PURPOSE: to present an EU strategy on heating and
cooling systems in buildings and industry.
BACKGROUND: developing a strategy to make heating and
cooling more efficient and sustainable is a priority for the Energy
Union.
- With 50% of final energy consumption in 2012,
heating and cooling is the EUs biggest energy sector. It is
expected to remain so. Renewables accounted for 18% of the
primary energy supply for heating and cooling in 2012, while fossil
fuels accounted for 75%.
- 45% of energy for heating and cooling in the EU is
used in the residential sector, 37% in industry and 18% in
services. The Commission stated that each sector has potential to
reduce demand, increase efficiency and shift to renewable
sources.
Buildings (and people
living in them) are the first consumers of heating and cooling.
Space heating accounts for more than 80% of heating and cooling
consumption in colder climates.
However, in Europe old buildings cause various
problems:
- almost half of the EU's buildings have individual
boilers installed before 1992, with efficiency of 60% or
less;
- 22% of individual gas boilers, 34% of direct electric
heaters, 47% of oil boilers and 58% of coal boilers are older than
their technical lifetime.
Industry accounted for a
quarter of the EU's final energy consumption in 2012. 73% of this
is used for heating and cooling. European industry has cut its
energy intensity twice as fast as the US since 2000. The
improvement rate is steeper in energy intensive sectors The reason
is clear: energy is an important cost. By putting a price on CO2
emissions, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme has provided an
incentive to use low carbon fuels and to invest in energy
efficiency.
Significant potential remains. Using existing
technologies, it is possible to reduce energy costs in industry by
4-10% with investments that pay for themselves in less than 5
years. However, the visibility of energy savings is low.
Consumers must be at the centre of this strategy,
using modern technologies and innovative solutions to shift
to a smart, efficient and sustainable heating and cooling system
that can unlock energy and budgetary savings for companies and
citizens, improve air quality, increase well-being for individuals
and provide benefits to society as a whole.
CONTENT: this strategy provides a framework for
integrating efficient heating and cooling into EU energy
policies by:
- focusing action on stopping the energy leakage from
buildings;
- maximising the efficiency and sustainability of
heating and cooling systems;
- supporting efficiency in industry;
- reaping the benefits of integrating heating and
cooling into the electricity system.
Tools and solutions:
heating and cooling are produced locally in markets that are
fragmented. Tackling the obstacles to more efficient and
sustainable heating and cooling will require action at local,
regional and national level, within a supportive European
framework. The Commission invites Member States to:
- review their property laws to address how to share gains from energy improvements
in private rented properties between landlords and tenants, and how
to share benefits and costs among residents of multi-apartment
buildings;
- ensure that a share of energy efficiency funding is
dedicated to improvements for energy-poor households or (as
a proxy) for those living in the most deprived areas, for example,
by investing in energy-efficient heating and cooling
equipment;
- work with stakeholders to raise consumer awareness of
household energy efficiency aspects;
- stimulate the take-up of the recommendations of
company energy audits;
- support local and regional actors who can improve the bankability of investments through
bundling individual projects into bigger investment
packages.
Buildings: the Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) lays down a framework
for improving the energy performance of Europe's building stock.
However, the rate of building renovation is low (0.4 to 1.2% per
year). As part of the review of the EPBD (including REFIT
component) in 2016, the Commission will look into
strengthening the reliability of energy performance
certificates and reinforcing their signals for renewable
energy.
The Commission will examine:
- developing a toolbox of measures to facilitate
renovation in multi-apartment buildings;
- promoting proven energy efficiency models for publicly
owned educational buildings and hospitals;
- using inspections of boilers to provide information on
the efficiency of existing heating and cooling systems;
- facilitating the market uptake of voluntary
certification schemes for non-residential buildings.
The Commission will also look into:
- strengthened feedback to consumers through advanced
metering and billing;
- making advanced tools for metering, control and
automation based on real time information standard requirements for
service sector buildings;
- empowering consumers to participate in demand
response, thus saving them money.
Renewable-based and efficient heating and
cooling : in the reviews of the
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the Energy
Efficiency Directive (EED) and the
Renewable Energy Directive, the Commission will look
into:
- promoting renewable energy through a comprehensive
approach to speed up the replacement of obsolete fossil fuel
boilers with efficient renewable heating and increasing the
deployment of renewable energy in district heating and
CHP;
- supporting local authorities in preparing strategies
for the promotion of renewable heating and
cooling;
- setting up a website with price comparison tools on
the lifetime costs and benefits of heating and cooling
systems.
Smart systems: smart
grids, smart metering, smart homes and buildings, self-generation
and thermal and electrical and chemical storage need to be promoted
by a modern market design.
As part of the Electricity Market Design, Renewable
Energy Directive and EED reviews, the Commission will look
into:
- rules to integrate thermal storage (in buildings and
district heating) into flexibility and balancing mechanisms of the
grid;
- incentivising citizen participation in the energy
market through decentralised production and consumption of
electricity;
- incentivising the uptake of renewable energy in heat
production, including CHP;
- incentivising the take-up of fully interoperable smart
buildings solutions, systems and appliances.
The Commission will: (i) intensify cooperation with
European consumer associations; (ii) extend the work of the BUILD
UP skills campaign to improve training for building professionals,
in particular through a new module for energy experts and
architects; (iii) set up sectoral round tables with industry and
develop benchmarks/guidance for best practice on energy efficiency
and renewable energy.
Innovation: under the Strategic
Energy Technology Plan, the Commission will:
- promote renewable and waste heat based cogeneration of
heat and power;
- examine new approaches to low temperature heating in
industry;
- develop advanced materials and industrialised
construction processes with the construction sector and leading
institutions in materials and industry.
Research, innovation and demonstration actions funded
by Horizon
2020 will also support the EU strategy on heating and cooling.
In addition, the Commission will support the use of the European
Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF)
for the implementation of the national and regional heating and
cooling-related smart specialisation priorities.
Financing: under the
'Smart Finance for Smart Buildings' initiative the
Commission will:
- test a framework for underwriting procedures for
financial institutions to incorporate impacts of energy efficiency
in everyday market practice;
- encourage Member States to establish one stop shops
for low-carbon investments (encompassing advisory services, Project
Development Assistance and project financing);
- encourage retail banks to offer products adapted for
renovation of privately rented buildings (e.g. deferred mortgages,
term loans) and disseminate best practices, also in relation to tax
treatment of renovation.
The Commission called on the European Parliament and
the Council to endorse this strategy.