The pandemic has caused a dramatic shift in energy demand and consumption from commercial to residential buildings. In this article, our partners at Trilateral Research discuss the need to prioritise research and investment to address Energy Efficiency in residential buildings.
Energy efficiency, which can be described as producing the same output while using less energy, has become a priority in the 21st century as countries race towards net-zero carbon emissions.
While much focus has been placed on other avenues of emission reduction, such as renewable energy (energy from a source which cannot be depleted, e.g., wind, solar and hydrogen), energy storage (keeping already-produced energy for use in the future) and carbon capture (collecting and storing waste CO2), energy efficiency is just as important as it is the easiest and cheapest avenue to reduce carbon emissions.
According to the European Commission, buildings in the EU contribute approximately 40% to the final energy consumption total and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions of the trading bloc. This means they present a significant opportunity for reducing carbon emissions and achieving a net-zero emissions economy.
The EERAdata project is conducting research into energy efficiency in buildings, by addressing the challenge of gathering evidence on the impacts of energy efficiency in the context of the European building stock, promoting the integration of energy efficiency into the policy-making process.
Commercial buildings have historically been the primary focus of both research and investment as they provide significant opportunities for energy consumption reduction. However, the recent pandemic has required individuals to stay in their homes (for work and school), causing a dramatic shift in energy demand/consumption from commercial to residential buildings.
This change in behaviour necessitates a shift in attention, as the post-pandemic world will feature some of the current ‘work-from-home’ paradigms. A prominent example of this shift can be seen through the actions of large multinationals such as Google, who have committed to a ‘work-from-home’ scheme through to summer 2021.
What will this shift in attention require?
The shift in attention from commercial to residential buildings will require a commensurate change in the direction of research and development as well as an influx in capital.
An energy white paper developed by the UK government in December 2020, reported that residential buildings accounted for 77% of total building emissions in 2018. With the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, this number is expected to have dramatically increased. It is therefore imperative to address energy efficiency in residential buildings, especially in the areas of policy, technology and investment.
With regard to policy, avenues that can be explored include:
- National and local government policies to promote greener heating systems in homes.
- Building new homes which are zero-carbon ready (i.e., homes which are able to eliminate carbon emissions).
- Government schemes for improving building energy efficiency such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in the UK.
- Developing and enforcing stringent energy efficiency standards for existing homes such as the energy performance of buildings (EPB) standards.
- Introduction of discounts for energy-poor households like the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
In terms of technology, the following avenues can be addressed:
- Development of affordable smart building energy management technologies that allow building residents to better manage energy use and consumption.
- Development of affordable grid-enabled technologies for lighting, space and water heating which help to drive consumer behaviour change.
- Development of market-ready clean heating technologies such as heat pumps and clean hydrogen.
With respect to investment, both the public and private sector – from governments to landlords to businesses and homeowners – are required to provide investment for renovations to improve energy efficiency and alleviate fuel poverty in both newly built and already-existing homes. Funds such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have already provided key avenues for private and public financing for energy efficiency in buildings over the past decade. Similar initiatives are required to noticeably make a difference over the next few years.
EERAdata aims to make a significant contribution to a more energy-aware Europe, raising societal and governmental awareness of this crucial topic as we move further into the 21st century.
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 847101.