Investments in residential sector energy efficiency in Turkey

Olga Rosca writes on the Financial website from Georgia about a major bank in Turkey joining an important financing facility to invest in residential energy retrofits. Işbank joins EBRD’s home energy efficiency programme in Turkey Türkiye İş Bankası AŞ (İşbank) has joined the US$ 350 million financing facility launched by the European Bank for … Continue reading Investments in residential sector energy efficiency in Turkey →

Call for an EU buildings energy renovation strategy

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission this week launched a new report Energy Renovation: The Trump Card for the New Start for Europe. The report highlights that a more comprehensive approach to energy renovation is instrumental for reaching the EU 2020 goals for energy savings. Furthermore there are important implications for growth and … Continue reading Call for an EU buildings energy renovation strategy →

Rethinking energy efficiency

Andrew Warren of the UK's Association for the Conservation of Energy provides an excellent article in Building Magazine about how the European Commission is now treating energy efficiency as the first fuel. He commends this approach and contrasts this with the latest UK position to put old-fashioned supply-side solutions first. What can you say about … Continue reading Rethinking energy efficiency →

Making wiser energy decisions: the large gap between intention and action

Alex Verkhivker and Jared Meyer provide an important article on the economics21.org website. Jared Meyer is a fellow at Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and Alex Verkhivker is a contributor to Economics21. They argue that as the academic literature on behavioural economics continues to grow, energy efficiency’s future is poised to engage … Continue reading Making wiser energy decisions: the large gap between intention and action →

The challenge European car manufacturers face in cutting emissions

The EU has quite stringent standards for reducing the carbon emissions levels of vehicles. This is used instead of a fuel economy standard and reflects the importance of reducing emissions for many reasons. Andy Sharman writes in the Financial Times about the difficulty that many of Europe’s car manufacturers are having in achieving the targets. … Continue reading The challenge European car manufacturers face in cutting emissions →

Nationally recognised standards for competency-based certification programs important for improving energy performance of buildings

Lauren Zullo, a staff member of the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) writes an important article on the NRDC staff blog website about the importance of better training and certification of building energy professionals. Hopefully we are seeing the same attention to workforce guidelines in Europe. New Workforce Guidelines Will Promote Energy Efficiency … Continue reading Nationally recognised standards for competency-based certification programs important for improving energy performance of buildings →

It’s important to get our numbers straight

EiD was at a workshop at the International Energy Agency this week where the issue of data quality came up. Andy Frank, founder and CEO of Sealed provides a good article on the Energy Efficiency Markets website about the importance of good data. To have an intelligent conversation about energy efficiency and create rational public … Continue reading It’s important to get our numbers straight →

Our desktop computers on stand by can be costly energy consumers

We know how much more energy efficient our computers and other electrical appliances are but we often forget – or simply do not know – how energy consuming they are when not in use. Chris Mooney provides a good article in the Washington Post that shows that many of these appliances are never fully turned … Continue reading Our desktop computers on stand by can be costly energy consumers →

The internet of things is having a big impact on business costs

Duncan Jeffries writes an excellent article in The Guardian about how connecting devices and the acquisition of data through digital technology is a significant part of the energy transition underway. This article is well worth the read. There is a lot to reflect on. How the internet of things is slashing energy costs for … Continue reading The internet of things is having a big impact on business costs →

Energy Performance Certificates in the Netherlands heavily criticised

Peter Teffer writes on the EUObserver website about the growing concerns about the effectiveness of the Energy Performance Certificate that is required for buildings. There are concerns about fraud, being too abstract, and playing only a small role in a buyer’s decision. What are your views? Energy savings label under fire in the Netherlands … Continue reading Energy Performance Certificates in the Netherlands heavily criticised →