Op-ed: The Renovation Wave and Healthy Buildings

By Simon Jones, Commercial Director UK and Ireland at AERECO, which joined EuroACE in May 2020.

As the EU emerges from its long period of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we face the urgency of ensuring that an equitable, rapid and robust economic recovery is delivered. The buildings sector must be one of the sectors to which the most attention is addressed: we can underwrite the health and wellbeing of our citizens through holistic energy renovation of the building stock.

Business as usual was only delivering an energy renovation rate of 1% per year, with less than a fifth of those renovations delivering more than 60% energy savings. Without a dramatic reduction in energy use in our buildings, the goals of climate neutrality and decarbonised buildings by 2050 will be doomed before we start.

During confinement, many people found that their homes were not able to provide comfortable and appropriate environments for home-working, home-schooling and home-life. Old, damp and draughty buildings abound, with over 95% of buildings in the EU energy inefficient and in need of deep renovation.