ENCARGOS TÉCNICOS BLOG
ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF BUILDINGS IN SPAIN
The European initiative.
The European Directive 2010/31/EU about the energy performance of buildings states that each Member State shall develop a long-term strategy to support the renovation of its national building stock.
This should apply to both residential and non-residential buildings, whether public or private, transforming them into energy-efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050. In this way, the economically profitable transformation of existing buildings into near-zero energy buildings will be facilitated. To achieve this goal, Spain has developed its own regulations and implemented a basic procedure for creating an energy performance certificate for buildings.
In accordance with the new set of European rules, the Administration created a Working Group on energy management. This group’s mission was to define the strategy and future actions to be carried out in order to develop an energy efficiency improvement plan to convert the national inventory of buildings into energy efficient and decarbonised buildings.
Criteria to be developed.
The first focus of the programme has been on energy-intensive residential buildings that meet new design requirements that will promote energy efficiency and minimise energy consumption over their lifetime. A two-point strategy was developed.
Point 1 is to reduce energy consumption by concentrating on passive insulation of the building.
Point 2 is the retrofitting or replacement of heating and cooling systems with more efficient ones, without affecting the comfort and maintenance of the buildings.
Subsequently, the Working Group considered criteria for non-residential buildings, especially those with a total floor area of more than 300 m². Their energy consumption in their daily daytime activities could be 1.0 kWh/m² or more. As such, this would cover 70% of all non-residential buildings. The target for non-residential buildings is to reduce daytime energy consumption by 20% by 2050, based on the average consumption of non-residential buildings in the current year.
In addition to this, the strategy envisages other actions such as:
– Encouraging the use of low-energy buildings for government offices, community centres, schools and public parks.
– Adding 1.7 MW of rooftop solar systems.
– Create a legal framework to enable the mandatory conversion of all non-residential buildings to energy efficient and decarbonised buildings with specific criteria and deadlines.
– Implement reforms of the Technical Building Code and coordinate with regional regulations.
– Incentivise and financially support the whole process.
Building codes regulate how buildings are constructed and the materials they use, and ensure the structural and functional integrity of buildings. They also control design and decoration. Building code reform should prioritise energy efficiency in building design, improving envelopes and helping to optimise the performance of air conditioning systems.
The financial issue.
A large part of the working group discussions focused on the need for a financial programme. This programme would be open to entities that are already implementing energy efficiency measures but are less efficient than average. It should cover a full range of costs, from external (e.g. financing of retrofit projects, cost recovery and energy offsets) to internal (e.g. administrative expenses).
Once the calculations were done, the total cost of the programme was considered high. It would require a review of the resources allocated to other items and a possible increase in the state tax burden. The total amount could be reduced through a number of measures:
– Increased enforcement and penalties for energy use violations;
– Financial subsidies to local authorities, businesses and individuals to reduce energy use in new housing, renovation of existing buildings and conversion of non-residential buildings to decarbonised and energy efficient buildings;
– Subsidies to small and medium-sized enterprises, which tend to pay higher energy costs than large companies;
Differing views on the extent of support for energy efficiency and decarbonisation suggest that a legislative package and additional funding may be needed to meet the targets set. And it is to be expected that central government will take a key role in designing financial support for the different initiatives.
There is a growing need for a common position on measures to be taken, such as the creation of a legal framework to reduce the cost of energy and facilitate energy efficiency related projects. And also more effective and transparent communication and coordination between relevant authorities, organisations and corporations;
The presentation of the Task Force Report, the ongoing discussions and the public debate that followed demonstrated that implementing the measures necessary to achieve the targets proposed by Brussels will be an arduous, costly and time-consuming task.
For more information, please visit the website of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving by clicking HERE.