Serial Energy-Efficient Renovation of Residential Neighborhoods: A Key to Climate-Neutral Cities
Residential neighborhoods offer ideal conditions for serial energy-efficient renovation because their homogenous building structures, economies of scale, and standardized construction methods enable efficient and economical implementation:
High Repetition Rate & Economies of Scale
Similar Building Types: Neighborhoods often have identical or similar buildings, especially in prefabricated apartment blocks, terraced housing estates, or multi-family homes built from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Serial Renovation Enables Mass Production: Standardized renovation solutions allow modules to be prefabricated industrially, reducing costs and construction time.
Increased Efficiency: The more buildings modernized in a neighborhood, the lower the renovation cost per unit.
Low Impact on Renters & Social Acceptance
Short Construction Times: Because facade and roof elements are prefabricated industrially, assembly takes only a few days.
No Relocation Necessary: Unlike traditional renovations, residents can stay in their apartments during construction.
Standardized Processes for Fewer Disruptions: Noise and dust pollution are minimal, increasing acceptance of the measures.
Holistic Energy Transformation
Combined Measures: In addition to the building envelope, heating, power generation, and mobility solutions can be optimized together.
More Efficient Use of Renewable Energies: Photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, and battery storage are more economical when planned for entire neighborhoods.
Intelligent Networking & Neighborhood Storage: Combining heating networks, smart grids, and energy storage maximizes CO₂ reduction.
A residential neighborhood can become CO₂-neutral through a combination of serial insulation, PV power, heat pumps, and local heating networks.
ecoworks specializes in digital and serial renovation, offering a turnkey solution for holistic neighborhood modernization.
Here's how we approach it:
- Digital Inventory & Planning
- 3D scanning & digital twins for accurate data collection
- Automated planning & prefabrication based on building data
- Industrial production of facade and roof elements
- Serial Production & Rapid Assembly
- Prefabricated facade and roof elements with integrated insulation, windows & building technology
- Minimal intervention in the building fabric & rapid implementation
- Integration of photovoltaics and heat pumps for climate-neutral buildings
- Holistic Energy Supply & ESG Optimization
- Sector coupling of electricity, heat & mobility
- Smart grids & digital control systems for optimized energy consumption
- ESG consulting & taxonomy compliance for investors & housing companies
-
ecoworks enables the rapid, economical, and sustainable transformation of entire neighborhoods to CO₂ neutrality through digital planning and serial production.
How residential areas can become climate-neutral through serial renovation is demonstrated in Erlangen, where ecoworks has already renovated a neighborhood (see https://www.ecoworks.tech/projekt/erlangen). In Heinrich-Hertz-Straße and Schwedlerstraße in Erlangen-Bruck, six multi-family homes built between 1962 and 1963 are being renovated (5 of the 6 houses have now been completed). The four-story buildings offer a total of 132 apartments with a total living space of 93,340 sq ft. The buildings are being renovated to meet the KfW Efficiency House Standard 55 EE and increase living comfort. The measures were financially supported by funding programs from KfW Bank and the Free State of Bavaria.
Renovation of Entire Residential Areas in Record Time: Greater Momentum for the Energy Transition in the Building Sector Through Serial Energy-Efficient Renovation
The energy-efficient renovation of buildings plays a central role in the path to climate neutrality. Various measures are used to sustainably transform urban neighborhoods: serial renovation with prefabricated building components, the expansion of district heating, the use of heat pumps, and the use of photovoltaic systems. Holistic renovation of residential neighborhoods offers efficiency and cost advantages.
Previously, buildings were often considered and renovated in isolation. In contrast, an energy-efficient modernization of entire blocks of flats offers significant efficiency gains and cost advantages. Joint heat use can reduce financial investments. In addition, the serial production of facade elements enables much faster renovation, and new buildings can be erected more efficiently. Another positive aspect is the possibility of adding stories to existing buildings, thereby creating additional living space without sealing new surfaces.
Renovation of Buildings from the 1960s as an Example of a Climate-Neutral Future
This model project shows that climate-neutral urban neighborhoods are technically and economically feasible. In order to achieve climate neutrality in the building sector, the heating demand must be reduced to zero on balance. This is achieved through a combination of energy-efficient construction and the in-house production of renewable energy. Energy efficiency is the focus: optimal insulation reduces energy consumption, while solar systems contribute to in-house power generation.
Minimal Inconvenience for Renters
In the Erlangen-Bruck district, six apartment blocks with a total of 132 residential units are being serially renovated. The use of solar energy proved to be economically advantageous, as the income from the photovoltaic system offsets the investment costs in the long term. A decisive advantage for the residents: the renovation could be carried out while the buildings were occupied, so that the inconvenience was minimal. An additional incentive for tenants is the increased living comfort provided by new windows and an optimally insulated building envelope.
Serial Renovation as a Key to Climate Neutrality
Three central factors are decisive for a climate-neutral building stock: highly effective insulation, the use of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics, and efficient building technology. Heat pumps, for example, can be made smaller and more cost-effective by using ventilation with heat recovery. In combination with a high-quality renovated building envelope in accordance with KfW-55 standard, the heating energy requirement can be reduced by almost half. Serial renovation with prefabricated building elements in passive house quality also contributes to increased efficiency. It reduces construction times, lowers renovation costs, and ensures lower energy consumption – an economic advantage that leads to long-term savings.
Synergy Effects Through Municipal Heating Planning
A crucial component for climate neutrality is municipal heating planning, which has been strengthened by the Heat Planning Act in force since January 2024. This strategic instrument enables the development of new supply concepts, for example through the use of waste heat from sewage treatment plants or data centers to heat neighborhoods. The solutions developed in this project can be adopted as a model for other urban districts. Implementation must now be driven forward with vigor in order to achieve the national climate targets.
