Energiesparberatung

• Richtlinie des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie über die Förderung der Energieberatung in Wohngebäuden vor Ort (Vor-Ort-Beratung)
  Fundstelle: BAnz AT 21-06.2023 B2

FUNDING FOR ON-SITE ENERGY ADVICE IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS (ON-SITE ADVICE)
The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control subsidises comprehensive on-site energy consultations for residential buildings. As the owner of existing residential buildings and flats, you can find out what and how you can renovate, for example to reduce your heating costs, and which state subsidy programmes you can take advantage of, by means of such an assessment carried out by an independent energy consultant. Such a consultation is particularly useful if you want to have a building energy performance certificate drawn up anyway.

An eligible on-site consultation, including the creation of an energy-efficient renovation concept, covers the following topics

• Structural thermal insulation
• Heat generation and distribution for heating purposes and hot water preparation
• Utilisation of renewable energies

You have the choice between two orientations of the refurbishment concept:

• Refurbishment of the residential building (in a continuous process) to become a KfW Efficiency House (complete refurbishment) or
• comprehensive energy-efficient refurbishment in stages with coordinated individual measures (refurbishment roadmap).

In addition to structural, physical and technical aspects, the proposals must above all take into account the economic efficiency of the refurbishment measures.

Conditions
Form of the grant

• Non-repayable grant

Amount of the grant

• Up to 80 per cent of the eligible consultancy costs:
• detached and semi-detached houses: maximum EUR 1300.00
• Residential buildings with at least 3 residential units: maximum EUR 1700.00
• Condominium owners' associations: additional, one-off grant of up to EUR 500.00 (condition: Energy consultation report is explained at homeowners' meetings or advisory board meetings)

The necessary steps are handled in online procedures. Necessary documents can be attached as annexes (online).

There is no legal entitlement to the grant. It is also subject to the availability of appropriate budget funds.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

• Buildings in the federal territory
• Application for planning permission or submission of the building notification must have been made at least 10 years ago at the time of application
• No change to the building envelope of more than 50 per cent due to extension or addition of storeys based on subsequent building permits
• original planning and construction as a residential building or current use predominantly for residential purposes

There must be an interval of at least 4 years between two consultations for the same building. However, in the event of a change of ownership, the on-site consultation can also be utilised earlier.
Even if a residential building fulfils the aforementioned requirements, an on-site consultation may be excluded under certain circumstances, namely if

• it is owned by a legally independent company that exceeds a certain size,
• the public sector has a direct or indirect property interest in the building, or
• the consultant or certain persons close to him/her have ownership or utilisation rights to the building.

ENERGY-SAVING ADVICE ON SITE

• Owners, tenants or leaseholders of a building can take advantage of a consultation:
  • natural persons
  • legally independent companies in the commercial sector, including the housing industry and agricultural businesses
  • Legal entities and other organisations (if they pursue charitable, benevolent or ecclesiastical purposes)
  • Tenants and leaseholders require the permission of the owner, flat owners require the consent of the owners' association. In any case, the consultation must relate to the entire building.
• The advice is provided by energy consultants who are eligible to apply under this programme. It is advisable to conclude a written contract in which the consultant's obligations are described as precisely as possible and the fee is specified.
  
• Qualified and independent consultants for on-site consultations who can submit funding applications to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control can be found in the list of energy efficiency experts for the federal government's funding programmes for residential buildings.
• A consultation cannot be funded as an on-site consultation under these guidelines (not even in part) if it is already financed in whole or in part from public funds from other federal funding programmes. In the case of funding from other consultancy programmes (e.g. local authority or federal state funding), the funding may not exceed 90 percent of the costs.
  

STATUS AS AUTHORISED ENERGY CONSULTANT

• The Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) is responsible for the authorisation of energy consultants.
• Energy consulting is only eligible for funding if it is carried out by a person who is listed in the list of experts at www.energie-effizienz-experten.de in the category "Energy consulting for residential buildings".

Eligibility to apply is checked by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control as part of an internet-based recognition procedure.

none

Application, approval and payment of the subsidy are handled entirely by the accredited energy advisors.

Application

• The funding procedure begins when an eligible consultant applies to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control for a grant for an on-site consultation.
• The consultant may not begin the consultancy before receipt of the application, otherwise funding is excluded.
• Prior to this, only the data relevant to the actual condition of the residential building may be recorded on site. Applications are deemed to have been received as soon as the data set transmitted online is available at the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.

Important: Applications can only be submitted via the online portal set up for this purpose. Applications submitted in paper form are not admissible.

• The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control approves the funding by issuing a so-called notification of funding, which it sends electronically to the consultant.
• An e-mail informs the applicant that a notification of award is available for download in PDF format via the online portal.

Advice, proof of use

After the notification of award has been issued, the consultant has six months to carry out the on-site consultation (approval period). During this period, the advisory report must be prepared, handed over and explained in a final advisory meeting. The counsellor must offset the grant against the counselling costs, which reduces the invoice amount for the client accordingly.

Furthermore, all documents for proof of use must be submitted to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control by the end of the grant period:

• Advisory report
• Declaration of use of funds
• Copy of the invoice

The submission of proof of use is also supported by an online procedure (consultancy reports and invoices can be submitted as PDF files).

Please note: Failure to comply with the six-month deadline mentioned above will result in the grant not being paid out. The deadline cannot be extended.