ACE Retrofitting in Frankfurt – We need to reduce the energy consumption of our buildings by 70% by 2050!

The second project meeting of ACE-Retrofitting - Interreg North-West Europe, was hosted by the City of Frankfurt from 12 to 14 June, including a half-day conference which gathered ACE partners and German stakeholders involved in the energy retrofitting of condominiums. A great opportunity to better understand the challenges that the cities face to retrofit their condominiums.

For the city of Frankfurt (727,000 inhabitants) energy-efficient renovation is one of the key areas to achieve the cicy’s climate protection target which is to run on 100% RES by 2050. Reducing the heat demand of the buildings by 70% is one condition to reach this goal. As condominiums represent 17% of the housing stock in Frankfurt and since the majority of them was built during the 19th century, the need for energy retrofitting is very high.

The architect Peter Hufer explained during the conference that the energy-efficient renovation of historical buildings does not necessarily create a conflict between aesthetic requirements and energy-saving measures. He presented a passive building from Frankfurt which has used technical solutions to modernise the property preserving its sensitive historical street façade.

Facilitating the retrofitting process between co-owners and professionals from the building sector is also a common challenge for the ACE partner cities. The Paris Climate Agency successfully organised its 5th matchmaking event in February 2017 with more than 420 visitors and 40 exhibitors. This type of event has also been chosen by WEG Forum from Regio Freiburg who shared their experience with ACE partners. As a competence centre for homeowners’ associations, WEG Forum organised its first cooperation forum in Freiburg in 2012, followed by others in Stuttgart and Heidelberg.

No doubt that the experiences presented and the discussion hold during the meetings will inspire the ACE-Retrofitting partners to work on the owners’ and professionals’ motivation towards energy retrofitting!

• Programme of the conference