Heating and cooling Archives

As the European Union turns the page on a series of clean energy laws focused on electricity, attention is now turning to decarbonisation in the gas sector, with an upcoming gas package expected in 2020. And the power sector intends to play a central role there too.

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.

Renewable energy will rewrite the geopolitical map, according to the man tasked with taking clean energy global. Adnan Z. Amin also told EURACTIV that any politicians not worried by the “truly frightening” risks of climate change are not in the right job.

Britain must entirely get rid of fossil-based natural gas in the coming three decades if the country is to meet its long-term decarbonisation objectives, according to a think-tank close to the ruling Conservative party.

Energy consumption in Europe rose for the third consecutive year in 2017, pulling the EU further away from its 2020 energy efficiency objective, according to official figures published on Thursday (7 February).

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.

Emissions from residential heating can be drastically reduced if Europe agrees a ban on new oil and gas boiler installations by 2030 at the latest, according to a Danish researcher who led an EU-wide study to decarbonise the heating and cooling sector.

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.

When adopting new rules for Europe’s electricity market, EU policymakers shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture which involves an increasingly integrated energy system with multiple links between electricity, heat and gas, writes Hans Korteweg.

Vienna’s energy and infrastructure utilities say the Commission’s long-term strategy unveiled this week is in line with own their forecasts and goals.

Renewable methane – whether produced from waste, manure or synthetic sources – could displace at most 7% of natural gas in Europe at the current demand rate, according to a new study by the International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT).

Decarbonising Europe’s economy means replacing fossil fuels by renewables wherever possible. And that implies getting much more renewable electricity into heating and transport, writes Giles Dickson.

The refrigeration sector is getting global recognition, but in the EU, there is no unified Europe-wide authority dedicated to cooling and refrigeration, capable of speaking to the EU’s society and policymakers as a single voice, writes Kostadin Fikiin.

The heatwaves currently experienced in Europe should be a wake-up call to stop ignoring summer domestic energy poverty, writes Yamina Saheb.

More than a billion people are at risk from a lack of air conditioning and refrigeration to keep them cool and to preserve food and medicines as global warming brings more high temperatures, a study showed on Monday (16 July).

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.

EU negotiators meet once again this week for what promises to be final talks on two crucial energy files on energy governance and energy efficiency. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments, as well as to catch up on what has happened so far.

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.

Promoting renewable energies in the heating and cooling sector is “a productive investment” that will strengthen Europe’s resilience to the renewed volatility seen on oil markets since the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, a senior EU official told a EURACTIV event.

The worldwide demand for air conditioning is expected to triple over the next 30 years, making the pursuit of energy-efficient cooling systems a top priority, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday (15 May).

The clean energy transition and other initiatives to decarbonise Europe’s economy will represent 25% of EU spending under a seven-year EU budget plan put forward by the European Commission on Wednesday (2 May).

Full electrification does not mean decarbonisation, writes Marco Alverà.  Infrastructure which carries natural gas today will be needed in future to carry increasing amounts of biomethane, green hydrogen as well as to store energy more efficiently than power lines or batteries, he argues.

As the European Commission gets ready to come up with a climate strategy for 2050 and ongoing energy talks approach the finish line, Mayor of Ghent Daniël Termont told EURACTIV that cities and regions should not be relegated to a mere consultation role in this crucial planning phase.

Europe is the global leader in renewable heat, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. Being bottom of the class, the UK is a case in point, writes Marcus Franck.