A city under renovation
Vienna has set ambitious climate targets: it wants to reduce GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 and be climate neutral by 2040. These specific goals are legally codified in the current version of the Smart City Wien Framework Strategy.
Decarbonisation of the building sector through refurbishment of the housing stock is one of the main obstacles to achieving the city’s climate neutral objectives. Vienna is an historical European city featuring many centuries-old buildings lacking proper insulation. The historical nature of these buildings forces the city to engage in costly renovations. In 2019, Vienna set up the RenoBooster project financed by Horizon2020, which granted EUR 1.9 million to the city. RenoBooster has strengthened renovations through the creation of an advice centre called “Hauskunft”, which guides building owners throughout the renovation process to help improve the quality of the outcome, increase energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions. This one-stop-shop is currently funded by the City of Vienna through an investment of EUR 900,000 per year. The project has involved key local stakeholders from the private and public
sector to provide a wide range of services through the creation of local partnerships for renovations. Consulting firms, banking, technical and legal services, as well as research institutes, urban developers and non-profit organisations are the key partners.
From understanding the problems to amending the law
First, the project took an in-depth look at the state of the renovation ecosystem in Vienna to fully understand both the regulatory framework and citizens’ reasons for renovating. For this purpose, two working groups were created. While one group conducted a telephone survey of 1,000 homeowners to understand the reasons why people renovate their homes, the second developed a report on the existing legal framework and funding models for renovation in Vienna. This multidimensional analysis of the housing renovation sector also included understanding the existing financing models and subsidies, an overview of European best practice on the topic and an assessment of the specific target groups and their approach to housing renovation. Thus, numerous networking and educational activities were organised in cooperation with external partners such as condominium managers, solar power companies, heat pump suppliers and installers of alternatives to gas heating systems. As a result, in May 2021 the city council amended the
2008 Reorganisation Ordinance to introduce a new funding track for the preparation of holistic renovation concepts.
Hauskunft: making renovation a reality
Once the city understood the challenges citizens were facing, the project started developing new services to support residential building renovations. In October 2020, the project launched Hauskunft, a free advice centre, to offer support to anyone interested in renovating their homes through the provision of free and independent advice. Hauskunft offered four standard counselling services: orientation; an on-site check for owners of private houses containing up to two dwellings; on-site check for multi-dwelling housing; and targeted counselling on developing a funded refurbishment process. Hauskunft addressed topics such as insulation of the building envelope, building services such as heating exchange and an alternative heating supply; façade and roof greening; state and federal subsidies; and accessibility and living comfort.
Careful market analysis and target group-specific communications supported the development and testing of a range of new services. Two websites – https://www.hauskunft-wien.at/ and https://www.qualittsplattform-sanierungspartner.wien/ – were created to provide essential information to help customers understand the importance of energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy and funding opportunities. The City of Vienna supported this work by funding a communication campaign to raise awareness among citizens.
In 2022, as a result of the project activities, a quality platform of refurbishment business stakeholders was officially established as an independent association: the “Qualitätsplattform Sanierungspartner Wien”. This platform developed its own website and currently undertakes a wide range of activities. It lists providers such as planning and implementation companies in the refurbishment sector that have committed to a quality charter, informs citizens on refurbishment best practice and supports networking among providers. The platform is an independent entity that provides objective advice through “Hauskunft” and aims to ensure transparency once the project has concluded.
Reporting and moving forward
The integrated home renovation service for customers has provided advice to private owners: 52% from 1–2 unit buildings, 33% from condominiums and 14% from rented multi-storey buildings. In the first year after “Hauskunft” was established, the centre provided renovation advice to an average of 80 to 100 housing owners per month. However, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, this figure has increased to 370 consultations per month. The customers interested in renovating are mainly focused on changing the heating system, subsidy and funding
opportunities, thermal renovation and funded renovation processes.
One of the main goals of the project was to generate interest among the general public in Vienna in carrying out energy-efficient renovation initiatives. The figures and the increase in the number of households supported demonstrate the impact of the one-stop-shop and its capacity to shape citizens’ choices.
Vienna, Austria
Covenant Signatory since 2012
Population: 1,914,743
Area covered: Local (414.6 km2)
Key figures
- 5 year project, investment of EUR 110 million
- 5.5 GWh/a of primary energy savings
- 1000t of CO2 emissions reductions
- 1 functional one-stop-shop
- 370 households per month supported in 2022
GHG emissions ambitions:
- 21% GHG emissions reduction by 2020
- 55% GHG emissions reduction by 2030
Useful links
Financing the project
- Horizon2020: EUR 1.9 million
- Subsequent inclusion of the Hauskunft (the one-stop-shop) in the budget of the City of Vienna and Wohnfonds_Wien: EUR 900,000 per year
Contact
For more information on the project, please contact:
Stephan Hartmann, Project Manager stephan.hartmann@wien.gv.at