EnerMaTec GmbH offers the Effi Spar service to help homeowners in Braunschweig, Germany improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The service provides a coordinated modernization concept to reduce heating costs and emissions. It aims to realize energy savings potentials and increase use of renewables for heating. EnerMaTec serves as a central contact, providing consultations, recommendations, and oversight for efficiency upgrades. Effi Spar is financed by customers and partners include local trade groups and colleges to increase credibility and reputation. Initial interest has been strong, but full results are not yet available as the project is still in early stages.

1. GOOD PRACTICE TEMPLATE
Project-title: Effi Spar
Name of the organisation: EnerMaTec GmbH
Status of the organisation: GmbH, private business
Address: Bohlweg 8, 38100 Braunschweig
Contact person: Dr. Werner Neumann
Phone: +49 (0)531 / 28859983 Fax: +49 (0)531 / 28859989
E-mail: w.neumann(at)enermatec.de
Web site : www.enermatec.de
Interest area
 Public Sector
X Private Sector
 Large Industrial Buildings
 Solar Plants
 District Heating
 Other
Target Audience
 Citizens
 Households
X Property owners
 Policymakers
 Local and regional authorities
 Energy service company (ESCO’s)
 Architects and engineers
 Other

2. BACKGROUND
Effi Spar is a service to homeowners who are willing to improve the energy efficiency of their
house. It is directed at citizens within the region of Braunschweig. The idea is to provide
customers with an individually coordinated concept including all aspects of modernisation
and thereby enabling them to save money through reduced heating costs.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of Effi Spar is to reduce the amount of energy used and CO2 emissions produced for
heating privately owned buildings. The objectives toward this aim are to realise energy
efficiency potentials of individual buildings and to increase the share of renewable energies
used to heat houses. The strategies to achieve these objectives are enabling the customers to
save money through reduced heating costs and improving the room climate and overall
quality of living. An additional positive effect is the stimulation of the local economy, since in
most cases local craftsmen will get the job to do it.
PROCESS
With Effi Spar, EnerMaTec follows a wholistic approach providing the customer with one
central contact person for the complete project. Reduction of the information deficit of the
owner and starting with a high quality energy consultation are crucial parts of the process.
This ensures that the homeowner is supported through every step of the process starting from
determining which changes are most effective, recommending skilled craftsmen and
overseeing construction.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND PARTNERS
Effi Spar is financed by the customers who are billed a fixed share of construction costs. An
important part for credibility is the neutrality and no hidden sponsoring. Partners of the
project is the regional chamber of crafts, one of the regional technical colleges, some financial
institutes and some others. To have partners from the public sector increases the reputation of
the project a lot.
RESULTS
So far Effi Spar has generated considerable interest in various sectors. Currently, plans for
implementation of different measures are being discussed with a demonstrating customer. A
final evaluation including quantitative figures is not yet possible. A final conclusion should be
drawn after a several months or perhaps one year into the project when a few objects have
been completed.
LESSONS LEARNED AND REPEATABILTY
It has repeatedly become apparent that Effi Spar is a unique product which has been awaited
by many. Some of the difficulties during the process of creating Effi Spar were getting all the
right people involved, convincing everyone of the name and coordinating the marketing
activities. Through persistent work and and patience it was possible to solve all these
problems in the end. This type of project would probably make even more sense in southern

3. European countries with a warm climate where heating costs are added by cooling costs for
AC in summer. In most countries which provide the necessary prerequisites, such as a strong
network of qualified craftsman businesses and a suitable local or regional residential structure,
a project like Effi Spar could be successful.
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