Regulations to decarbonise
owner-occupied homes in Scotland

Scotland’s Heat in Buildings Strategy aims to switch 2.25 million homes from fossil fuel heating systems to clean energy by 2045. Dr. Catrin Maby and RAP’s Louise Sunderland analysed the owner-occupied building stock to put this enormous undertaking into perspective. They explored the challenges posed by different building types, existing heating systems, the timing of building fabric improvements and the regulatory framework to offer six recommendations on how the strategy could be strengthened.

A low-consumption comfort standard for existing buildings

Policymakers in the Netherlands envision sustainable, comfortable homes for residents and have implemented a bespoke insulation standard. Minimum standards for energy performance in buildings map out how and when buildings can be decarbonised. Louise Sunderland reviewed the Dutch standard to develop recommendations for the minimum insulation, airtightness and ventilation levels needed to heat buildings with renewable sources. She highlights an underrated solution: running heat pumps and district heating at lower flow temperatures.

Clean transport and renewables can help shape Europe’s economy

In a recent article for CEENERGYNEWS, Jaap Burger writes about the importance of reducing direct transport emissions through electrification and why scaling up renewable electricity production remains vitally important for the shift to clean transport and clean energy. Forging new alliances for renewable energy will not only help cut fossil fuel ties and push Member States towards electrification, but it will also deliver important economic benefits.

FURTHER NOTES

• Catch the two May episodes of the Watt Matters podcast featuring Yamina Saheb, a lead author of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, and Ditlev Engel, CEO of Energy Systems at DNV.

Listen here

• View the latest recordings from the Electrification Academy webinar series, featuring RAP’s Jaap Burger and Julia Hildermeier discussing smart charging tariffs and services in Europe.

Watch here

• See interviews with Bram Claeys and Monika Morawiecka on Europe’s Russian gas crisis on Turkish broadcast service TRT World.

We need clean electricity for transportation, heating and cooling, agriculture and industry. Are the regulatory reforms of the past decades appropriate to a U.S. vision that calls for a great expansion in electricity use? Frederick Weston writes that the answer is “yes” and examines how regulatory reform can continue to meet future needs.

Read more 

Source: Energy islands: Pie in the sky or key to net zero, Energy Monitor