The newly published RenOnBill report provides a detailed analysis of the main data, drivers and challenges involved in the energy renovation of residential buildings in four focus countries: Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. Each country section goes through the definition and quantification of the country building stock, the main trends in the renovation market (current growth rate and expected evolution), the regulatory framework, the potential impact of building energy renovation in the market and the financing schemes available at national level for building renovations.
The report concludes with a section on the multiple benefits and key challenges to energy efficiency renovations. Among the benefits, the most important for individuals are the increased value of the dwelling, the improvements in comfort and the creation of a healthy indoor environment. The key challenges instead include structural issues, financial constraints, social resistance and legal barriers that hamper the energy efficiency potential in the residential sector.
The four countries show some common trends: regarding energy use, space heating is the first source of consumption, and therefore an appealing area of intervention. On the other hand, in each country there is a regulatory turning point, normally coinciding with the issuance of a stricter regulation since when buildings started to be more efficient. This turning point helps to better define the target for renovation based on the age of the buildings in each country.
As for the achievable energy savings, Germany seems to show a lower level savings with respect to Italy and Spain. Actually, the savings are calculated with respect to the baseline, and the German baseline, differently from Italian and Spanish one, shows a decreasing trend due to aggressive policies already in place. If the impact of the current and foreseen policies is summed up, a saving of about 100 TWh/year is estimated.