“Practically useless”
Experts question energy certificates
November 4th, 2023, 2:59 p.m
Energy certificates were originally intended to provide information about the energetic status of a building. However, given the numerous crises of the past few years, their meaningfulness is severely limited. Experts are therefore suggesting a new type of ID card.
After the crisis-related fluctuations in energy consumption, experts are questioning the validity of energy certificates for buildings. “It can be assumed that a large proportion of the energy certificates issued in 2023 and the following years and valid in the next few years will be practically unusable,” warned the scientist and energy consultant Constanze Liepold from RWTH Aachen in “Spiegel”. Energy certificates, which are currently issued as usual based on consumption over the last three years, “in no way allow any conclusions to be drawn about consumption in the coming years,” said the expert.
The reason for this is the various crises of the past few years: During the Corona lockdowns, people were at home a lot and used a comparatively large amount of energy. “It can therefore be assumed that the energy bills of these years do not reflect consumption that can be transferred to non-pandemic years,” explained Liepold and her RWTH colleague Paul Fabianek. “The same applies in reverse for 2022.”
Certificates of need are more meaningful
After the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine broke out, citizens in Germany were called upon to save energy, and prices rose sharply. Consumer advocates agree with the assessment: “Consumption certificates are less valuable than demand certificates,” said Christian Handwerk from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center in “Spiegel”. “And the weaknesses of consumption certificates are currently becoming particularly clear.”
Certificates of need are generally more expensive and are mandatory for fewer buildings. Liepold and Fabianek appeal to politicians to extend the requirement for more meaningful requirements certificates, in which the energy needs of a house are determined in more detail. Alternatively, in their opinion, longer observation periods should be prescribed for consumption certificates.