It would be good to get readers’ views on the “lock in effect” related to the renovation of buildings. The EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive from 2012 requires member states to prepare long-term renovation strategies. In the recital to the Directive it states: Bearing in mind that the Council conclusions of 10 June 2011 on the … Continue reading Question of the week – is the lock in effect a major policy concern? →

The UK’s Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings has provided a valuable briefing on energy efficiency in old buildings. As they state, old buildings are sustainable, their very existence demonstrates this, but they can still frequently benefit from sensitive, well-informed energy efficiency measures. They knew that accurate information is a pre-requisite for good building … Continue reading Energy efficiency in old buildings →

The Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) launched a new open source interactive tool for identifying the best possible policy scenarios for saving energy in the building sector worldwide. The new Tool for Building Energy Performance Scenarios (BEPS) enables those interested in energy efficiency in buildings to access data and projections and find out where we … Continue reading New tool for building energy performance scenarios: choosing the right energy path for buildings →

Azocleantech.com reports on a new study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US about the impressive improvement of energy performance through the use of energy-efficient controls in commercial buildings. PNNL Finds Commercial Buildings Could Cut HVAC Costs by 57% with Energy-Efficiency Controls Commercial buildings could cut their heating and cooling electricity use by … Continue reading How improved controls can improve energy performance of commercial buildings →