Background information

Since 2009, the Austrian government has annually (with the exemption of 2010) issued funds for thermal renovation (e.g. replacement of windows, insulation of facades or conversion of heating systems to renewable energies). Private individuals can apply for these funds which cover parts of the costs. The budget is adjusted and newly decided annually - on a first come, first serve basis until the funds have been exhausted.

In addition, a "Get out of oil" funding campaign was started in 2021 as part of the nationwide renovation campaign by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK). This should facilitate a switch from fossil fuel-powered room heating systems to sustainable heating systems.

Content of measure

The purpose of the renovation bonus campaign is to promote thermal building renovations to reduce energy consumption for heating (and air conditioning) and, as a result, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Funds are available for commercial and private buildings, including multi-storey residential buildings.

The following services which are admitted to funding:

• insulation of the exterior walls, the upper floor ceiling and the roof;
• insulation of the lowest floor ceiling or the floor adjacent to the ground;
• renovation or replacement of windows and exterior doors.

The building to be renovated must be at least 20 years old. The amount of funding depends on the scope of the refurbishment measures implemented. The submission of an energy performance certificate or renovation concept is mandatory. The funding is awarded in the form of a one-off, non-repayable investment cost subsidy and amounts to a maximum of 50 percent of the eligible investment costs. The subsidy amounts to between €3,000 and €14,000, depending on the type of renovation. If insulation material made from renewable raw materials is used, a supplement may also be granted.

The "Raus aus Öl und Gas" ("Get out of oil and gas") funding campaign has also been prolonged into 2023 and 2024. In Austria, there are still around 840,000 gas heating systems, 500,000 oil heating systems and 80,000 heating systems using coke or coal in operation. The funding campaign aims towards replacing these with environmentally more friendly systems.

In total, a budget of €940 million is available for private individuals and businesses for the "Out of oil and gas" campaign and the 2023/2024 renovation campaign.

Use of measure

In 2023, there were 40,000 applications for funding. Within the first months of 2024 (from January to mid-April), there were already 32,000 funding applications.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Unknown.

Views and reactions

Unknown.

Sources

• 01 January 2023: Thermal building renovation and boiler replacement (www.bmk.gv.at)
• 01 January 2023: Get out of oil and gas (kesseltausch.at)
• 18 April 2024: So far, almost as many applications for heating system replacement as in the whole of 2023 (www.derstandard.at)