Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

You hear that kind of thing more often at the moment, unfortunately. As long as builders can still cut costs, there is still room to go down. Recently someone told me that in his town 2 or 3 builders poured floor slabs and now everything is at a standstill due to lack of money. Suddenly + 10 - 15 %

We did try, but then decided to build only the standard Energy Saving Ordinance house because we couldn’t keep up with all the regulations, laws, costs, and benefits. We just didn’t get it.

I also see it that way, that many are excluded from the benefits because they don’t understand it. I look through all kinds of things in this forum from the perspective of a foreigner and am always very astonished at the knowledge one must have if they want to build in Germany. The hurdles are high and many who prove to others in this forum every day what they know (only to be contradicted by the next) are not the average homeowner. I just read the last 10 pages here, everyone writes something different, everyone swears by something else, and everyone thinks they know better. How is someone who is not an academic supposed to know this? I have looked at all the funding programs, how and when to apply, and it makes your head spin. Either the state operates selective money distribution or it’s too stupid to make it understandable for the majority. Someone who is not a native German speaker is immediately excluded. I am always amazed and glad that I don’t have to take part in this house-building circus. I am currently thinking about a photovoltaic system. If I buy one here today, the government "subsidy" is already deducted from the price, roughly $525 per kW up to a max 6.6 kW system, which is the size the average user has on their roof. I don’t have to worry about anything, everyone gets that, done. Since 2017 this subsidy has been reduced each year by 1/15 until there will be nothing left in 2031. And as someone already wrote, problems are now arising because there are too many systems in some areas and power plants are known not to be so flexible and simply cannot ramp power up and down easily. These systems are affordable for everyone and pay off quickly.

You hit the nail on the head: it is completely incomprehensible which brain-dead bureaucrats came up with these abominations of regulatory hell, and why these contemporaries are not chained up. I once read that construction costs in Holland are about half of those in Germany, and there is five times as much photovoltaic on roofs there... not because the houses are worse, but because the regulations are simpler and more understandable.

What I find particularly annoying is that the technology is actually not complicated at all. Only this regulatory mania around it makes it seem that way. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that one MUST deal with it to a certain extent in order to be able to make a qualified decision. Simply out of desperation opting for the minimum standard with gas heating for the building permit is, in my view, far too shortsighted for an investment that is supposed to shelter me for the next decades.

And just by the way (one hardly dares to write it): we received a total of €56K in subsidies. Without any tricks and with less than €15K additional costs for insulation/technology. It’s basically completely crazy...

about $525 per kW up to a maximum 6.6kW system, that is the size that the average consumer has on their roof.

Unfortunately three to five times too small for a normal single-family house. This won't work for the energy transition. I have just under 30 kWp. And in bad weather, I have to time the heat pump very carefully so that the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer can still run. The electric car gets almost nothing on such a day.

So maybe a "simple" subsidy, but unfortunately a very stupid one because it prevents the roofs from being fully utilized.

Unfortunately three to five times too small for a normal single-family house. This way, the energy transition won't work. I have almost 30 kWp. And in bad weather, I really have to time it well alongside the heat pump so that the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer can still run. The electric car barely gets anything on such a day.

So maybe an "easy" subsidy, but unfortunately a very stupid one because it prevents the roofs from being fully utilized.

I could imagine that the average kWp per roof is still higher because many more do it/dare/manage. Not so stupid at all, possibly less stupid than here.

But who still adds anything five years later after having such a mini system on the roof? The attitude is usually "I have done my part, now I can buy the combustion engine!" And in the end, the roofs simply have to be full. There really are no alternatives in most countries. That is exactly what is hindered by such short-sighted subsidies.

As complicated as it is here, you are hardly restricted in size. You can't build under 10 kWp anymore if you want to make a bit of profit. I have two local providers here who don't offer anything below that anymore. No one climbs onto the roof just for a few modules. Except, of course, if you also pay for a storage system.