Towards highly energy efficient and decarbonised buildings

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

The market for deep renovation of buildings needs to be transformed in terms of technologies, processes and business models. More action is needed for Europe to achieve the higher rates of buildings renovations and spread clean energy technologies in the existing European building stock in order to meet long-term climate and energy targets. In particular, deep renovations need to become more attractive to all relevant stakeholders, more reliable in terms of performance, less disruptive for occupants (especially in residential buildings), less time-consuming, less energy-intensive from a life cycle perspective, more environmentally friendly regarding applied materials and more cost-effective, but also enabling new functions the buildings will play in the energy system of the future (flexibility, storage and RES generation). There is a need to demonstrate and roll out holistic consumer-centred solutions that involve the whole value chain, ensuring high levels of comfort and a high quality of the indoor environment.

Projects are expected to increase the depth and breadth of renovations, while integrating clean energy technologies into the building envelop and/or systems.

Proposals are expected, as a minimum, to include the following activities:

• Demonstrate deep and/or NZEB renovation approaches more reliable, faster, cheaper and easier to implement than standard practices while avoiding other harmful unintended consequences (e.g. on environment or health);
• Demonstrate seamless and cost-effective integration of clean energy solutions in the building envelop and/or systems enabling buildings to play an active role in the energy system (RES generation, flexibility, storage)
• Demonstrate a high replication, as much as possible across regions and climatic zones, different economic and social conditions, sustainability and market change potential of the proposed solutions including viable concepts for financing the renovation;
• Tackle all relevant barriers (e.g. uptake by the professionals, financing, legal/regulatory framework, decision-making etc.) and suggest solutions to the relevant stakeholders;
• Demonstrate effective involvement of, and communication and dissemination to the buildings supply chain, and to the building owners/tenants and other relevant stakeholders.

In addition, proposals should, as much as possible:

• Include convincing business models (e.g. combination of smart energy services);
• Offer guarantees of energy performance and consumer service;
• Employ innovative working practices, processes and offers;
• Propose attractive package solutions which offer multiple benefits;
• Include monitoring of the real energy performance in-use before and after the renovation.

Furthermore, proposals may also, where relevant:

• Establish new or amend existing standards, certificates, protocols or other quality assurance mechanisms including for skilled workers;
• Address split incentives and/or counter-productive structures, regulations and incentives;
• Pursue step-by-step renovation approaches;
• Include one-stop-shop approaches;
• Include building logbooks/passports and/or individual building renovation roadmaps and related concepts, as well as lean production approaches;
• Offer guarantees of absence of health or environmental risks for workers and users;
• Highlight the increased marked value of energy efficient property (green investments);
• Tackle peak load savings and demand response;
• Improve the Smartness Readiness Indicator (SRI) of the dwelling.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 1 and 2 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Proposals are expected to demonstrate the impacts listed below, using quantified indicators and targets wherever possible:

• Primary Energy savings triggered by the project (in GWh/year)
• Investments in sustainable energy triggered by the project (in million Euro);
• Replication of the chosen renovation approach in specific districts/ cities/ regions/ countries to reach an increased rate of deep/nZEB renovation at large scale;
• Number of public or private renovation schemes set up;
• Building renovations triggered (in number of dwellings or square meters).

Additional positive effects can be quantified and reported when relevant and wherever possible:

• Reduction of the greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year) and/or air pollutants (in kg/year) triggered by the project.
• Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).

Socio-economic science and humanities
Clean Energy