Building Energy Efficiency in Europe
Climate change has a major impact on our energy consumption and its cost. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the price of consumer energy in the EU increased by 39% in 2022, leaving many citizens unable to pay their energy bills and around a quarter of households living in energy poverty. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive shows that 75% of EU building stock is energy inefficient and in need of renovation. With European buildings responsible for 40% of the EU’s energy consumption and 36% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, the urgent need for sustainable solutions to lessen the economic and environmental strain of our energy usage is evident.
Innovative technologies are playing a key role in the renovation wave in response to the energy and climate crises. Funding for research to advance sustainability in EU buildings is provided by the European Commission through programmes such as Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, which also funded the 2017 building retrofit project, HEART. Many of the partners who collaborated on HEART joined the consortium for its follow-up project, RE-SKIN: “Renewable and Environmental-Sustainable Kit for building Integration”, which launched in January 2023. With its focus on technological without neglecting the culture of architectural design, the project fits into the broad framework of the New European Bauhaus initiative and will effectively contribute to the Green Deal target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
About RE-SKIN
The RE-SKIN (Renewable and Environmentally-Sustainable Kit for building INtegration) project aims to develop a multi-functional package capable of transforming an existing, energy-intensive building into a modern, efficient and, above all, sustainable structure. Integrating ICT, renewable energy, sustainable materials, and new-generation installations, RE-SKIN offers a holistic and systemic solution for the energy retrofit and smart upgrade of residential, commercial and public buildings. The system’s special configuration and flexibility make it suitable for application all over Europe.
The RE-SKIN Project builds upon the HEART project.
Facts
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.