September 12, 2014
by Apolline Faure
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Head in the stars, but feet kept on the ground : a sustainable way of preserving environment and reducing electric consumptions

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)
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EU communication about sustainable buildings

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

July 10, 2014
by Etienne Vienot (RAEE)
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Supporting behaviour change in sustainable building

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

July 4, 2014
by Jakob Ebner
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What can Sweden learn from Europe?

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

April 15, 2014
by Angela Sanchini (ARES)
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Energy efficiency, green light to the transposition of the Directive 2012/27/Ue in Italy

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

We need to focus more on the peak-effects!

February 18, 2014 by Minna G. Lundvall (AF Consult) | 0 comments

Vintersörskog litenWhen 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!