Energy improvement - existing buildings
Existing buildings are responsible for 40 % of the energy consumption and almost 25 % of the manmade CO2 emissions in the EU and the US. This energy waste has to be addressed in order to slow down global warming.
Too often, cost-effective energy savings are simply not initiated. Or building owners and their advisors forget to include vital energy efficient components when they renovate. But the potential is huge.The heating savings potential of different initiatives in buildings is shown below:
What's the energy saving potential of a typical building?
The percentages are average values, calculated for houses in Germany. They will therefore vary from house to house.
Source: Deutsche Energie-Agentur
The tools to improve the energy standard of buildings are well-known technologies ready to be taken into use. They include:
- Thermal imaging (infra red photography) to identify leaks
- Insulation retrofit
- Air tightness
- Energy performance certification
- Window replacements
- Renewal of heating and cooling systems
