Heating and Cooling Strategy finally out!
On Tuesday 16th the European Commission finally presented the long awaited heating and cooling strategy. The Commission presents the way forward to move towards a smart, efficient and sustainable heating and cooling system.
For heating and cooling, the Commission has launched its first ever strategy to tackle the massive use of energy, particularly fossil fuels, in the sector. Heating and cooling accounts for 50% of the EU's energy consumption and renewables account for just 18% of this. The strategy includes plans to boost the energy efficiency of buildings, improve linkages between electricity systems and district heating systems which will greatly increase the use of renewable energy (such as heat pumps and hybrid systems), and encourage reuse of waste heat and cold generated by industry.
A good time to replace an old heating system is when a building is refurbished. Transformation to an efficient building makes it possible to shift to heat pumps, solar or geothermal heating or waste heat. These appliances save costs. Heat pumps can turn one unit of electricity or gas into 3 or more units of heating or cooling.
You can find the Strategy here.