Professor Marc Frère of the University of Mons Research Institute for Energy looks at the arguments for creating low energy demand buildings.
In Europe, the building sector is a major contributor to energy consumption and, hence, is responsible for 36% of the continent’s greenhouse gas emissions1. In a country like Belgium, space heating needs are mainly covered by fossil fuels (90 TWh/year: 21.7% of the total fossil fuel consumption)2.
Construction techniques and energy conversion technologies that are currently available could considerably reduce the environmental impact of the built environment. The concept of very low energy or passive building makes possible the reduction of the annual heat demand (from 130 kWh/(year m2)) – average space heating demand for existing buildings in Belgium to 15 kWh/(year m2)).
Furthermore, low heating/cooling power may be delivered at quite low/high temperatures, which increases the energy conversion efficiency and/or the renewable contribution of heating and cooling technologies.
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