In Austria the Länder are responsible for building code and as a result Oberösterreich, one of the nine Austrian Länder, has included energy efficiency requirements in housing programmes for both new construction and renovation since 1993. The innovative element is that there is a mechanism for support through a soft loan to support energy efficiency improvements. The soft loan is available to residents below a specific income threshold, however it is so high that over 90% of all home owners qualify for the programme. An integral part of this policy is that the energy thresholds have been increasingly tightened through the years, allowing the construction industry to adapt and housing associations to plan ahead (O. Ö. Energiesparverband, 2009). Between 2001 and 2008 the average energy performance indicator for new single-family homes reduced from 66 kWh/m²/year to 44 kWh/m²/year, see table 1 for more information.
|
|
Max kWh/ m²/ year |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
Energy-efficient homes |
60 |
56% |
47% |
24% |
20% |
0% |
0% |
|
Low energy home |
50 |
42% |
51% |
70% |
74% |
85% |
70% |
|
Lowest energy homes |
30 |
0% |
0% |
4% |
5% |
14% |
28% |
|
Passive homes |
10 |
2% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
|
Average (kWh/ m²/ year) |
55 |
54 |
50 |
49 |
47 |
44 |
|
The Land Oberösterreich (the Upper Austria state government) also has regulations relating to solar thermal; all newly constructed multi-apartment buildings must install a minimum of 2.5 m² solar thermal collectors per apartment. Certain exemptions apply, for example if there is a year-round supply of energy from a district heating system fuelled by biomass, waste heat or geothermal then the building is exempt from the regulation (O. Ö. Energiesparverband, 2009).
The uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements in Oberösterreich has been so successful that energy consumption in 95% of all new single-family houses has been cut by more than 30% since 1993 (O. Ö. Energiesparverband, 2001). As a result of this policy low energy buildings have taken the major part of the market for one family houses and residential buildings in general; in Oberösterreich low energy and passive house buildings account for over 85% of new buildings (IEA, 2008).
A unique aspect of this building standard is the inclusion of obligatory energy advice sessions for each future home owner involved in the scheme. The future owner spends one hour with a trained energy advisor discussing his/her individual house and the possibilities to save energy in addition to the minimum requirements.