In order to accelerate the heat transition in cities, energy experts from the "Urban Heat Transition" project at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research GmbH (IÖR) recommend a mix of measures: cities should develop spatial heat planning and tap into all sustainable heat potential, such as wastewater heat. They should also expand district heating, create district heating networks - especially around public buildings - and support fair energy refurbishments in neighborhood conservation areas.
The energy experts took a closer look at Berlin in their research project. According to the energy experts, the capital is still two-thirds dependent on natural gas for heating, 17 percent on heating oil and five percent on coal. "Berlin is facing challenges in the heating transition that other cities are also familiar with: Rising rents are fuelling fears of expensive renovation projects, the change has not yet reached the districts despite funding pots and technologies such as the use of wastewater heat are only slowly being implemented," explains project manager Dr. Elisa Dunkelberg from the IÖW.
However, according to the energy experts, energy-efficient refurbishments that go beyond the statutory minimum standards are also worthwhile for tenants. According to the energy experts' calculations, the warm rent could even remain stable or even fall if landlords make use of appropriate subsidies and pass on the modernization costs fairly. Municipalities should therefore make ambitious refurbishments more possible than before, especially in areas protected by milieu protection. The energy experts have created a guide for local authorities and neighborhood managers. Interested parties can download this at urbane-waermewende.de/publikationen-1.
Source and further information: ioew.de
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