Rethinking the heating transition for apartment buildings in Aachen

vaestro offers landlords and owners of apartment buildings an innovative way to replace outdated heating systems without extensive renovations. Our solution uses Scandinavian technology to electrify the heating supply of each apartment individually.



In addition, vaestro provides landlords with a business model that incentivizes them to proactively replace heating systems, promoting a seamless transition to this future-proof technology.

vaestro

Nils Bartig

Nils Bartig

Co-Founder vaestro

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Problem: Old, inefficient heating system in apartment buildings

Outdated and inefficient heating systems not only drive up CO₂ emissions, but are also a major reason for rising ancillary housing costs in our city. The 2022 census shows that 87.9% of heating systems in Aachen use fossil fuels, mainly in apartment buildings. Of 145,000 apartments, 127,520 use gas or oil heating.



The consequences are mainly felt by tenants. They are exposed to continuously rising energy costs - a burden that will be exacerbated by the predicted price development of gas and oil in the coming years.



In addition, the prevailing alternatives for replacing heating systems, such as district heating or central heat pumps, are not an optimal solution for most apartment buildings - they require high investments and major structural changes during installation.



The core of the problem lies in the lack of incentives. Landlords have little reason to invest in modern heating technology, as the savings in operating costs do not reach them directly. This gap between investment costs and benefits is one of the biggest obstacles to energy modernization in cities and requires innovative solutions.

Technical solution: vaestro heat

We offer a decentralized heating technology that completely replaces fossil fuels and thus makes a significant contribution to climate neutrality. The system is based on a technology that is widely used for heating in Scandinavia. The heat is extracted from the ambient air and fed directly into the living spaces.



The installation is carried out separately for each residential unit by means of an uncomplicated, cost-effective retrofit, eliminating the need for costly conversions. The new heating system fits seamlessly into existing residential structures and requires only minimal installation work - without the need for additional insulation measures or the replacement of heating radiators.

Economical solution: vaestro tenant electricity

vaestro tenant electricity - a win-win business model for landlords and tenants

Electrification of the heating supply makes fossil fuels obsolete and electricity the only source of energy. The vaestro model optimizes electricity procurement in the neighbourhood, allows landlords to participate in the welfare gains and thus creates an incentive to proactively replace heating systems.



To this end, we are introducing the vaestro tenant electricity model, in which landlords supply their tenants as energy providers. Instead of individual electricity contracts per residential unit, there is a smart neighborhood energy contract. This reduces costs by reducing meter charges, offering better purchasing conditions and using dynamic electricity tariffs. The complete digitalization of electricity and heat consumption data enables vaestro to optimize energy use and minimize procurement costs through the intelligent use of daily electricity price fluctuations.



The result: an attractive return for landlords, reduced housing costs for tenants and a tangible contribution to sustainability.

Tackling the heating transition in Aachen together

We are currently implementing our first pilot projects and are constantly facing new challenges. In order to overcome these, we are seeking close cooperation with grid operators, municipal utilities and energy suppliers. Together with the Smart City think tank and the organizers of this ideas competition, we can tackle one of the biggest challenges of the energy transition and drive forward the heating transition in Aachen.

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