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New targets for the energy efficiency of buildings

30 December 2021
General Interest
energynomics

The European Commission has proposed several amendments to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which will be discussed on December 14, announced Gaspard Demur, team leader at European Commission’s DG Energy, during the third edition of the Efficient Romania Forum. “within the ‘Fit for 55’ proposals, the European Commission has proposed the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, as buildings account for 40% of the energy consumption and 35% of gas emissions, and rehabilitation goes very slowly in Europe”, he said at the “Efficient Romania – Buildings in the Fit for 55 context” Forum, organized by Energy Policy Group with the support of OMV Petrom.

The European Commission is proposing a new target to increase energy efficiency by 9% by 2030. “This target is mandatory for each state and will be funded by national contribution. We also propose to increase energy savings by 0.5% and each Member State must focus on the sectors with the greatest saving potential”, showed Demur. He added that the Energy Performance Directive is aimed at the public sector. “It also proposes an annual obligation to renovate 3% of all public buildings. At the same time, we propose a doubling of green energy sources used in buildings, to reach a 49% renewable energy share in buildings by 2030”, the European official added.

 

Impact on quality of life

Beyond the argumentation that shows that the building sector is the biggest generator of greenhouse gas emissions and the largest energy consumer, we see that a deep renovation of a building can lead to energy savings of over 60% and can significantly reduce carbon emissions, noted Mihai Moia, Executive Director of the Association for Promoting Energy Efficiency in Buildings – ROENEF. He also referred to the impact of deep renovation of buildings on the quality of life. “As soon as possible, we should include this well-being component in all our methodologies at the government level regarding the energy efficiency of buildings”, he urged during the Efficient Romania Forum. “We are talking about the impact on health and performance of the educational activities, in a well-lit school, for example”, he explained. The approach can be extended in terms of air quality in a new or renovated building, Mihai Moia also said, advocating for the introduction in the regulations of standards of quality of life.

“Efficient Romania is the largest multiannual project carried out by Energy Policy Group, through which we have strongly committed in the field of energy efficiency in buildings”, said Radu Dudău, founder and executive director of Energy Policy Group (EPG). “We thought it was a very important field for Romania and we found at OMV Petrom the availability to sponsor this program.”

The Efficient Romania program is the largest private project of national interest, said, in turn, Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom. The Efficient Romania project has components of information and education, awareness of the benefits brought by increasing the energy performance of buildings, as well as in-depth renovation works, at nZEB standards, of several public schools in different geographical regions of the country.

According to Christina Verchere, the objective is that, by the end of the year, the “Elie Radu” High School in Ploiești becomes “the first energy-efficient school in the country”. “The ambition is that after we complete this pilot objective”, added Radu Dudău, “to be able to provide other local authorities or entities interested in school renovation with a project concluded in good conditions. We will be able to present our conclusions, from the financial part to the technical aspects. We want to contribute to the Renovation Wave that will come to Romania as well”.

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This article first appeared in the printed edition of Energynomics Magazine, issued in December 2021.

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