Building insulation – a priority for the EU’s renovation plans
With an eye toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the European Commission has set out to double, through the Renovation Wave strategy, the current building renewal rate over the next ten years. Improvements in thermal insulation are one of the main measures to reduce energy losses.
The European Union has the energy efficiency of buildings in its sights. This is hardly surprising with 75% of the EU's housing stock classed as inefficient from an energy point of view. Buildings are estimated to be responsible for 40% of the energy consumption of the EU member countries – energy that much of the time escapes those buildings through windows, walls and roofs due to poor thermal insulation.
The potential for improvement is enormous. More than 220 million buildings, representing 85% of European real estate, were built before 2001. With an eye toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the European Commission has set out to double, through the Renovation Wave strategy, the current building renewal rate over the next ten years. The goal is to reach 35 million buildings renovated, by 2030.
Measures and initiatives to achieve the goals
EU Member States have already submitted their proposals for action to the European Commission. According to a preliminary analysis of these strategies carried out by the European authorities themselves, the Netherlands, Denmark and France are implementing some form of mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards. For their part, Denmark, Austria, Cyprus and Estonia intend to strengthen their energy performance certificate systems.
Another factor is the set of potential benefits from energy advisory services (including one-stop shops), as implemented and trailed in the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria and France.
Regarding the use of tax incentives to encourage the renovation of buildings, the document points to the tax deduction systems used by Germany and Denmark, the lower VAT rates for energy saving measures in France and Cyprus, and for insulation in the Netherlands.
In Spain, the proposed strategy places special emphasis on energy communities and tackling energy poverty. The report further highlights that France has launched a complete set of (re)training programs in the construction sector, through online courses for experts, with the aim of obtaining certified qualifications.
Insulation, one of the main measures
A good part of the proposed aid is destined to support the introduction of improvements in the thermal insulation of buildings. Renovation through thermal insulation is considered the most effective formula to reduce energy expenditure – through the use of thermal insulation, energy losses are reduced and therefore less energy is required to heat or cool the interior environment.
Our glass mineral wool solution has a positive impact on the indoor climate of buildings, including thermal resistance, high sound insulation, and improved indoor air quality. Furthermore, the energy savings made by glass mineral wool insulation outweigh the energy needed for its production, transport and installation by anywhere between 200 and 600 times.
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