Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Agency for Renewable Energies (AEE)
The AEE is the result of a public-private partnership (state, companies and
associations). It is partly financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and Federal Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). Its objectives are the promotion
of alternative energy sources and to offer information concerning the advantages of
energy systems based on renewable energy sources for electricity production
(Lilova
2012
).
Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR)
The FNR (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.) was founded in 1993 by
the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Its
main responsibility is to support research and development in the area of renew-
able resources, but also to inform the public about current research results, to give
advice on a range of applications of renewable resources and to organise and take
part in scientific events.
The Information service (BINE)
This programme has been developed by the BMU and the BMWi in cooperation
with the German Energy Agency (dena). The purpose is to provide information
about financing opportunities for renewable energy and energy savings in the
building and industrial sector (Lilova
2012
).
3.4.2 Energy Performance Certificates
Energy performance certificates include details of the building use and construc-
tion, including its energy performance (building envelope and the systems for
lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling and hot water). These certificates have been
mandatory for new buildings and major refurbishments since 2002 and have a
validity of 10 years. The certificates can be of two types: based on calculated
demand and consumption based (according to the records of heating costs for at
least 36 continuous months). An important component of these certificates is the
recommendation for cost-efficient modernisation measures to bring down the
energy consumption of the building. The general objective of these certificates is
to bring more transparency to the market and raise the interest of owners to invest
in the energetic refurbishments of their buildings (Bigalke et al.
2012
; Schimschar
et al.
2013b
).
