Salman Shooshtarian and Tayyab Maqsood at RMIT University in Australia provide a fascinating article on The Conversation website about being innovative in using recycling materials for our building construction. Buildings used iron from sunken ships centuries ago. The use of recycled materials should be business as usual by now At Fremantle Prison in the … Continue reading If you look back at the examples of the past two centuries, industry-wide reuse of such materials as iron from sunken ships should have been business as usual by now
Category: buildings
Greening from the bottom up
High-level solutions and grand designs will not fix climate change. Christof Brandtner, Assistant professor in organisational and economic sociology at EM Lyon Business School argues in an article on The Conversation website that the bulk of the action will have to take place at the interfaces between local governments and the organised citizenry. What are … Continue reading Greening from the bottom up
Cost, consumption, carbon – EPCs in the UK must change to measure all three
A report from Elmhurst Energy is urging an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) revamp as part of 10 act-now policy and industry recommendations it says are necessary for preventing the UK from stalling further in its journey to carbon net zero and delivering truly energy efficient homes. EPCs must change if they are to properly support … Continue reading Cost, consumption, carbon – EPCs in the UK must change to measure all three
New EEA briefing on urgency to decarbonise heating
About half of the EU’s final energy consumption goes to heating, making it a key focus area in Europe’s efforts to improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published this week, analyses this energy segment, urging investment in building renovations and modern renewable energy solutions. Renovations and … Continue reading New EEA briefing on urgency to decarbonise heating
Fossil fuels still dominate the German heating market
A new heating report in Germany shows that oil and gas boilers continue to dominate the heating market. Heat pump sales, however, have increased more than 50%. According to the German heat pump association (BWP), the report “clearly shows that the incentives to switch heating systems to renewable technologies are not yet sufficient.” The heat … Continue reading Fossil fuels still dominate the German heating market
Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings
As the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive slowly winds its way through the approval process from EU institutions, Crispian Balmer and Valentina Za write on the Reuters website that the new Italian government is throwing up some obstacles. How serious are they? Italy gets cold feet over EU greener buildings plan … Continue reading Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings
New study on health benefits from increased energy efficiency
Angela Symons writes on the Euronews website about a study published inthe journal The Lancet Planetary Health showing the health effects from increased energy efficiency. Could insulating your home make you live longer? New study shows surprising energy efficiency gains Reaching net zero emissions could prolong people’s lives significantly, new research reveals. More than … Continue reading New study on health benefits from increased energy efficiency
New energy performance requirements for large buildings in Türkiye
A regulation that came into force as of Jan. 1 ushers in a new era in energy efficiency in buildings in Türkiye. Latest developments are in a news item on the Hürriyet Daily News website. New era begins in energy efficiency for buildings According to the regulation, all buildings to be constructed larger than … Continue reading New energy performance requirements for large buildings in Türkiye
The European Commission has outlined possible “transition pathways” to address the environmental impact of the construction sector
Europe’s construction ecosystem employs approximately 24.9 million people but it is also extremely fragmented with 99.9% of the companies being SMEs. Nikolaus J. Kurmayer discusses on the EURACTIV website the plans of the European Commission to transform the sector and that digitalisation could be the silver bullet to address all the problems – lack of … Continue reading The European Commission has outlined possible “transition pathways” to address the environmental impact of the construction sector
Blog from Jane Marsh: How to retrofit a building for climate change
Global warming is creating suitable conditions for climate change. In response, worldwide industries have sought ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and overall carbon footprint. Retrofitting buildings has proven effective in enhancing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Across the board, green innovations have enabled the optimization of existing structures for the United States … Continue reading Blog from Jane Marsh: How to retrofit a building for climate change
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 