Closing the door on inefficient buildings

At present, buildings account for roughly 40% of energy use in Europe, but it could be a lot less.

According to officials at the Intelligent Energy Agency, around a quarter of this 40% could be saved in a cost-effective way, using technologies and practices that are already available and have been demonstrated to work.

Under the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, the agency is looking for projects that will help overcome the barriers to these energy-saving techniques being more widely used, particularly in existing buildings where the biggest savings can be made. Part of the campaign will be a push to institutionalise energy-efficiency thinking in the building trade, so that professionals are familiar with the installation and maintenance of energy-efficient systems.

"But we are not just looking for actions dealing with technologies and practices," said Vincent Berruttu, head of the agency’s energy efficiency unit, at the April launch event for the programme. "We will also look for actions aiming at intelligent energy-use patterns, trying to change the behaviour of people in buildings."

The agency’s aspirations are not limited to offices and commercial buildings, but apply equally to homes. Under the terms of EU legislation on the energy performance of buildings, everyone who buys or rents a house or apartment is meant to receive a certificate describing the property’s energy performance. "Since the certificate also gives the owner or the person who rents the apartment a list of energy conservation measures that can be undertaken, we would like to push a little bit further and make sure that these measures are implemented in practice," Berruttu said.

Home-owners are also part of the IE programme’s plan for renewable energy, with a focus on systems for domestic use. "We need to improve the understanding of many thousands, even millions of potential customers who will help to create and accelerate the growth of local markets for small-scale solar systems, solar heating, solar electricity, biomass heating and small-scale hydropower," says William Gillet, who manages renewables for the agency. What works for single or small groups of home-owners, might also be applicable for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

At present, buildings account for roughly 40% of energy use in Europe, but it could be a lot less.