Green Living as a concept in districts – the energy world of tomorrow

Climate change is a significant challenge for the real estate industry, as the building sector is a major contributor to Germany's failure to meet its CO2 emissions targets. At the same time, many cities are struggling with a shortage of housing, especially in the area of social housing. The rise in rents this year has been drastic and is exacerbating the situation - for example, in Berlin by 15% to a full 12.6 euros per square meter, and rising (source: Immoscout24 and Immowelt).

How can we simultaneously address these challenges and create sustainable, livable neighborhoods? The concept of the "Green Living Neighborhood" is increasingly coming into focus. It offers answers not only to the pressing problems of climate change, but also to the current causes of the scarce as well as increasingly expensive living space.

The goals of this concept are simple: Housing should be future-oriented, environmentally friendly and social.

This blog entry presents what Green Living entails in the European area (1), what advantages Green Living brings with it (2), how the implementation of the goals according to the ESG criteria takes place (3) and then explains where we at ROCKETHOME start in the implementation of these requirements (4).

1. how does Green Living work?

Neighborhood projects that have already been planned and implemented, such as Seestadt in Vienna or Kreuzfeld in Cologne, serve as good benchmarks. These residential districts are characterized by their green, sustainable and inclusive orientation.

In such mixed neighborhoods, advanced technologies are used to effectively utilize renewable energies. Everything from the installation of heat pumps and their digital management to the implementation of energy storage systems, e-charging stations and the use of neighborhood apps is available. Intelligent energy management in the neighborhood creates a balance between heating, cooling and electricity needs, balancing supply and demand and providing feedback to users:inside. Traditional car traffic is also reduced, which is made possible by many bike paths, pedestrian walkways and parking spaces for parking cars at the beginning of the neighborhood.

The main components in Green Living neighborhoods are:

1. Renewable energies using photovoltaic systems, heat pumps/heating solutions or e-charging stations
2. Cross-sector energy management with effective savings effects in the operating phase of the properties
3. Sustainable mobility concept and smart applications in the building
4. Digital interaction with tenants, visitors and service providers
5. Social anchor points & services of general interest in the neighborhood
6. Offer services and services on site (neighborhood helpers, events, delivery services, consulting and booking services, digital downtown, ...).
7. Neighborhood platform for holistic administration of all devices, users and data

2. what are the benefits of green living?

Advantages for managers, owners and landlords:

• Attractiveness through the environmental aspect: Green living neighborhoods are also attractive to buyers and tenants looking for sustainable living solutions, which appeals to a larger target group and increases demand for their properties.
• Increase in property value: green living neighborhoods usually have a higher increase in value because they are in line with current trends and market demands.
• Cost savings through energy efficiency: By using energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources, landlord:s can achieve significant cost savings in the long term. Energy costs are reduced because buildings use less energy and can generate their own energy.
• Lower maintenance costs: Sustainable building materials and smart technologies are often more durable and require less maintenance. This leads to lower maintenance costs for landlords and managers, as repairs and replacements are needed less often.
• Promote tenant retention: Sustainable neighborhoods provide an attractive and healthy living environment for tenants. By providing sustainable infrastructure and community amenities that improve residents' well-being and quality of life, landlords can increase tenant retention.

Green Living also offers many benefits for communities and policy makers:

• Achieving climate protection goals: Green living neighborhoods make an important contribution to achieving national and international climate protection goals. By promoting sustainable neighborhoods, policymakers and municipalities can meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
• Job creation: The development of green living neighborhoods creates jobs and contributes to economic development. Implementing sustainable building projects requires skilled workers in architecture, engineering, renewable energy and construction, leading to employment opportunities and local economic growth.
• Attractiveness for investors and companies: Green living neighborhoods create an attractive environment for investors and businesses. Sustainable neighborhoods attract companies active in renewable energy, energy-efficient technologies and sustainable services.
• Supporting local infrastructure: The development of Green Living neighborhoods usually requires improved infrastructure, such as the expansion of public transport, the construction of bicycle paths and the creation of green spaces. This leads to strengthening local infrastructure and improving the quality of life throughout the community.
• Leading the way and setting an example: By promoting Green Living neighborhoods, policymakers and municipalities can lead the way and serve as role models for sustainable urban development and environmentally conscious action. This can inspire and encourage other municipalities and cities to take similar measures.

