Energy company obligations in Britain – two important papers

Energy savings obligations in the UK – a history of change: Jan Rosenow of the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford has produced a paper for a special issue of the journal Energy Policy that looks at Energy Savings Obligations in the UK. More specifically, it discusses how the policy instrument changed over time and … Continue reading Energy company obligations in Britain – two important papers

Adding value to a home

It was reported in the Toronto Star recently that the non-profit personal finance web site GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca offers five types of renovation that add value to a home: •Investments in more efficient use of energy (60 per cent recovery rate) •New or improved kitchens and bathrooms (75-100 per cent recovery rate) •Low-cost improvements — painting, wallpaper, … Continue reading Adding value to a home

IEA Sustainable Buildings Centre launches interactive database

EiD is pleased to see that the IEA Sustainable Buildings Centre has recently  launched its interactive and user-friendly BEEP (Building Energy Efficiency Policies) database. The BEEP database is a global one-stop shop for building energy codes, labelling and incentive schemes implemented in the 28 IEA member countries, the BRICS countries (Brazil, China, India, Russia and South … Continue reading IEA Sustainable Buildings Centre launches interactive database

Retrofitting Spain’s hotels

EurActiv recently published a report on how Spain’s hotels are getting support from an EU-funded project to help them improve the energy performance of their buildings. Spanish hotels to get energy-efficiency revamp Spanish hoteliers can now give their buildings an energy-efficient revamp with the help of an online tool calculating their needs, costs and investment … Continue reading Retrofitting Spain’s hotels

Energy efficiency and buildings

Allison Asplin of Bloomberg News Energy Finance wrote the following post for Banking Energy.  IT is an excellent article outlining the issues concerning the real estate industry and energy efficiency.  This report was commissioned by Banking Energy, part of Consumer Energy Report. Why Energy Efficiency and Buildings Don’t Mix How does the real estate industry … Continue reading Energy efficiency and buildings

RE + build 2012

Rod Janssen recently attended Italy's first national convention on best practices, case studies, and experience to retrofit buildings.  The conference was to kickstart the transformation of Italy’s retrofit construction market.  Rod spoke at one session on the impact of EU legislation on retrofitting buildings. It is useful for EiD readers to read some of the … Continue reading RE + build 2012

Retrofitting older homes in Canada

After the second war, there was a big effort in Canada to ensure that returning soldiers and other needy families were provided with basic housing.  These wartime houses were built throughout Canada.  Unfortunately, while they were built quickly, they were not always the most energy efficient.  This is a good article by the Daily Commercial … Continue reading Retrofitting older homes in Canada

New guidebook outlines technologies for climate change mitigation in the building sector

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Risø Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have published a guidebook on mitigation technologies and practices in the building sector, with examples of the use of solar energy, energy efficient building materials, and urban planning for storm water management. Such a "green building" … Continue reading New guidebook outlines technologies for climate change mitigation in the building sector

New study on the use of financial instruments to retrofit buildings in Europe

The Buildings Performance Institute Europe has come out with a new report reviewing the use of financial instruments in the European Union.  The paper presents an overview of the various financial schemes in place dedicated to the energy efficient renovation of buildings in 2011. It makes a quantitative analysis of the different financing mechanisms and … Continue reading New study on the use of financial instruments to retrofit buildings in Europe

German bank helps India finance the retrofit of houses

Rashme Sehgal of the news service deccanchronical.com provides details of support by the state-owned German bank, KfW providing a loan to an Indian bank to finance retrofitting houses in India.   German bank push for energy efficient homes In a strong bid to promote energy conservation in the residential sector, German KfW Development Bank is … Continue reading German bank helps India finance the retrofit of houses