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Energy Efficiency

25/01/05

Energy sources and demand management in the Europen Union

Energy sources and demand management in Europe

European Commission is developing the management of energy sources and demand underlining Energy Efficiency Legislation, Promotion of end-use Efficiency & Energy Services, Combined Heat and Power, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Efficiency in energy using products. Renewable energy is valued.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/index_en.html

http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/demand/legislation/index_en.htm

Doing more on less is the principle respected. Download the Green Paper on Energy Efficiency of the Commission:

2005 06 green paper on EE text en (pdf, 192 KB)

The European Community, together with its Member States, is working intensively to improve energy efficiency in all end-use sectors whilst at the same time increasing the use of renewable energies. This decade will be crucial to solve environmental, self-sufficiency and cost problems and adequately provide for increasing needs for lighting, heating, cooling and motive power without major upheavals. This is especially true when seen in the light of the Kyoto Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions, where improved energy efficiency will play a key role in meeting the EU Kyoto target in an economic way.

Source: Europea Commission Energy Efficiency
http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/demand/legislation/index en.htm

New and renewable energy sources

The development of renewable energy - particularly energy from wind, water, solar power and biomass - is a central aim of the European Commission's energy policy.

Renewable energy has an important role to play in reducing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions - a major Community objective.Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy balance enhances sustainability. It also helps to improve the security of energy supply by reducing the Community's growing dependence on imported energy sources.Renewable energy sources are expected to be economically competitive with conventional energy sources in the medium to long term.

The European Commission's White Paper for a Community Strategy sets out a strategy to double the share of renewable energies in gross domestic energy consumption in the European Union by 2010 (from the present 6% to 12%) including a timetable of actions to achieve this objective in the form of an Action Plan.

Source: EU Directorate-General Energy and Transport,
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html

Innovation and technological development in renewable energy:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/index_en.htm

Energy efficiency technologies can be divided into many different ways. Technologies can be divided it to production, transmission and use. The other way is to divide it into technology and use. The most important parts are to handle RUE (rational use of energy), RES (use of renewable energy sources), Building services, District heating and cooling (DHC), cogeneration (CHP) and construction parts. However, it is important to understand that energy efficiency in practice is always lower than the theoretical maximum. That is why selection of used technology is vital. Most important is not to suboptimise but to take into account the whole energy chain from generatation to use.

Different aspects in RES and RUE are handled in the final report "RES and RUE Concentration Network in the Building Sector". The study has been carried out for the European Commission, Directorate General for Energy, by FAC Consult scrl (Project Co-ordinator) along with their partners.

Download the report: RES and RUE Consertation Network in the Building Sector (pdf, 373 KB)

Buildings

The definition of Energy performance of building is as follows:
Energy performance of a building: the amount of energy actually consumed or estimated to meet the different needs associated with a standardised use of the building, which may include, inter alia, heating, hot water heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. This amount shall be reflected in one or more numeric indicators which have been calculated, taking into account insulation, technical and installation characteristics, design and positioning in relation to climatic aspects, solar exposure and influence of neighbouring structures, own-energy generation and other factors, including indoor climate, that influence the energy demand.

In the area of buildings (construction) there are hundreds of different organizations. They mostly are focusing to very small areas. This concept includes three main areas:

  • Real Estate,
  • building services and
  • construction business.

These are divided further. For example business services is divided to HEVAC and Electrical systems. One part of HEVAC is heating and part of heating is water based floor heating and electrical floor heating. These both have their own associations in Finland. Therefore the organizations in the demand side will be divided accordingly.

Note also the following activities in EU:
The most important instruments and measures implementing the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency:

Key Organizations in Energy Saving

International Organizations

European Organizations

Regional Organizations

Energy Efficiency

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