Anja and Philip: Renovation in Senden
Anja and Philip Geißler bought their house in Senden in 2019, which they moved into in November 2020. The previous owner of the house wanted to spend her 90th birthday there, so the renovation work only started a few months after the purchase.
The house dates back to 1971, so renovation made sense for a number of reasons. It was important to Anja and Philip to comply with the previous owner's wishes and to preserve the house in principle. In addition, the basic substance of the house was still good and the structure was in good order. Another advantage was the attractive funding for renovations in existing buildings.
Anja and Philip's tip: Take care early, think ahead and allow for lead time with contractors!
Important: Counselling
As part of the climate protection weeks in the district of Coesfeld, the climate protection manager of the Senden municipality, Petra Volmerg, organised an information event on the topic of renovation. Anja and Philip attended the event and talked to Sven Kersten from the EnergyAgency.NRW, who gave them important tips for the upcoming renovation. An independent energy advisor, who is partly funded by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), also assisted with the implementation. KfW is one of the largest promotional banks in the world. On behalf of the federal government and the federal states, it works to improve economic, social and ecological living conditions and also provides interesting loans and funding opportunities for private households.
What happened at the house?
The house was completely renovated. The roof truss was removed and a new roof was put on. Additional insulation measures were also carried out on the outside and the basement ceiling was insulated. In order to save resources, Anja and Philip were able to use polystyrene boards for this, which they had found in the attic.
The old night storage heaters were removed and replaced by a new heating system. Anja and Philip decided on a geothermal heat pump. This technology, also called geothermal energy, uses the heat of the ground. The energy obtained with the help of geothermal energy has many advantages: it is neither dependent on climatic conditions nor on daily and seasonal fluctuations and is therefore base-load capable. It is reliable and available when there is a corresponding demand for energy. More information is available from theEnergieAgentur.NRW.
In addition, the house was fitted with new bathrooms and a new electrical system was installed that works via a smart home system. The windows and the front door were also replaced.
Promotion
It pays to use subsidies! In the area of building renovation, there are interesting subsidies from the state and federal government. Philip and Anja also benefited from these subsidies during their renovation. Through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), they took advantage of the Energy Efficient Renovation programme. An important component here is the support of an energy advisor, who ensures that the construction measures lead to the desired result. KfW covers 50 percent of the costs of construction monitoring by experts. All experts on the German Energy Agency's (dena) list of experts for federal promotional programmes are eligible.
Individual measures on the building envelope, systems engineering as well as heating technology and optimisation are eligible for funding through the Federal Promotion Programme for Efficient Buildings. Geothermal drilling can also be funded via progres.NRW.
Tip from Anja and Philipp: In the case of subsidies, please note that the order can only be placed after the notification of the subsidy!
