Energy efficiency is key to Energy Union

BELGIUM: Improvements to the efficiency of heating and cooling systems is one of the main recommendations made by a coalition of industry groups for the EU’s Energy Union framework.

In its recommendations, the Energy Efficiency Industrial Forum (EEIF) emphasises the importance of its Energy Efficiency First proposal that energy efficiency is the core element of the Energy Union framework and that Member States be encouraged to give energy efficiency primary consideration in their policies.

The Energy Union is the European Commission’s plan, launched in February, to co-ordinate the transformation of European energy supply.

The EEIF is a coalition of European industry groups representing energy-efficient products and services providers. Its members include EPEE, the European Partnership for Energy and the Environment, and groups representing a wide range of industries including domestic equipment, lighting, insulation, solar and cogeneration.

With the Commission recognising that the heating and cooling of buildings represents the largest share of EU energy demand, the EEIF calls for well-targeted renovation policies, as well as actions to improve the efficiency of heating and cooling systems through design, modernisation and maintenance.

In order to develop an effective strategy, the EEIF highlights a need for the EU to adopt a holistic approach in which the cost effective savings potentials from contributing sectors are assessed, alongside a mapping of the current state of the production and consumption of energy for heating and cooling across the Member States.

The EEIF also welcomes the future review of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive as well as the Commission’s Strategy on Heating and Cooling which is due for publication later this year.

The document concludes: “Putting energy efficiency first… provides the best way forward to achieving the Union’s energy security and climate objectives, to fostering innovation, to creating new jobs and to enabling end-users to benefit economically from the smarter management of energy.”