"Climate-friendly and affordable housing" - Scenario workshop at Zwickau Town Hall
In the project "Demonstrating the Zwickau Energy Turnaround", a scenario workshop - moderated by bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH - discussed which paths and strategies can lead to more sustainability in the housing industry. At the invitation of Mayor Constance Arndt, more than 20 regional and national industry representatives discussed with experts from associations and research institutes, for example from Freiburg, Munich or Berlin. Speeches on the topics of "energy transition and digitalisation", "occupant behaviour" and "building automation and intelligent heating control" provided impetus.
Digitisation as a solution?
One decisive result was that more digitalisation can also lead to more sustainability and climate protection, for example, if buildings are specifically automated and energy can be saved. In concrete terms: heating systems can be controlled intelligently and thus avoid unnecessary energy losses. For such solutions to be accepted, however, they must not only be simple, understandable and legally unobjectionable. Comprehensive pilot projects are also needed to convince both investors and users of the advantages and to reduce fears of contact.
Developing strategies for the housing sector
The complexity of the housing sector often leads to shifts in responsibility, delays in necessary measures and the failure of ambitious projects. The participants were therefore asked to develop strategies to bring together the different interests and possibilities of influence of central actors from business, politics and society. The result showed that an emission-free housing industry can be achieved in particular through closer cooperation between the housing industry and energy suppliers.
Neighbourhood solution instead of individual solutions
Two projects show that the workshop's scenarios are indeed suitable for everyday use. In Zwickau-Marienthal, concrete solutions for a climate-neutral energy supply are being developed and put to the test in everyday life in the "Zwickauer Energiewende Demonstrieren" (ZED) project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK). In addition, in the "Energy-efficient living comfort" project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), over 300 residential units have already been equipped with a smart heating control system specially developed by the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (WHZ) and the measurement service provider Brunata-Metrona. This automation in residential buildings can save thermal energy and thus costs, thus taking a significant step towards climate protection.
In both projects, the researchers are working closely with housing associations, residents or energy providers and thus gaining concrete insights for climate-friendly and affordable living.
