The KfW – Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau is a national development and medium-sized business bank whose task is to promote public contracts. Particularly interesting for builders: KfW promotes the energy-efficient conversion and construction of houses with low-interest credits and loans. Furthermore, it is responsible for the payment of state subsidies such as child support.
What does KfW – Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau do?
Those interested in building can obtain financial support from the state through KfW if they plan their house to be particularly energy-efficient. For each residential unit, those who want to build can take out a low-interest loan of up to €100,000 from KfW.
In return, they receive a repayment subsidy of 5 to 15%, depending on how energy-efficient they build. So up to €15,000 can be saved if the new building meets the highest energy standards.
In addition, after moving into the new property, builders can apply for the so-called Baukindergeld, a government subsidy of €12,000, which does not have to be repaid, retroactively until January 1st, 2018.
How can a KfW energy efficiency class be determined?
The energy consumption is measured in comparison to a reference house. For this purpose, the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) defines values that a comparable building would have to comply with. A KfW Efficiency House 100 requires 100% of the maximum energy it is allowed to consume. In comparison, a KfW 70 efficiency house, which was also subsidized until April 1, 2016, only uses 70% of the energy that it should use at most.
Which KfW levels are funded?
In the meantime, however, only the energy levels KfW 55, 40 and 40 Plus are being subsidised, since the majority of new buildings easily achieve the standards of a KfW 70 efficiency house anyway. The aim of the EnEV is to achieve a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, which is why it is planned that from 2021 only new buildings that meet the lowest energy standards may be planned. On the way there, of course, the standards for current new buildings are constantly being adjusted. To be eligible for funding, a new building today must consume at least 45% less energy than the reference building. This energy level corresponds to a KfW 55 efficiency house. In comparison, the KfW 40 efficiency house only uses 40% of the energy that the reference building needs.
Requirements for a KfW 40 Plus efficiency house
The lower the KfW level, the more energy-efficient the new building and the higher the subsidy. A KfW 40 Plus efficiency house corresponds to the highest standard. It meets all the requirements of the KfW Efficiency House 40 and also has a so-called “Plus Package”. This includes a power-generating system based on renewable energies, a stationary battery storage system (power storage), a ventilation system with heat recovery and a visualization of power generation and power consumption via a corresponding user interface.
Who receives a KfW loan?
The measured values for primary energy demand and transmission heat losses are decisive for classification into an energy level. In order to achieve the desired energy standard in the end, those who want to build should definitely plan their building project with an energy efficiency expert. This later also issues a confirmation of the energy efficiency of the new building, which builders must present to their bank in order to receive the corresponding loan. Since KfW does not have its own branches, those interested in building can turn to any commercial bank, savings bank, cooperative bank, direct bank, building society, insurance company and financial intermediary. This is where they later conclude the loan agreement. The exact conditions for the KfW loans can be found in the following table:
KfW Efficiency House
Amount of repayment subsidy
KfW Efficiency House 40 Plus
15% of the loan amount,
up to 15,000 euros for each residential unit
KfW Efficiency House 40
10% of the loan amount,
up to 10,000 euros for each residential unit
KfW Efficiency House 55
5% of the loan amount,
up to 5,000 euros for each residential unit
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