Cooling and heating: more renewables and use of new technologies, ask MEPs
Sustainable and cost-efficient solutions, diversification of sources for heating, and the economic effect of renovating and insulating buildings should be the focus for modernising the heating and cooling systems in Europe, said MEPs in their plenary vote on Tuesday.
"EU strategy on heating and cooling should be guided by three priorities: thermo-modernization, the use of district heat from cogeneration and renewable energy sources”, said rapporteur Ádam Gierek (S&D, PL). “These priorities should be accompanied by a priority funding in order to optimize local solutions because it will increase the thermal comfort for UE citizens and contribute to reduce energy poverty", he added.
More renewables, less fossils in district energy networks
District energy networks can be a more efficient alternative to individual heating, say MEPs, and a greater share of renewable energy sources should be integrated in these networks, they add, encouraging Member States to put in place fiscal and financial mechanisms for the development and use of district heating and cooling.
In dense urban agglomerations it is imperative that the use of inefficient and unsustainable individual or district heating/cooling systems be gradually replaced with efficient ones or be modernised with state-of-the-art technologies to shift to high-efficiency local cogeneration systems and renewable alternatives, highlight MEPs, adding that the subsidies for the use of fossil fuels in the heating and cooling sector should be gradually phased out.
Modern approaches and new technologies
MEPs ask the Commission to better integrate smart technologies in the relevant Energy Union initiatives in order to ensure real interconnectivity of smart appliances, connected homes, and smart buildings with smart grids; such solutions should be promoted when renovating the existing buildings as they help consumers better understand their consumption patterns and adjust the operation of their heating system accordingly.
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Raluca Viviana HULUBAN
Press Officer