The Example of the Thermal Insulation in Germany

Abstract

Residential energy use is among the main sources for carbon dioxide in Germany. Although it has been subject to environmental regulation, a steady increase is observable. The author poses the question, whether the environmental standards in the building sector helped the development of new materials. The case of the windows and panes industry is analyzed in depth as an example. Field studies as well as econometric methods lead to the conclusion that environmental regulation lags behind the technological development.

Ecologically beneficial residencies as well as ecologically beneficial traffic does not exist; both activities of private households are by definition disturbances to the ecological system. The construction and maintenance of buildings come with significant uses of space, natural resources and large amounts of waste and waste water. The use of buildings affects the environment with the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning — mostly for heating purposes.

The demand for energy of private households is a field that still shows a vast potential for energy savings. This is a rather surprising result, since the households’ energy demand has been subject to regulation and taxation for several years. The main determinants of the households’ energy demand are controlled by the Ordinance for Heating Systems, which sets a required minimum efficiency, and the Ordinance for Thermal Insulation. The latter used to solely affect newly constructed houses, but recently (1995) has been extended to maintenance work on existing buildings.

Although parts of the above mentioned potential could be realized by conventional means, one can raise the question, to which extent new products and materials are necessary and what fosters the development of such innovations. In the following we choose one specific trajectory from the large choice of possible innovative lines of production in the building sector, and ask how it has been affected by environmental regulation.

Facing the discrepancy between the intensive regulation on the one hand and the lack of energy efficiency on the other hand, we therefore ask, whether the policy mix has offered enough incentives for the invention and diffusion of new solutions and where the obstacles are. This problem is closely related to the question of innovative effects of environmental regulation. In other words, how should environmental regulation be designed to guarantee optimal benefits to the environment and incentives for innovation¹ and growth. At this point we may assume, that these incentives will differ for invention and deployment of innovations as well as for basic and incremental innovations.

This contribution relates to the framework of the FIU project (cf. Lehr/Löbbe in this volume). There, a positive influence of environmental regulation on innovation has been found in cases where regulation was dynamically tightened and flexible enough to allow for different new technologies. Here, we concentrate on the invention phase². Taking the example of windows and panes we especially analyze the impact of the Ordinance on Thermal Insulation („Wärmeschutzverordnung“, WSchVO). We chose this example, because

• windows are a central determinant for the heat loss of a building,

• windows are used in all buildings in similar ways and thus allow for generalized results,

• panes show long term observable trajectories, which can be described by consistent parameters, therefore allowing for quantitative analysis and

• the WSchVO is tightened regularly and allows for the use of a wide range of materials to fulfill the standard (flexibility).

This paper is organized as follows. The first section lists the main technological development, the deployment potential and the market situation. The second section contains a survey of the relevant standards. The nature of the influence of regulation on the technological change is closely analyzed in the third section using an econometric causality test. The method is briefly presented. The paper closes with a summary and an outlook.