Following years of failed attempts, Germany will from January 2020 provide homeowners with tax incentives for energy efficient renovations, allowing them to deduct 20 percent of the costs for renovations of up to 40,000 euros from their taxes, reports Tagesspiegel Background. Insulation measures, new windows and exterior doors, the replacement or optimisation of old heating and ventilation systems and the installation of digital energy management systems are eligible for support, according to Clean Energy Wire.

Industry representatives welcomed the tax incentives as “very good news” and a “giant leap” for climate action in the buildings sector but bemoaned that the measures would only cover owner-occupied homes. This rules out rented dwellings and means that less than half of Germany’s approximately 42 million homes are eligible for support. A study by the German alliance for energy efficiency in buildings, geea, projects that the approved measures could save up to 3.4 million ton