1.    Energy efficiency is a very crucial issue for a sustainable energy system. Without measurable energy savings in all areas (private households, traffics, industry, trades and services) a 100 % sustainable energy system will not be possible.

2.    Highest saving potential is attributed to space heating. With consequent improvements in this sector up to one third of the overall German end energy consumption can be saved.

3.    For space heating renewable energies such as solarthermal or geothermal have to be prioritized. Revision and adjustment of standards for the maximum energy consumption of new buildings must be done regularly and the maximum allowable consumption must be constantly decreased.

4.    Furthermore, incentives for the construction of passive houses with the most energy savings should be higher than those for ‘normal’ energy-saving buildings. For refurbishing of old buildings, cost effectiveness and renovation feasibility has to be considered.

5.    Fuel fired heating should be replaced by efficiently working heat pumps with buffer storage in order to minimize fuel consumption. Thus, natural gas consumption can be shifted from space heating to electricity generation in the medium term. Furthermore heat pumps have to be combined with renewable energies wherever this is possible.

6.    The installation of solarthermal heat units must be promoted and subsidized more reliably, because the generation of heat can be more appropriate for the overall energy supply system than electricity by photovoltaic cells.

7.    Additionally, potentials can be observed in the following sectors:
a.    Electrical equipment in households, information and communication technologies as well as illumination technologies
b.    Traffic infrastructure, in particular in private transportation due to the utili-zation of more efficient transportation vehicles such as bicycles and public transportation as well as integrated mobility concepts
c.    Industrial process heat (thermal storage and electricity generation of waste heat)
These potentials have to be recalled by constantly adjusting standards and de-creasing the maximum allowable consumption levels.

8.    To unlock these potentials, it is important that the term “power efficiency” becomes attractive. Every single citizen can and must optimize his acting. Therefore a national (positioned at a local level) information campaign is required. The campaign should contain:
a.    low cost appropriation of technology (smart meter/ current consumption measures)    
b.    simple calculation tools for economic optimization 
c.    low cost consultation for municipalities with the help of local public utilities
d.    collection of all relevant information and easy access to it (e.g. via a central web site) 
e.    advertisements and commercials in order to call attention to the topic
f.    integration of energy education in the educational system, e.g. by project days or school programs.

9.    To convey the rational use of energy to the consumer market, it is recommended to declare the power consumption for production as well as for transport to the local store, e.g. in the form of traffic light colours or similar signs on the package. By this label, the consumer can be sensitized for the subject in an easy and clear way. This could be a benefit for the local economy, since they carry their products without long ways to the end consumer.

10.    The efficiency benchmarking must be implemented in all areas.

11.    The introduction of smart meters is recommended in order to balance power generation and demand and to reduce the need of regulating energy.

12.    An energy efficiency strategy will not be possible without advanced training of the people/professionals implementing the technology or without education of the public.

13.    The energy supply for new industrial facilities should only be based on electricity and natural gas, because they are usually more efficient and can be replaced later on by renewable energy carriers. (Other energy carriers should only be applied, if they are needed for material utilization, e.g. as coal for steel production).

14.    An integrated energy-, material- and process management should become mandatory for industry. All consumption data should be collected and benchmarked in order to enable the identification of more efficient processes.