June 17, 2025, 3:50 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Government Plans for Climate-Friendly Heating Stir Concerns Plans for more climate-friendly heating systems are already causing significant unrest. Now, Construction Minister Geywitz raises questions about the value of insulation: What benefits both the climate and the wallet?
Wrapping the house tightly to retain heat–is that really the best for climate protection? Building Minister Klara Geywitz has her doubts. Ever stricter insulation regulations have made construction very expensive, the SPD politician said a few days ago. There are questions about whether the additional costs for insulation are in a reasonable ratio to the energy saved. And greenhouse gases are also produced during the manufacture of insulation materials. With this, the minister is opening a new can of worms in the heated heating debate and risking a potential conflict with Climate Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). After all, stricter requirements for energy-efficient buildings are in the coalition agreement. Ambitious goals are also being debated at the EU level. For homeowners, the situation is not necessarily becoming clearer. However, experts can shed some light on the matter. How sensible is insulation really for the climate and one’s finances?
“Energy-efficient renovations offer enormous potential”
Christian Handwerk, an expert in energy-efficient construction at the Consumer Center of North Rhine-Westphalia, advises distinguishing between newly built houses and older properties. From Handwerk’s perspective, the insulation debate mainly concerns existing buildings: “Our problem is bigger there than in the new construction sector.”
The German Energy Agency Dena has the numbers. The approximately 22 million buildings account for 35 percent of Germany’s energy consumption. About three-quarters of the stock was built before 1979, without thermal protection requirements. According to Dena, unsanctioned old buildings require three to five times the amount of energy for space heating and hot water than is technically possible today. “Energy-efficient renovations thus offer enormous potential to reduce our energy consumption,” the energy agency confirms.
Geywitz has support from the states
But is very thick facade insulation really worthwhile? Geywitz said at a construction congress: “At first, it is very sensible because what I insulate, I save on ancillary costs. But at the latest from EH55, there are many question marks about whether the money spent on additional insulation is in a reasonable ratio to the energy saved.” EH55 means a requirement of 55 percent of the energy of a comparable new building.
Geywitz promptly received support from the states. “What Klara Geywitz is now expressing has long been my position,” said Nicole Razavi (CDU), chairwoman of the Building Ministers’ Conference. “We must succeed in combining affordability and climate protection in housing construction.” North Rhine-Westphalia’s Building Minister Ina Scharrenbach (also CDU) emphasized that solutions for residential areas must increasingly be considered, not just individual houses.
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“Sensible insulation also benefits the wallet”
Energy expert Handwerk sees it differently and says: “Sensible insulation also benefits the wallet.” To achieve EH55, an older house, for example, needs facade insulation of 16 to 18 centimeters. This investment pays off within twelve years at an energy price of 14 cents per kilowatt-hour. However, the lifespan of the insulation is longer, perhaps 40 years.
Looking at this span, even thicker insulation is worthwhile, Handwerk believes. This maintains the property’s value–uninsulated buildings will be harder to sell in the future.
The expert also disputes concerns that CO2 emissions from the production of insulation materials call its benefits into question. “That’s really nonsense.” The insulation saves much more emissions than production causes–by a factor of 15 to 20, Handwerk says. This is also how a report from the Institute for Thermal Insulation Research, which the industry itself commissioned, presents it.
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The debate is first taking place in Brussels
The political debate is likely to gain momentum both at the federal and EU levels. The coalition agreement of the SPD, Greens, and FDP states regarding the Building Energy Act (GEG): “On January 1, 2024, for major expansions, conversions, and extensions of existing buildings in the (Building Energy Act), the standards will be adjusted so that the parts to be replaced correspond to EH70; in the GEG, the new building standards will be aligned with KfW-EH 40 on January 1, 2025.”
These agreements remain valid, emphasizes the office of Climate Minister Habeck. Insulation remains important, even if heating with renewable energies–because they are also only available in limited quantities. According to a study by Agora Energiewende, the heat demand in buildings must decrease by 39 percent for the equation for a climate-neutral Germany to work out overall.
Habeck’s office is avoiding open lines of conflict for now. The insulation requirements that currently apply for funding from the KfW banking group will not be adopted one-to-one, a spokeswoman explains. A new “requirement system” is needed, which “will follow the currently negotiated revision of the European building directive.” This likely means: They are waiting for the European framework before the construction and climate ministries argue.
In Brussels, the EU states and the European Parliament currently have different plans for energy savings in buildings and possible renovation obligations. A quick agreement is not expected, says a spokesman for the Swedish Council Presidency. At least not before mid-year, when Sweden hands over the presidency to Spain.
with material from dpa