons unknown). They now want to apply the same rules to all buyers, even though I was promised otherwise.
I am upset about this and am now considering abandoning the whole project because I feel like I am buying a house with outdated technology. Although it is only the windows, in my understanding, they already make a significant difference.
According to the preliminary energy certificate, the energy demand is 82.3 kWh/(m2 x a) which falls in category C, and the primary energy demand is 51.0 kWh/(m2 x a), which is category A.
Since I am a complete novice, I would really like to hear the opinions of experienced people. I am truly only interested in finding out whether I am getting a solid house or an energy guzzler. Please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong section.
I hope to receive well-informed, helpful, and meaningful feedback.
Best regards
Atilla
I have recently become a member of this forum and have mainly been reading quietly and gathering information so far. My research on the above-mentioned topic has not yielded satisfactory results, which is why I am now starting my first thread.
We are a family of four and are in the process of purchasing a detached house with about 165m2 (1,775 sq ft) of living space and a large plot of land in the Hamburg area or its surroundings. This is a new build project being carried out by Bonava.
To keep it brief: Bonava only builds according to the Energy Saving Ordinance standard. The energy is supplied via district heating. There is no possibility to improve the efficiency. A few weeks ago, I inquired whether the standard double-glazed windows could be replaced with triple-glazed ones, and this was later confirmed as possible. So, an upgrade would have been available for a small additional cost.
However, two days ago, I received a call stating this would no longer be possible because some neighbors had previously asked the same question and were denied (for reasons unknown). They now want to apply the same rules to all buyers, even though I was promised otherwise.
I am upset about this and am now considering abandoning the whole project because I feel like I am buying a house with outdated technology. Although it is only the windows, in my understanding, they already make a significant difference.
According to the preliminary energy certificate, the energy demand is 82.3 kWh/(m2 x a) which falls in category C, and the primary energy demand is 51.0 kWh/(m2 x a), which is category A.
Since I am a complete novice, I would really like to hear the opinions of experienced people. I am truly only interested in finding out whether I am getting a solid house or an energy guzzler. Please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong section.
I hope to receive well-informed, helpful, and meaningful feedback.
Best regards
Atilla
You can’t waste money more senselessly than on insulation. Most of it will never pay off, unfortunately. I would buy a house built to energy-saving regulations without hesitation; the KfW frenzy is just pushed on us. And whether windows are double- or triple-glazed makes almost no difference in heating costs. There are completely different factors at play. I would ALWAYS choose a good double-glazed window over a triple-glazed one.
We never really got comfortable with the whole fuss. Most of it will never pay off over its lifetime, and there are side effects as well. For example, the ventilation system with heat recovery. Recently, it caused us to reach a new low record of less than 20% humidity. Now, expensive electric humidifiers are standing around here. Our supposedly great heat pump costs over 400 euros in maintenance each year. This basically negates all the efficiency calculations. On top of that, the compressor has already broken once. Since the warranty has expired, another failure like this would almost be a total loss. I could list many more issues, but the truly good thing is: we’re moving out soon 🙂
I’m telling you, be careful with heat pumps. Everyone on this street who has one has already needed repairs multiple times within the first three years—nothing here is older than that—and the technicians are always busy fixing them. Those of us with gas heating haven’t had any issues, apart from maintenance contracts, which cost us about 160 euros (approximately 175 USD) per year including tax. I argue that these systems are still too prone to faults, regardless of the manufacturer.
I also have controlled ventilation for the living space. Control means I can seal the house whenever I want.
I also have controlled ventilation for the living space. Control means I can seal the house whenever I want.
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