Macroeconomic effects of energetic building retrofit: Input-output sensitivity analyses

Energy efficiency measures in buildings are essential for climate protection, but are not always recognized by the investor in common profitability calculations. To provide a quantitative scientific base for policymakers, the aim is to identify and quantify the impact of these measures on Germany’s economy with a static open input-output model. Moreover, this investigation analyses how much the chosen base year affects the calculated macroeconomic impact, to obtain a clearer view of involved dynamics. The energy efficiency measures in buildings and their impact on energy demand and investments were simulated in the bottom-up building model INVERT/EE-Lab up to 2020. The methodological addition of this research is to identify and map the resulting impulses to the according macroeconomic sectors. Based on this stimulus a static input-output analysis is conducted using a range of base years. The results show that efficiency measures in buildings have a significant positive effect on macroeconomic key figures. The magnitude of the calculated impact depends on chosen base year data and varies for value added and employment. As a conclusion, the macroeconomic impact constitutes a co-benefit supporting the economic attractiveness of energy efficiency. However, studies based on a single base year dataset like many computable general equilibrium models may need to reflect the errors caused by that choice.