3. the ESG criteria as a beacon

ESG criteria have become widely accepted as the target metrics for companies to use to measure the sustainability of projects in their formative and operational stages.

Environmental:

Green living neighborhoods help reduce the environmental footprint by relying on renewable energy, using resources efficiently and reducing waste. Energy consumption is to be reduced through transparency, while self-consumption is to be covered by photovoltaic systems. Modern architectures with sustainable materials and efficient construction are to be applied. In addition, real estate shall be digitalized and smart functions for the management of e-charging stations and photovoltaic systems shall be introduced. This will allow energy and water consumption to be automated and effectively reduced.

Social:

Mixed-use neighborhoods are designed to promote diversity and allow work, living, shopping and lifestyle to be combined, replacing long trips by car with short walks. This will provide residents with a healthy and sustainable living environment, improving their quality of life. In addition, real estate should be used in a more long-term and versatile way and the offer of different apartments and single-family homes should integrate as much as possible everyone into the neighborhood, regardless of, for example, age groups or income. Communication and networking should be facilitated by community platforms that strengthen social interactions.

Governance:

In order to promote the sustainable development of companies, the further development of e-mobility is relevant, among other things. The support of bicycles, bike sharing as well as underground garages for bicycles is also advantageous here. An important aspect for this sub-item is also the new Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which sustainable new buildings must comply with in order to make energy consumption more transparent and thus more efficient. Green living neighborhoods can also help mitigate environmental and climate risks by relying on sustainable infrastructures and paying attention to the protection of natural resources. This reduces the risk of environmental violations, legal problems and financial losses.

4. future-proof real estate with ROCKETHOME

For us, it is clear that future-proof neighborhoods require additional components alongside the basic physical framework of real estate, which we have structured from a platform perspective: The "Climate", "Digital" & "Social Layer". Real estate is future-proof when...

• ... energy consumption and the consumption of CO2 are reduced.
• ... buildings become more digital and thus more comfortable, safer and more age-appropriate.
• ... Operating and ancillary costs for tenants, landlords and owners can be reduced.

Based on our neighborhood platform for real estate products, we can deliver the services you need for your new construction or modernization project:

Climate Layer

• Energy transparency: EED-compliant visualization, smart meter visualization, cost overview
• Charging infrastructure: control charging box, consumption display, cost overview
• Photovoltaics & storage: visualization of generation, feed-in and grid purchase, energy flow
• Heat solutions: EED visualization, energy flows
• Air conditioning solutions: Control of air conditioners, automation and optimization of the indoor climate.
• Energy Management Optimization: HEMS Systems, Energy Management in Neighborhoods, Dynamic Tariffs

Digital Layer

• Smart Access: Digital access solutions, short-term access for tradesmen, etc., access management
• Smart Heating: heating control and automation, heating modes setup and energy saving.
• Leakage: detection of (micro) leaks and alarming
• Smart home: control and automation of shading and lighting
• Building sensors: indoor climate monitoring, security solutions and alarms
• Near-field mobility: integration of car/bike sharing, booking and use via app

Social Layer

• Customer service tools: Messages, Forms, Documents, Marketplace
• Administration tools: Building overview, authorization management
• E-commerce tools for creating experiences and shopping worlds
• Integration and control of IoT modules: energy and building technology
• Service plugins: marketing automation, energy visualizations

The revolution in buildings has now begun. Our goal is to connect the new components so that we can make our future more climate-friendly, fairer and therefore simpler.

Our experts at ROCKETHOME will help you with your sustainable projects and are available to you as consultants, planners and implementers. Feel free to contact us.