Page 54 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2019 publication

54 Winter 2019 European Energy Innovation

BUILDING EFFICIENCY

Too ambitious for EU? It’s high
time to modernize heating
systems in our buildings.
My not-so-veiled tips to
Mr Timmermans

By Federica Sabbati (pictured), Secretary General, European Heating Industry
Today most buildings
in Europe have a poor But why do we need to accelerate are many heaters in Europe which are
energy performance, and the replacement rate of installed too old and we need historical pieces
this is preventing their systems? Can we not just go on in our museums, not in our cellars.
replacing them as we do now? To

decarbonization. answer this question, let me ask YOU If you answer to my question “On

a question: when was the last time 3 January, last year” you probably

The good news is that the energy that you replaced your heater? If you remember it because you spent

efficiency of our buildings can be don’t remember, that’s probably too New Year’s Eve in the cold and can

greatly improved by accelerating the long ago. But this means that there consider yourself lucky to have found

replacement of installed heating

systems, which are largely old and

inefficient. The technologies to

replace them with already exist: from

condensing boilers to electric and gas

heat pumps, from hybrids to solar

thermal, from micro combined heat

and power to fuel cells, from thermal

energy storage to digital energy

managements systems.

What’s more, these technologies
are flexible enough to allow the
progressive, gradual modernization
of your building, with increasing
insulation for example. They can
integrate new renewable sources of
energy: whether it’s biomethane or
hydrogen, innovative technologies are
in the making. Building renovation,
as we know, requires considerable
financial investment for the average
family to carry in one go: replacing
a heating system is the investment
which can have the highest impact
on energy efficiency today – as
heating is responsible for about 80%
of the energy consumption in
a house.

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