Residential Building Refurbishments: Integrated Building Consultancy as an Opportunity

Although the concept of the "whole building approach" has long been familiar in the construction sector, it has yet to fully exploit its potential in retrofit, renovation, refurbishment, and repair. As researchers highlight in a recent paper, the German policy landscape still lacks instruments that systematically leverage the interfaces between individual construction measures and the synergies between environmental and social aspects. Neither in the regulation and promotion of energy efficiency, climate-friendly energy supply, or building greening, nor on the social side regarding housing suitable for elderly people, family-friendly, or affordable housing, are buildings consistently considered as a whole.

For homeowners without a technical background, the vast array of isolated advisory and funding schemes – such as those for heating systems, PV installation, facade greening, or accessibility – presents a major hurdle when deciding on the right measures and the optimal order of implementation. Against the backdrop of current efforts to mandate the establishment of one-stop shops under Article 18 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the paper drafts a modular consultancy and support programme for sustainable buildings. This holistic approach takes into account efficiency, energy supply, sufficiency, climate adaptation, resource conservation and the residents' needs.

"Taking an integrated view of the entire building is key to unlocking synergies during renovation. With a modular consultancy approach, we lay the groundwork to translate EU guidelines on one-stop shops into practical application while offering homeowners clear guidance for a sustainable transformation," says Anja Bierwirth, Head of the Urban Transitions Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute and co-author of the paper.

The article "Make it simple to simply make it: drafting a whole-building approach policy" was written for the ECEEE Summer Study conference and draws on findings from the ProRetro project, which examined the establishment of one-stop shops in Germany. The article is available free of charge via the link below.