Retrofit Plan for Federal Buildings: A Special Study to Quantify Rebound Effects After Thermal Retrofits of Non-Residential Buildings/ Federal Properties

 

Finished Project (10/2013 - 6/2014), funded by the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research (BBSR), within the Federal Bureau for Building and Planning (BBR)

 

The Federal government is aiming to reduce heating energy consumption in its properties by 20% by the year 2020, in conformity with commitments by the wider public service, and for this it has developed a building retrofit plan. Current practice tends to over-estimate savings potential through retrofits, as it bases this on pre-and post-retrofit calculated consumption rather than actual consumption. In this respect, as is well-known, the ‘rebound effect’ means that the level of predicted savings is seldom achieved in practice. In order to estimate savings potential more accurately there needs to be an investigation and comparison of actual and calculated energy consumption.

This project, commissioned by the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research, explores the questions: what levels of rebound effects can be expected after retrofits of office and administration buildings; what are their causes; and how can these be reduced. To answer these questions a methodology has been developed, to determine the magnitude of rebound effects in non-residential buildings. This is being tested in case studies of three to five buildings. Alongside estimates of rebound effects from the buildings’ theoretical and actual consumption and data, interviews will be conducted with users of the buildings. Finally, the technical and interview data will be analysed and recommendations made, both for reducing rebound effects and for refining the methodology.

Research partners

• Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW), Berlin (Dr. Julika Weiß, Anna Neumann)
• Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), Aachen (Prof. Reinhard Madlener, Dr. Ray Galvin)
• BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Cottbus (Prof. Dr. Bernd Hirschl, Doreen Grossmann)

Project Publications

Weiß J., Galvin R., Großmann D., Madlener R., Hirschl B. (2014). Sanierungsfahrplan Bundesbauten: Sondierungsstudie zur Quantifizierung von Rebound-Effekten bei der energetischen Sanierung von Nichtwohngebäuden/ Bundesliegenschaften, Endbericht, Studie von IÖW / FCN / BTU C-S im Auftrag des Bundesinstitutes für Bau-, Stadtentwicklung und Raumforschung (BBSR) im Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (BBR), September.