Climate protection targets and the associated new legislation are also bringing energy-efficient radiant heating systems into focus in modernization projects.
The following shows why underfloor, ceiling, and wall heating systems are increasingly in demand and what options they offer.
The crisis in new construction is causing the construction industry to focus more on existing buildings. This is because it offers great potential: 85 % of buildings in the European Union were built in 2000 or earlier and 75 % have a poor energy balance
1. When it comes to reducing emissions in the building sector, energy-efficient refurbishment of existing buildings is absolutely essential. After all, existing buildings account for around 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption during their useful life, the operation and maintenance phase, while new buildings only account for 25% of gray energy and energy consumption
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Changes to the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings
The EU's revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive makes a major contribution to the European Union's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The measures include
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- national trajectories to reduce the average primary energy use of residential buildings
- enhanced long-term renovation strategies, to be renamed national Building Renovation Plans
- a gradual phase-out of stand-alone boilers powered by fossil fuels, starting with the end of subsidies to such boilers from 1 January 2025
- one-stop-shops for the energy renovations of buildings for home-owners, small and medium-sized enterprises and other stakeholders
- the modernisation of buildings and their systems and better energy system integration (for heating, cooling, ventilation, charging of electric vehicles and renewable energy)
Based on these measures, the countries of the European Union have developed and adopted or are currently revising their individual legislation. The impact on the renovation market in the respective countries is massive. Buildings with the demonstrably worst energy balances are particularly affected.
Refurbishment not only offers building owners financial advantages, it is also more sustainable than a new build because the “gray energy balance”
4 is better. Refurbishment is often carried out to reduce the heating or cooling load. In addition to insulation and shading, the heating system installed plays a key role. According to an analysis by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's Science and Knowledge Service, “heat pumps play a central role in the transition to a climate-neutral society and are also seen as a key instrument for achieving independence from foreign sources of oil and gas.“
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