About GEB

GEB

GEB – Gebäude-Energieberater – is the leading German trade magazine for energy consulting, published ten times a year by the Alfons W. Gentner Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart. Founded in 2005 as the first specialist journal for energy consultants ("die erste Fachzeitschrift für Energieberatung"), the magazine has accompanied the professionalization of energy consulting through two decades of building legislation: from the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) to the current Building Energy Act (GEG) and the federal funding programs for efficient buildings (BEG). Its tagline describes it as "Das Magazin für Energieexperten, die entscheidend beraten" – the magazine for energy experts whose advice decides – and its LinkedIn profile calls it "Das führende Fachmagazin zur Energieberatung" (the leading trade magazine for energy consulting).

Overview

GEB – the full title is Gebäude-Energieberater – appears ten times a year in DIN A4 format, published by the Alfons W. Gentner Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart. The 2026 media data (22nd year) document a print run of 9,300 copies with an average actually distributed circulation of 9,149 copies (July 2024–June 2025), of which 5,178 sold – the independently measured reach into the energy-consulting profession. Earlier IVW figures recorded a sold circulation of 11,588 copies (Q4/2010) and a distributed circulation of 13,606 copies (Q4/2007). The magazine is listed in the IVW and the AGOF measurement systems; the ISSN (print) is 1861-115X.

The magazine's readership is the profession itself: architects, energy auditors, self-employed energy consultants, craftspeople from all trades with additional qualification in energy consulting, consulting engineers, planners, technicians, and employees of property developers, construction companies, municipal building offices and housing associations – in short, everyone whose signature appears on energy performance certificates, funding applications and renovation concepts. Through object reports, opinion pieces and technical expertise, readers receive important impulses for maintaining their high level of professional competence, informing themselves about the industry's key topics and receiving directional advice in times of turbulent change – the mission statement of the trade journal.

The editorial focus – "Fachwissen, Technik und Vorschriften" (expertise, technology and regulations) – organizes the monthly offering: technical expertise on technology and standards, current developments in legislation (GEG) and funding programs (BEG), new products and services, reports on successful construction and consulting projects, and important events and continuing education. GEB positions itself as the indispensable companion ("unverzichtbarer Begleiter") of the building-technology and energy-efficiency professionals.

History

The first issue of GEB appeared in 2005 – in the years of the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), when energy consulting was becoming a profession with its own qualification paths (HWK building energy consultants, architects' and engineers' training) and its own funding programs (BAFA on-site consulting, KfW programs). The Stuttgarter Gentner Verlag – the Stuttgart-based specialist publisher for the sanitary, heating, climate and building trades – launched the magazine as the first trade journal for energy consulting, filling the gap between the crafts publications and the energy-policy discourse.

The magazine's tenth anniversary in 2015 was marked by the editorial survey "Wie sieht der Energieberater-Alltag aus?" (What does the energy consultant's everyday look like?) – conducted in cooperation with the two professional associations GIH (Gebäudeenergieberater Ingenieure Handwerker) and DEN (Deutsches Energieberater-Netzwerk), with 506 participants. The survey documented the profession's transformation: where in 2011 the energy performance certificate for residential buildings had still been the top service, KfW-funded individual measures had meanwhile moved to first place – the magazine as the profession's self-observer.

Special issues accompanied the legislative milestones: the December 2007 special issue "Sanieren nach EnEV" (Renovating according to EnEV) – 84 pages of practical tips and current information for planners and energy consultants on the EnEV 2007 revision – documented the magazine's role as the profession's working tool.

The GEB webinars extended the brand into professional continuing education: the specialist webinars of the GEB editorial team – on serial renovation, moisture protection, smart home, energetic modernization in homeowner associations, waste heat, summer heat protection, ventilation concepts, PVT, solar heating and funding programs – with continuing-education points applied for the energy-efficiency experts list, the paid-participation format that made the webinars sought-after for their high quality and technical depth.

The magazine's role as the profession's data source grew with the surveys: the 2015 anniversary survey's finding that BAFA-funded on-site consulting had become "the biggest loser" among business fields – with the funded individual measures taking its place – showed the magazine's ability to quantify the profession's structural change, the numbers that associations and policymakers cite when debating the consulting landscape's future.

Content and Sections

The editorial program of GEB follows the energy consultant's professional agenda. The technical expertise ("Fachwissen") sections cover technology and standards: the building envelope – insulation systems, airtightness, moisture protection, the EPS/XPS recycling debates – the building services – heat pumps, biomass, hybrid heating, ventilation concepts, solar thermal and PVT – the energy balancing and the software: from the EnEV-software market overviews to the modern energy concepts in reconstructed building shells.

The legislation and funding coverage addresses the regulatory framework: the Building Energy Act (GEG) developments, the federal funding for efficient buildings (BEG) – individual measures and heating funding, the energy-efficiency experts list – the rules that determine what the consultant may and must advise.

The object reports and project stories present the successful construction and consulting projects: the practical cases that demonstrate how the standards work in the real building.

The market overviews and product sections present the new products and services: the system technologies, the measurement devices, the software – the tools of the consulting trade.

The continuing-education coverage addresses the qualification maintenance: the training events, the further-education database with discounts for selected events (a Premium subscription benefit), the webinar topics from serial renovation to funding programs – the learning infrastructure that keeps the consultant's expertise current in the turbulent regulatory landscape. The "Fokus GEB" topic booklets (PDF) provide the deep dives that complement the monthly issues.

Publisher and Organization

GEB is published by the Alfons W. Gentner Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart – the specialist publishing house for the sanitary, heating, air-conditioning and building trades. The editor-in-chief has been Bitta Großmann; the editorial team includes Markus Strehlitz (editor), Claudia Siegele, Alexander Borchert and Alisia Romeo. The magazine appears ten times a year; the annual subscription costs 199.90 euros (2025, plus shipping); the single issue 29.90 euros. The media data list the Gentner Verlag's Stuttgart headquarters.

Digital Presence

The digital home of GEB is geb-info.de – the portal that extends the monthly trade magazine into the digital channels, with the online advertorials, the extensive online archive and the e-paper documented in the media data. The Gentner Shop (gentnershop.de) handles the subscriptions: Premium (print + e-paper + archive + focus topic booklets + continuing-education database), Digital-Plus (e-paper + archive) and Classic (print + archive) – with the optional newsletter. The GEB webinars – the paid specialist webinars with continuing-education points – form the brand's education arm. The LinkedIn presence ("Gebäude Energieberater," 7,306 followers) carries the magazine's professional network, and the Fachwerk podcast features GEB editors discussing building automation and energy management trends.

With its 2005 founding as the first trade journal for energy consulting, its ten-issues-a-year rhythm, its Gentner Verlag base and its "entscheidend beraten" mission, GEB remains the leading magazine of Germany's energy consultants – from the EnEV special issue to the GEG webinar, from the printed monthly to the digital archive, the indispensable companion of the profession that decides how Germany's buildings use energy.