Energy performance of buildings
Think-tank: Artificially low electricity prices ‘not good for EDF’ nor consumers
Artificially low energy prices in France are one of the reasons why former state monopoly EDF loses money, says Thomas Pellerin-Carlin. Moreover, regulated prices are useless to protect vulnerable consumers from energy poverty and “almost never leads to low energy bills,” he argues.
Europe’s path to carbon neutrality: A move to ‘sobriété énergétique’?
What is 'sobriété énergétique' and what is its role in pushing Europe towards its carbon reduction goals? Kamila Waciega explains.
Time to deliver: Putting building renovation into practice
Addressing energy poverty and developing new financial tools to boost energy savings are two things governments could do in practice to go beyond the targets outlined in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and start renovating the European building stock for real.
REDay2018: key outputs from the conference
The amended Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) contains a vision for 2050 for the buildings stock in the EU – it will have to be highly energy efficient and decarbonised, reaching cost-effective nearly zero energy levels.
French MP: Building renovation needs to get everyone on board
To succeed in renovating the European building stock by 2050, all the governance levels need to be involved, from local to national, French MP Marjolaine Meynier-Millefert told EURACTIV, adding that people who cannot afford the costs of renovation must not be left behind.
Renovation of buildings: The fight is over, time to implement
The vision for decarbonising the European building stock is clear enough: now comes the time for the member states to enforce these commitments.
Healthy buildings expert: ‘Homes cause hurricanes’
At the Healthy Buildings Day (HBD) in Brussels last week (26 September), academic experts painted a vivid picture of how the edifices we spend our days in shape our lives and the planet itself.
Building a better business case for healthy buildings
Homeowners are often put off fixing a leaky roof or banishing damp from the downstairs bathroom due to the costs involved. But a business case is quickly building in favour of renovations.
‘It’s the housing, stupid’: How homes harm our health
Most of Europe’s buildings are over forty years old and are largely inefficient. Poorly insulated, leaky buildings have a real impact on inhabitant and worker health, according to the latest edition of the Healthy Homes Barometer.
How building renovation and electrification of transport can help us reach the Paris goals
At first glance, buildings and transport may look like two unrelated subjects. But with the mass deployment of electric vehicles, managing the electricity consumption of cars when they recharge becomes critical to ensure grid stability, writes Harry Verhaar.
Energy efficiency: ‘Tough legislation means tough enforcement’
New EU rules on buildings and energy efficiency standards, adopted earlier this year, are “tough but fair” and will need to be implemented and enforced correctly, according to the architects of the legislation.
Bendt Bendtsen MEP: Time for EU countries to draft building strategies, ‘we’ll be watching’
Nearly half of Europe’s energy is used up by buildings but new rules adopted by the EU earlier this year wants to inject efficiency en masse into the sector and improve massively the edifices in which we live and work. EURACTIV spoke with the lawmaker behind the new legislation.
Healthy buildings: Good for our wallets?
‘Healthy mind, healthy body’, so the saying goes - but both are affected by the buildings in which we live and work. This year’s edition of the Healthy Homes Barometer reveals what the challenges and solutions might be.
More banks join EU-backed pilot scheme for green mortgages
Deutsche Hypothekenbank in Germany and Ecology Building Society in the UK were the latest to join a group of 37 pioneering banks offering an energy efficiency mortgage pilot scheme to homeowners.
Mega infrastructure projects win over clean energy in Visegrad Four
In the Visegrad countries, decision makers prefer their historical favourites – coal and nuclear – to renewable sources and energy efficiency. As the Global Climate Action Summit resumes in San Francisco, it’s important to realise that corporate leadership can also shape the outlook for clean energy in Eastern Europe, writes Ada Ámon.
A holistic approach to smart building systems
While a coordinated operation of all building systems can achieve significant energy savings, those systems are too often installed in siloes hindering to unlock the full potential, writes Tom Machinchick.
Banker: ‘Massive positive change’ underway for building renovation
The energy performance contract model can turn energy efficiency renovation of buildings into a truly popular policy objective among politicians in Central and Eastern Europe because it can be done without any use of public money and has no impact on public debt, says Ivan Lesay.
Croatia’s renovation projects can teach us as much as their football
What do Croatia’s football team and its energy efficiency programmes have in common? Experience, skill, tenacity and an inspiring amount of success, writes Adrian Joyce.
Cooling, Europe’s unheralded energy challenge
Heating and cooling takes up half the European Union’s energy consumption but it is often radiators and heaters that hog the spotlight, while air conditioning and fans are sidelined. But the changing climate and economic situation means cooling is set to become far more important.
Higher shares of renewables for higher levels of electrification
A deep decarbonisation of the European economy is doable, but it will rely heavily on an increased uptake of electricity – even if the challenges are very different across the individual use sectors, writes Kristian Ruby.
UK set to ‘dramatically’ miss 2030 energy efficiency targets for homes
The UK will not meet its 2030 goals to boost energy efficiency in its housing stock until the end of the century, new research from think tank IPPR has concluded. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.
‘Primary’ energy efficiency in focus as EU talks near finishing line
Public debate on energy efficiency has tended to focus on savings made by the end-user – whether in buildings or in consumer products like TV sets, lightbulbs, and vacuum cleaners, which have all grabbed headlines.
Why the Paris Agreement requires an ambitious Energy Efficiency Directive
An energy efficiency target of around 35%, combined with a parallel increase in ambition for renewable energies, would allow the EU to halve its emissions by 2030, write Fiona Hall and Brook Riley.