ᐅ Is the Energy Saving Regulation from 2021 making new construction unaffordable?

Well, it wasn’t meant entirely seriously.
Usually, you need additional insulation under the slab, on the walls, and under the roof. Possibly better windows as well. Furthermore, everything must be done very precisely—there must be no gaps, cracks in the membranes, etc.
What I wanted to express is that, in practice, the difference hardly exists; it is really only noticeable on the certificate from the energy consultant and on the general contractor’s invoice.
Comfort gains or heating cost savings are virtually nonexistent.

Mottenhausen schrieb:
There seems to be some confusion here. Energy Saving Ordinance 16 = KfW70, not 55!

The next Energy Saving Ordinance will then be KfW55, 40, or 40+. I’m guessing 40+, because with mandatory smart energy management, you can visually demonstrate how efficient a house is using colorful animations. Otherwise, not much will change. KfW55 is only demanding if you (like us) want to stick with a gas boiler. That requires a few extra centimeters of insulation and a controlled mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. If you replace the gas boiler in a gas-heated, mechanically ventilated KfW55 house with an air-to-water heat pump, you almost automatically get a KfW40 house. Add photovoltaics on the roof, a battery in the utility room, and an iPad on the wall, and suddenly it’s KfW40+.

Many builders are already installing photovoltaics anyway.

For prefab home manufacturers, this is not an issue at all (for example, Streif Haus already advertises: "every house we build is KfW40").

Structural shell builders will have to adapt because monolithic, single-layer construction won’t be so easy anymore. 24cm (10 inches) Ytong Town & Country houses will finally be a thing of the past. Not necessarily a bad thing.

PS. Building costs are increasing year by year.

I’m aware that the Energy Saving Ordinance is not equal to KfW55, but many manufacturers now offer KfW55 as standard and no longer include the Energy Saving Ordinance in their lineup—especially in timber frame construction.

I can’t really observe the KfW 55 standard being widely used, at least not in the single-family home sector around here, and timber frame construction is still rather rare, definitely not more than 10%. When the KfW offered attractive terms in 2016/17, some people built to the KfW 55 standard, including us. However, most of the homeowners currently building are going back to the standard energy saving ordinance requirements.

When we were searching, the timber frame companies we contacted did not offer houses compliant with the energy-saving regulations. KfW 55 or upgraded to KfW 40.
And these were not just regional companies.
Weberhaus, Schwörerhaus, Hanse Haus, Albert-Haus, Rensch-Haus, Kampa, Streif Haus, and several others.

It was different with solid construction houses.

It is hardly possible to build worse with a wooden frame. The 25-year-old wooden frame house of my parents would easily meet the 2016 energy saving standards with new windows and a heat pump; add photovoltaic panels on the roof, and it would be a KfW 55 efficiency standard.

My position is that raising insulation standards to reduce CO2 emissions leads to an unreasonable increase in construction costs, ventilation systems, photovoltaic systems, blower door tests, and so on. This drives up rents. Not good. K.