Contemporary 16 apartment building block

We have to end the time when our energy came mostly from coal mines, oil wells, and gas extraction. So from where should all the energy come from?

Space and material for a 16-apartment building block in Germany: Brick/Masonry Construction (Ziegel-Mauerwerksbau) Traditional and common (highest market share in Germany): Load-bearing brick walls, concrete floors/slabs.

Standard range: 1,200–2,400 m² (0.12–0.24 hectares)
Bricks/masonry (load-bearing walls, often high-insulation filled bricks like Poroton): 500–700 kg/m² BGF → 1,200–1,680 tons total. (Higher mass due to thicker walls ~30–42 cm for thermal performance.)
Concrete (mainly floors/ceilings, basement/garage): 250–350 kg/m² BGF → 600–840 tons total. (Less than pure concrete build, as walls carry load.)
Steel reinforcement: 40–60 kg/m² BGF → 96–144 tons total.
Only 20 to 40 kW photovoltaic.

We have to end the time when our energy came mostly from coal mines, oil wells, and gas extraction. So from where should all the energy come from? I predicted in 1992 that the electricity demand in Germany would increase from 500 TWh to 1,200 TWh because we have to change all the use of thermal energy to electricity; the yield of biomass is magnitudes too low to continue with burning to produce heat or mechanical energy. Prof. Volker Quaschning wrote in 2016 in “Sektorkopplung durch die Energiewende” (Sector coupling through the energy transition) that the electricity demand will increase from 600 TWh to 1,300 TWh. Some new studies predict more, some less, but let's see what 1,300 TWh means: 1,300 TWh divided by 83.5 million inhabitants is 15,687 kWh per inhabitant. With an average of 2 inhabitants per apartment: 31,138 kWh. With 16 apartments in this block: 498 MWh.

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Abstract
	To meet the necessary cost optimization targets, we cannot hold the energy problem separate from all other problems: another major problem is housing.

Introduction
	Many imaginations about our future had been created in the past with completely different parameters. Unchecked conclusions from the past endanger our future with unbearable costs.

My personal experience with a profitability transition
	Birds can fly without knowing all the terms of aerodynamics. I reacted with my design change to an ongoing “profitability transition” without knowing the term at this time.

Energy transition
	The long way from random electricity from sun and wind towards 24×365 electricity. Overseen profitability transitions have to be considered as major accidents.

Solar yield and conversion to 24×365 electricity
	The wide range of solar yield becomes much wider after the conversion of gross yield to 24×365 electricity. 6 examples from our research of 50 locations.

The GEMINI principle: double usage of land
	No better solar power plant, no better housing possible on the same ground is the ultimate target of the GEMINI principle.

Off-grid fast charging settlements
	It can start small, somewhere in a village, with a single GEMINI house with a big PV carport and 100 kW DC charging.

Energy-intensive industry
	I once developed a scale for off-grid solar possibilities depending on photovoltaic size. But now is to make a big jump upwards on this scale: running, energy-intensive industry.

Agriculture: How many square meters does a human need for his food?
	Mankind started as hunters and gatherers. 12,000 years ago, 500,000 m² to 2,500,000 m² per human. With the agricultural revolution, the land use was reduced by 2 magnitudes.

Conclusion
	All parameters are in a constant state of change. We have to check all the parameters and predict the development for the predictable future.

References
	Roland Mösl: Energy Optimised Settlements – Enabler for Necessary Civilization Targets, Graz 2025