With or without KfW70? How much additional cost with KfW70?

Hello everyone,

I have the following questions, maybe someone can answer them for me:

We are in the process of planning a house. After we have already received help/answers here regarding questions about the floor plan and realistic costs, we are now pondering a topic.

Build with or without KFW70?

- with approx. 149 m² living space, underfloor heating and air heat pump, solid house

How much extra would it cost to build with Kfw 70? Can this be stated in general, or is there a benchmark?
Or isn't a "normal" energy-saving house enough (I believe according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2014 for us)?

Regards
Petri

Hello Petri, from my experience, you cannot say that in advance without the final planning. In our case, we knew in advance that we were building KFW70. Therefore, even before the floor plan planning (we had free floor plan planning), we had planned subfloor insulation, solar for hot water preparation, triple glazing with 88 mm installation depth, and a 7-chamber system. After the final planning, these measures were no longer sufficient. Reason: contrary to the initial assumption, we planned almost all of our windows to be floor-to-ceiling, so the total window area exploded :-) We also increased the living space and replanned a bay window. After this, we had to initiate additional measures. We decided to expand the existing solar panels to 12 sqm and provide heating support. Thus, we were back to the KFW70 standard. All measures cost us about €13,000. With regard to the interest rate difference between a KFW loan (€50,000) and a non-KFW loan, it was worth it for us.

I can't imagine that it was financially worth it, considering only the interest. After all, the KFW loan has the disadvantage of repayment-free years and a maximum term of 10 years. After that, you have to refinance or pay it off completely.

Much more interesting is the consideration of energy costs. Do you get the additional investment back? Or not. For that, you have to estimate the increase in electricity prices (which is not possible).
Moreover, how does the heat pump perform in winter in a KFW house and how in one that might be less well insulated? For that, you need to ask someone who is knowledgeable and has the figures ready. So also the figures, what is planned for you, what does your building look like.
You can't expect a general answer.

KfW 70 is another step into the future (contrary to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2009), which is not too expensive. A house needs technology + insulation anyway, so with a few thousand you can make a house higher quality in terms of energy. Upgrading later is difficult...

The resale value should also be considered.

KfW 70 is another step into the future (contrary to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2009), which is not too expensive. A house needs technology + insulation anyway, so you can make a house more energy-efficient with a few thousand. Upgrading later is difficult...

The resale value should also be considered.

I agree

Well,

how much does the "Kfw70" cost extra? That varies from case to case and object to object. Solar thermal systems on the roof cost money, look better on paper, and deliver almost nothing. But now YOU have a great Kfw70 status. For example, I would rather achieve the Kfw70 status through thicker insulation.

If Kfw70 costs, for example, 10,000€ extra, you have to calculate the interest on that and compare it with the (expected) heating cost savings. I also don't think the resale argument counts because of the aforementioned interest. You would have to get easily 15,000 more when selling a KFW70 house. However, the price of a house is more likely determined by demand than by a piece of paper.