Heating and cooling
How to deploy heat pumps at scale – and fast
The EU’s ‘RePowerEU’ plan aims to accelerate the rollout of heat pumps, including doubling the deployment rate in the next five years. Richard Lowes explains how it can be done.
Europe needs a strategy for seasonal energy balancing
As the role of gas in the energy system evolves, the approach to meeting winter peak demand must also keep up, writes Nikos Tsafos. More fundamentally, someone needs to be responsible for supply security, he argues.
The only quick-fix to Europe’s energy price crisis is saving energy
Faced with rising energy prices, the only thing Europe can quickly do to prevent a potentially difficult winter is to actively promote energy conservation in both the residential and industrial sectors, write Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann.
EU must end fossil fuel heating by 2025
Ecodesign and energy labelling will deliver a third of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions target – but the European Commission is dodging the chance to set heating on the right path, by greenlighting the sale of polluting gas boilers beyond 2030, write Mélissa zill and Davide Sabbadin.
Heating our homes without heating up the planet
A handful of leading manufacturers of heating systems are paving the way for clean heating, showing that ditching fossil fuel boilers is not only possible but also financially desirable, write Davide Sabbadin and Mélissa Zill.
We can’t burn our way out of the climate crisis
In its new Net Zero scenario, the International Energy Agency (IEA) maps a 60% increase in bioenergy by 2050. But Swapping burning wood for burning coal won’t save the climate, warns Peg Putt.
Sweetening the deal for heat decarbonisation
How can we expect people to invest in heat pumps if we deliberately make electricity more expensive than fossil gas, oil and coal? That’s like taxing water and subsidising sugary drinks, argues Samuel Thomas.
A way forward to bring transport and buildings in the ETS
Rapid emission cuts need one carbon price for all sectors, including transport and buildings. But to move quickly enough, we should allow some differentiation for a limited time, writes Georg Zachmann.
Hiding fossil fuel subsidies under clean energy targets?
To safeguard climate targets’ integrity against greenwashing measures, transparent rules should be in place, write Vlasios Oikonomou and Haris Doukas.
Energy performance in buildings is key to meeting 2030 emissions target
Ursula von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans have pledged to kick-start a Renovation Wave across Europe. This is a management challenge with three aspects that have to be met, write building industry CEOs.
COVID-19 means tackling energy poverty is more urgent than ever
The COVID-19 crisis is hitting European consumers in the pocket, causing rising unemployment and falling income for those who have kept their jobs. Spending more time at home as a result of lockdown measures could make matters worse for energy...
The case for green buildings in the COVID-19 recovery
By supporting green buildings, the European Commission can simultaneously cut down energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions while improving comfort and health, and supporting Europe’s 18 million construction workers, writes Peter Sweatman.
Cooling down Europe’s heating system
If we want Europe to go carbon neutral, we must stop manufacturing and selling technologies based on oil and gas – starting with heating systems, write Davide Sabbadin and Melissa Zill.Special ReportPromoted content
Our buildings are making our children sick
The youngest generation is losing healthy life years due to the poor state of the homes and schools that they spend much of their youth in. Its imperative that legislators across Europe implement the EU’s new building directive before the deadline in March 2020.
Intelligent building technologies are critical to a low-carbon future
Rapid urbanisation and climate change are intertwined, making decarbonisation of the built environment paramount to stabilising the future. The technologies that will deliver significant emissions reductions there will deliver benefits for all those involved, writes Casey Talon.
Heatwaves hurt the poor most: Time for an EU plan
Recurring heatwaves across Europe have been most devastating for the poor. New EU institutions have a mandate to make Europe’s energy transition a just one, but this can only be done if a European Marshall plan is implemented to fight climate change and protect the vulnerable, writes Yamina Saheb.Promoted content
To enable Europe’s clean energy future, we need to buckle up and couple up
The theme for this year’s EU Sustainable Energy Week is ’Shaping Europe’s Energy Future’ - that future holds plenty of potential and must rest on further integration across sector and policies to ensure we optimize our energy systems for optimal performance and efficiency.
Newer forces are altering the HVAC market
The residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market could pick up the pace with advances in regulations, technology and a push for carbon fuel efficiency, writes Neil Strother.
Connecting the dots to enable climate leadership at all levels
We are running out of time to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, and need urgent and ambitious climate leadership. Cities are central to this effort – and it is crucial that we continue to enable our cities to address and solve climate challenges, writes Lars Tveen.
Some order in the multiple definitions of refrigeration
People are often confused by the multiple definitions of refrigeration, published in different sources, which are mutually overlapping but never identical. Some order was recently achieved and it is also needed at EU level, writes Kostadin Fikiin.
Time to address Europe’s hot and cold homes crisis
Most European countries have significant energy poverty problems and are unable to keep their citizens warm during winter. In fact, that applies as much to cooling as to heating, writes Adrian Joyce.
EU at risk of missing 2020 energy efficiency targets: Lessons for 2030
EU energy consumption is rising despite targets to reduce demand across Europe. This should not come as a surprise and is explained mainly by GDP growth, writes Samuel Thomas.
Clean power for data centres
As big data, digital content, and e-commerce continue to drive explosive growth in power demand for data centres, it is crucial to understand the reliability and sustainability of power supplied to these facilities, writes Pritil Gunjan.