I - Renovating Europe’s building stock
Most of Europe’s buildings date to the post-war construction boom, meaning they aren’t just old, they’re also grossly inefficient. Their rate of renovation is also extremely slow: it’s estimated that 75 % of the buildings standing in 2050 will still be energy-inefficient. The good news is that these wasteful buildings can be made energy-efficient. The EU Renovation Wave looks to double annual energy renovation rates, with the goal of renovating 35 million buildings by 2030. While many European citizens are willing to carry out energy renovations, they can be put off from doing so by the upfront costs. Here, the LIFE Giga Regio Factory project is developing a range of off-the-shelf solutions to help homeowners implement low-cost energy-efficient retrofits. For those living in areas prone to earthquakes, the e-SAFE project is combining energy renovation with seismic retrofitting.
Beyond bricks and mortar
Home renovations for increased energy efficiency have the potential to cut energy use, decrease emissions, reduce Europe’s dependency on foreign gas, and accelerate the clean energy transition. They can also help lower household energy bills, reduce the risk of energy poverty and improve the quality of life and overall happiness of residents. The SmartEnCity project is using insulation and a bit of creativity to transform dated and drab apartment blocks into dynamic, energy efficient dwellings. Addressing the building stock’s carbon footprint requires more than just making the buildings themselves more energy-efficient. The entire building life cycle – from construction to demolition – must be made efficient too. That’s why the CO2NSTRUCT project is developing tools and models to not only evaluate the environmental impact of construction materials, but also look at their circular potential. By helping increase the rate of energy-efficient renovations, projects such as those highlighted in this chapter are putting a substantial dent in the building stock’s total energy footprint. In doing so, they’re keeping Europe on track to become the world’s first carbon-neutral continent.
