From Product to System Approaches in European Sustainable Product Policies: Analysis of the Package Concept of Heating Systems in Buildings

Abstract

Different policies with the goal of reducing energy consumption and other environmental impacts in the building sector coexist in Europe. Sustainable product polices, such as the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, have recently broadened the scope of their target product groups from a strict product approach to extended product and system approaches. Indeed, there is a potential for greater savings when the focus is at a system level rather than on regulating individual products. Product policies for space and water heating systems have recently introduced and implemented the package label, which is a modular approach, standing between the extended product and the system approaches. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the different system approaches of various policies from an engineering perspective. It analyses in detail the package concept and its features through a practical application using a real case study. It focuses on how the package concept can support decisions made in the building design phase and, in particular, how can support the choice of appropriate components based on estimating system performances. This brings building engineers and regulators closer regarding the use of more consistent data on energy performance. Finally, this paper highlights the need to improve the alignment of the building-related product policies with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Labeling of Installed Heating Appliances in Residential Buildings: An Energy Labeling Methodology for Improving Consumers’ Awareness

“…The seasonal efficiency of heating appliances and the water heater efficiency can be used in the case of utilization in a system, the importance of which has been highlighted by Calero-Pastor et al [19], and for the calculation of building certificates [20,21]. As additional adoption of the labeling methodology, Adene is currently evaluating the implementation of the energy labeling methodology for existing appliances in the phase of certification of Portuguese buildings.…”

“…Different options for space heating systems and water heaters can be found in the literature, including heat pumps and hybrid systems, a combination of solar thermal or PV systems with other generation systems and improvement of control strategies [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Awareness can be raised by providing information about the expected performance with an energy label [1,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], or by providing information about the actual energetic performance [23][24][25]. In the second case, information on consumption can reduce consumption, on average, from 4% to 20% depending on the application [23][24][25].…”

Selecting of heating by gas radiant heaters in relation to the new ecodesign requirements on the example of large–cubage halls

“…Ecodesign (Directive 2009/125/EC [1]) sets minimum performance requirements for new products entering the EU market, whereas Energy Labelling (Directive 2017/1369/EU [2]) informs consumers on product energy efficiency. These Directives make a significant contribution to Europe's energy efficiency and climate targets and has been the subject of many studies conducted over the last years [3][4][5][6]. According to ErP is estimated of the EUs target energy reduction of 20% by 2020, the reference point is 1990 [1,4].…”

“…Heating and cooling are the EU's biggest energy-consuming sectors. Much of energy is wasted through insufficient insulation or inefficient heating system in buildings [3]. Furthermore the external conditions such as wind or sunlight have significant impact on energy consumption especially in industrial halls [8].…”