Austria
State of the art
In the Austrian federal state of Steiermark, installation of solar thermal installations has been a criterion for receipt of the ecological housing subsidies in new builds since May 2006. Exemption from the installation of solar installations applies when a heat pump is installed or a year-round connection made to the district heating network.
In the state of Upper Austria, introduction of solar criteria for housing subsidies for new builds was agreed on 25th February 2008. Once the regulations come into force, all new, funded multi-storey homes must be fitted with a thermal solar system and, from 1st January 2009, this also applies to all new funded private homes too. The only exception is a year-round local or district heating connection mainly supplied by biomass, process or excess heat, or geothermics. The obligations also no longer apply when installation of a solar system is not justifiable for climatic reasons.
Download here the national state of the art of solar urban planning in Austria
