Buildings play a pivotal role in the European Union's energy policies, accounting for 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU, through initiatives like the Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan, is actively working towards ambitious targets of reducing GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, necessitating a substantial contribution from the building sector.
This research aims to comprehensively evaluate current energy requirements with a specific focus on building envelopes, considering national requirements of new constructions. Utilizing energy simulations across 94 locations in the European Union, the study addresses climatic variability and employs the Koppen climate classification. Examining future climate scenarios for 2030, 2050, and 2070 through Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 2.6, 4.5, 8.5), the research highlights the significant impact of climate on heating, cooling, and overall energy performance in buildings. Projections show that the use of air conditioning in moderately cool climates will decline because the future climate will be cooler, while in warm climates the total energy demand will increase as cooling systems are used more frequently. Based on these expected changes, the study focuses on the need to have more appropriate and climate sensitive energy policies to address the dynamic energy needs that are brought about by climate change. Analysing data from different sources, the research underscores the need of harmonization and guidance. Proposed measures include the development of a reference climatic system, targeted guidelines, harmonized intervention criteria based on climate zones, and specific thermal transmission limit values. This comprehensive approach would be useful to facilitate comparability, implementation, and contribute to the ambitious climate goals set by Europe.
DAGOSTINO Delia;
CONGEDO Paolo Maria;
BAGLIVO Cristina;
ALBANESE Paola Maria;
COLAZZO Benedetta;
COLAZZO Luca;
2025-04-04
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC139676
978-92-68-28634-0 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40157,
OP KJ-01-25-337-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC139676,
10.2760/0388429 (online),
