WAERMER

Achieving German climate protection targets by 2030 requires a significant increase of renewable energy for heat provision in buildings as well as strong incentives for energetic renovation. The former can be achieved by switching to heat pumps as well as extensions of thermal heating grids fed by a high proportion of renewable energies. The transition requires high investments by building owners which need to align with plans for the local energy infrastructure. Obstacles and retentions need to be addressed to operate thermal grids effectively and cost efficiently.

The project WAERMER shall apply a methodical integration of energy system optimisation on an urban level and agent-based modelling of individual investment behaviour including preferences and scope of action. It shall help identify the requirements for a successful transition of heat provision in the urban building stock towards CO2-neutrality. Building owners are surveyed about relevant factors of their investment decision making. In an iterative process, measures to incentivise individual investments can be developed and simulated as well as required adaptations to the technical energy system identified. The agent-based modelling explicitly considers the influence of energy consultants and craftspeople concerning their changing knowledge and recommendations.

The participatory approach of the decision making process is important. Stakeholders get informed by decision workshops and initially state their criteria and formal as well as economic boundary conditions. Results of the planning tools are played back to stakeholders to receive their evaluation. For the first application the state capital Kiel is involved.

The structure of the work packages in the project WAERMER is based on the tools to be developed (design of techno-economically consistent energy systems in AP3 and agent-based modelling in AP4). Furthermore, AP2 empirically examines the individual heating technology-related decisions made by homeowners. The analysis of the relevant actors and the study area in AP1, as well as the implementation of the decision workshops and the dissemination of the results in AP5, frame the work. The partners involved are colour-coded in the figure.