Energy Efficiency Measures and Data Needs. The Case of the European Building Portfolio Owners

C Camarasa,H Wallbaum,A Sousanabadi Farahani,E Roussou

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/503/1/012101

Abstract

In line with EU Directives, European building portfolio owners are required to bring their stock to nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standards by 2050. To fulfil this goal in a timely and cost-effective manner, they will need to have a comprehensive understanding of their buildings’ condition, as well as consistent information on viable energy and low-carbon technology measures. Currently, in Europe, there is a lack of knowledge of what energy efficiency measures are being implemented in residential buildings. It is also unknown what are the decision-making processes behind the selection of these measures. On this basis, the aim of this study is to shed light on (1) what energy efficiency measures are currently carried out across European building portfolio owners (BPOs), (2) how are these measures selected (i.e. decision-making processes and information sources), and (3) what data would be needed to foster the uptake of low carbon energy efficiency technologies. The applied methodology combines desk research on scientific and grey literature, with findings in the field of building maintenance & operation. The later based on semi-structured interviews with 23 selected private and public BPOs across 7 European countries: Sweden, UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Results show that the most often implemented actions are the maintenance of the roof and the upgrade of the heating system. Measures are decided based on a combined planned and “reactive” (i.e. problem/solution) approach. The data that is typically used by BPOs is basic building information, such as gross floor area or year built. Although currently unavailable, the most often solicited evidence by the BPOS in favour of energy efficiency and low carbon technology measures is related to energy consumption and other user data.

Highlights

At the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21) held on December 2015 in Paris, the European Union (EU) and its 28 Member States were among the first to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), aiming at reducing GHG emissions by 40% by 2030 1[1]
The goal of this study was to better understand current maintenance processes and data requirements across European building portfolio owners (BPOs) to promote energy efficiency technology solutions. To this end the results have been divided into three main parts: (1) sample characterization, namely number and profile of the BPOs surveyed, including the number of dwellings and building typologies or handled in each case; (2) maintenance measures implemented across BPOs; and (3) current data uses and needs to foster the implementation of energy efficiency measures
Given that the study was embedded in the EU H2020 DREEAM project3, most of the selected BPOs were members of the consortium

Summary

Introduction

At the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21) held on December 2015 in Paris, the European Union (EU) and its 28 Member States were among the first to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), aiming at reducing GHG emissions by 40% by 2030 1[1]. In Europe, residential buildings constitute approximately 75% of the building stock, accounting for circa 30% of the EUs overall energy demand and emissions [2]. About 35% of the residential stock is over 50 years old and more than 70% is deemed as energy-inefficient [3]. Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd appointed two main decrees: (1) the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) [1], and (2) the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) [2]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion