Abstract
Different policies with the goal of reducing energy consumption and other environmental impacts in the building sector coexist in Europe. Sustainable product polices, such as the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, have recently broadened the scope of their target product groups from a strict product approach to extended product and system approaches. Indeed, there is a potential for greater savings when the focus is at a system level rather than on regulating individual products. Product policies for space and water heating systems have recently introduced and implemented the package label, which is a modular approach, standing between the extended product and the system approaches. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the different system approaches of various policies from an engineering perspective. It analyses in detail the package concept and its features through a practical application using a real case study. It focuses on how the package concept can support decisions made in the building design phase and, in particular, how can support the choice of appropriate components based on estimating system performances. This brings building engineers and regulators closer regarding the use of more consistent data on energy performance. Finally, this paper highlights the need to improve the alignment of the building-related product policies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
Highlights
Different European policy instruments with the goal of reducing energy consumption in the building sector coexist
The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe mentions that improved construction and use of buildings in the European Union (EU) would influence 42% of our final energy consumption [1]
This paper focuses on this package concept, in particular on heating systems, and the way it calculates the package energy efficiency which is different from the extended product and system approaches
Summary
Different European policy instruments with the goal of reducing energy consumption in the building sector coexist. While macro-policies, such as the Energy Efficiency Directive or the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) set global (by country, by sector, etc.) energy targets, micro-policies, such as the Ecodesign Directive or the Energy Labelling Directive, set specific energy targets (by product groups). The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe mentions that improved construction and use of buildings in the European Union (EU) would influence 42% of our final energy consumption [1]. Improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings could contribute to the 80–95% target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 [2]. Heating and cooling are the EU’s biggest energy-consuming sectors, representing 50% (546 Mtoe) of final energy consumption in 2012, and much of it is wasted through insufficient insulation or inefficient equipment in buildings, among other causes [3]. The implementation of the EPBD promotes energy efficiency by reducing the energy used to maintain indoor environmental quality through
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