Building owners in Bottrop wishing to renovate their residential building in terms of energy efficiency can take advantage of the wide range of support services offered by Innovation City Management GmbH (ICM).
In particular, these include
- Energy advice,
- advice on subsidies, support with subsidy applications,
- contractor search and
- financing.
Within the ProRetro project, ICM guides owners through the entire renovation process or only advises them on individual modules, depending on the wishes of the owners.
As part of the ten-year model project InnovationCity Ruhr | Model City Bottrop from 2010 to 2020, energy advice services were already available to increase the renovation rate in Bottrop. This service is relaunched, expanded and deepened in the ProRetro project. With the help of the project, support can now be offered through almost the entire customer journey. In particular, support with applications for subsidies and grants, finding contractors and financing did not exist before.
Free energy advice
All decisions remain with the owners themselves, the service is independent and vendor-neutral. The advice is based on the individual interests of the owners. Furthermore, the service is free of charge because the city of Bottrop wants to use the service to promote energy efficiency renovation as a contribution to greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Energy advice can be given in person or via video or telephone call. During the first meeting, the residential building is technically examined to find energy savings potentials for improvements. In planning renovation measures, ICM gives special emphasis to the topics of indoor air quality and indoor mould.
With initial cost estimates and an estimation of energy savings made possible by the renovation and additional measures, like the installation of photovoltaic systems, ICM calculates the economic viability and develops a renovation roadmap.
Guidance on grants and subsidies
Various grant and subsidy programmes exist in Germany for renovation measures. These have been launched by the federal government, the state, the city, development banks and other agencies. Some of them offer different advantages and conditions for eligibility also vary. ICM analyses which programme may be suitable and which subsidies are available. By doing this, ICM guides its customers through the “jungle” of programmes. The results are considered in the economic calculations. ICM offers further support to facilitate the application process for subsidies, for example by doing preliminary checks of documents and helping in the communication with authorities.
How to find contractors
Once the decision which energy-efficiency measures to implement has been made, the search for contractors begins. The Handwerkskammer Münster supports this task. Suitable specialist companies can easily be found via a search portal or advertisements. Local companies can be found through the portal www.lokaleshandwerk.de. There is also space for advertising projects on the Handwerkskammer Münster’s website. To ensure that the ICM remains independent, no recommendations are made.
Financing measures
Even if measures are cost-effective and subsidised, loans are sometimes needed for the planned investment. If a loan is necessary, ICM can participate in discussions with financial institutions and support the process. Sparkasse Bottrop supports the ProRetro project and is happy to help. Those who are customers of other financial institutions are of course free to involve their own bank.
Getting an appointment
Appointments can be arranged by giving us a call or sending us an email.
Zentrum für Information und Beratung (ZIB)
Südring Center Promenade 3
46242 Bottrop
Phone: +49 (0)2041 723 06 50
Email: info@icm.de
Who is Innovation City Management?
Innovation City Management GmbH stands for holistic neighbourhood development – smart, digital and climate-friendly. As a consulting and project management company, we develop and implement sustainable and innovative solutions with our interdisciplinary team of 39 employees. With our help, cities and companies can meet the challenges of climate and structural change.
The future challenges of neighbourhood and urban development require a holistic and interdisciplinary strategy. That is why we are constantly optimizing and expanding our approaches, methods and services to provide our customers with the greatest possible added value. Whether long-term projects or short-term ad-hoc inquiries – we are your service provider for all neighbourhood issues.
Through our extensive experience with clients from the public sector, housing industry stakeholders and energy providers, we know the interests of each target group. ICM can take on various roles in projects, involve the project-relevant stakeholders, moderate communication between them and ultimately synchronize project goals.