Mantet, one of the municipalities which are leading a pilot-project under MountEE, tries to be exemplary on several issues. Worried of preserving its environment and reducing its energetic consumptions, the village has just become the first and unique “Starry Village” … Continue reading →
August 27, 2014
by Etienne Vienot (RAEE) 0 comments
On 1st of July, the European commission released a very important communication: “resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector”. Starting from the fact that there is “lack of reliable, comparable and affordable data, methods and tools on which the operators … Continue reading →
During the past June, 23rd and 24th, a training concerning awareness and supporting behavior change was given by Lara MANG-JOUBERT and Ludovic GICQUEL, from OXALIS. This 2-day training provides tools to facilitate transmission, awareness and support for changing sustainable building … Continue reading →
This was the question at a seminar on sustainable buildings in Dalarna in june 2014. Mats Rönnelid from the University of Dalarna presented the pros and cons on the building sector in Dalarna concluding: In Dalarna exist a good cooperation … Continue reading →
I have been at the 2nd CESBA SPRINT Workshop in Turin, Italy at the 1st of July, 2014. There were a lot of actors dealing with the assessment of the sustainability of our built environment. They had shared their ideas … Continue reading →
May 16, 2014
by Minna G. Lundvall (AF Consult) 0 comments
We are quite fond of talking about how good and energy-efficient new buildings we can accomplish, and that’s good. But, if we really want to reduce our overall energy use and make careful use of the resources we have, then we … Continue reading →
April 15, 2014
by Angela Sanchini (ARES) 0 comments
The Italian Council of Ministers on 4 April approved a draft decree transposing on energy efficiency, which changes Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repeals Directives 2004 / 8/EC and 2006/32/EC. The decree introduces innovative measures aimed at promoting energy efficiency … Continue reading →
February 18, 2014 by Minna G. Lundvall (AF Consult) | 0 comments
When we talk about how energy-efficient a building is, it is often the annual energy use that is discussed, since it is directly related to a cost for the owner.
But if we put the energy use in the perspective of the society as a whole, we should rather focus on reducing the peak power needed!
Our production sites and distribution systems have to be sized to handle the maximum needs, even if it only occurs for a few days each year. That makes both systems and buildings more expensive than they would be if we could keep the peak need down.
It also makes us more dependent of non-renewable sources of energy, since a lot of the renewable energy sources are low-temperature and cannot always supply enough power when the need for peak-effects occurs.
The peak effects are an important issue as well for entire urban district heating systems as for the single homeowner with a heat pump.
So what I would like to see and hear more of ahead is Power-Efficient buildings!
Under MountEE, the regional natural Park of Pyrenees catalanes (PNR) organized in december 2013 a visit of a factory producing wood fiber insulation materials. The aim of this visit was to make municipalities and architects discover another way to insulate, … Continue reading →
February 8, 2014
by Angela Sanchini (ARES) 0 comments
A few weeks after the presentation by the European Commission, the European Parliament, with 341 votes in favor and 263 against, approved the new framework on climate and energy in 2030. The European Parliament have asked for threee binding EU … Continue reading →