| Popis: |
The buildings sector accounts for 40% of European energy requirements. Two thirds of the energy used in European buildings is consumed by private households, and their consumption is growing every year as rising living standards lead to an increased use of air conditioning and heating systems. Research shows that more than one-fifth of the present energy consumption and up to 30–45 million tonnes of CO2 per year could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious standards both to new and refurbished buildings–these savings would represent a considerable contribution to meeting the European Kyoto targets (European Council, 2002). Without comprehensive measures, energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the building sector will continue to grow. Sustainable energy strategies for buildings will therefore increase in importance. Even today, so-called ‘zero emission buildings’ can be realized with existing planning approaches and technologies. Such buildings do not need an external energy input (for example from oil, gas or supplied electricity) other than solar energy. This is achieved by a combination of a high-level of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. This chapter focuses on buildings in the housing and service sectors, presents new building design strategies, technologies, and building components as well as the new legal framework set by the European Buildings Directive. It also discusses the question of raising awareness, and presents some thoughts on how changing life patterns may impact the buildings of the future. Residential buildings mainly need energy for space heating; with present building standards, space heating represents about 70% of the overall energy demand of existing buildings. In many European countries there are substantial efforts to increase energy efficiency—nevertheless, not all the potential for energy savings has been realized by far, and oil is still a major energy source for heating. In recent years, heat demand for new buildings was reduced significantly by technical measures. However, the number of low energy or passive buildings in Europe is still very limited, despite the fact that they can be constructed at acceptable costs. |
