About: heating Archives

The heating and cooling of buildings and industry is responsible for half of the EU’s energy consumption, and “much of it is wasted” according to the European Commission.

Energy efficiency renovation can alleviate fuel poverty and bring a raft of health and societal benefits. While the EU could do more to boost renovation, several governments have shown that effective answers can be found at a national level.

For something that blights the lives of between 50 and 125 million European citizens it is strange to discover that there is no EU-wide definition of 'energy poverty', writes Adrian Joyce.

Improving the energy efficiency of our buildings is an area where EU action can make a big difference for citizens, while their digitalisation and integration into the energy system are indispensable for creating jobs and growth, and driving innovation, writes Lars Tveen.

EU energy policy is missing its biggest opportunity: the current narrative is all about using fossil fuels, in fact, renewable heating and cooling technology already exists, argues Nigel Cotton.

Energy poverty is a stark reminder of the inequality in Europe, writes FEANTSA and a series of other European associations.  Families in poor quality housing suffer because they cannot afford to heat their homes.

Global energy saving investments - and their effects on energy demand - are now equal to the net contribution of other fuel sources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on 16 October, as it launched its inaugural Energy Efficiency Market Report.  

The European Commission has succumbed to heavy lobbying from the electric heating industry and is set to approve an energy labelling scheme that misrepresents its appliances' true efficiency performance, according to environmental and consumers groups. 

The European Union put down the last piece of the bloc's 2020 climate and energy policy puzzle by adopting an Energy Efficiency Directive. The directive is a game-changer for energy companies, which are now required to achieve 1.5% energy savings every year among their final clients. The EU law is also expected to trigger the largest revamp of Europe's existing building stock to date and set new standards for public procurement and energy audits.

The meaningful energy labelling of household heating boilers is being gutted behind the scenes, green campaigners have warned, saying this could undermine the EU's 2020 target to cut energy consumption by 20%.

Hungarian villagers were scavenging for coal with their bare hands on Thursday (2 February) as a blast of Siberian air killed scores in Eastern Europe and looked set to keep its icy grip on the continent for days to come.

EU energy ministers reiterated their opposition to binding energy savings targets at a meeting yesterday (24 November), leaving a political agreement for the incoming Danish presidency in the first half of 2012, EURACTIV has learned.