Electrification and energy efficiency in buildings

A Parametric Analysis for Short-Term Residential Electrification with Electric Water Tanks. The Case of Spain

“…The mean actual electricity CO 2 factor at the consumption level for 2020 was 0.117 kgCO 2 /kWh [70], almost three times lower than the associated primary weighting factor for peninsular electricity. Similar situations apply to other countries [19]. Globally, primary energy weighting factors have been identified as responsible for sub-optimal environmental end-use energy decisions [29], and its regular update proves paramount to level the playing field on energy end-use decisions.…”

“…Hence, removing direct fossil fuel use from buildings not only would help decarbonize the urban environment, but also have a positive effect on the domestic economy. Nevertheless, the EU policy has contributed to the "silo" thinking [19], placing greater emphasis on the tightening of minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings and increasing energy efficiency through the revised Energy Performance In Buildings Directive (EPBD) [20]; increasing the renewable energy share in buildings and in the electricity production mix through the revised Energy Efficiency Directive [21] and Renewable Energy Directive [22], respectively; and energy market design [23,24] through the Internal Market for Electricity Directive, rather than directly promoting electrification in buildings as a horizontal cross-cutting approach.…”

“…There is an urgent need to rapidly remove fossil fuels from buildings [12,19,25]. Whereas new developments should aim to the positive energy building paradigm, existing buildings are in urgent need of dedicated renovation action plans.…”