Time to start the campaign for energy efficiency

By: Radosław Borkowski, Managing Director, Somfy Sp. z.o.o Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges of the 21st century. In the mid-20th century, the level of carbon dioxide exceeded the tipping point of 400 ppm (parts per million) in most measuring stations for the first time. And it became obvious that despite many years of debate on the human impact on the environment, there was no improvement in sight. On the other hand, how could it have been achieved if, in reality, for the majority of countries, reducing CO2 emissions is associated with necessary financial limitations and often with additional expenditures? An excellent example can be the EU's directive on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by buildings, which was issued by the European Commission and the Council of the European Union on the May 19, 2010. It says that by 2021, only buildings with total energy consumption of near zero shall be built in Europe. It means that future houses, offices and public buildings will utilize materials, doors, windows, roller blinds, installations and devices for heat recovery which comply with higher energy norms. This move is especially justified when we consider that buildings are responsible for as much as 40 percent of the total energy consumption in the Member States. The problem is that each country was supposed to work out its own methodology for determining buildings' energy characteristics as well as the method for issuing energy certificates. In Poland, ‘The national plan aimed at the increase of the number of buildings with low energy consumption,’ being drafted by the government introduces a divergence from the EU directive. The Community regulations talk about "near zero consumption", ours about "low" consumption. In practice, this means that new buildings in Poland will be able to emit 50-60 kWh of energy per square meter. The solution adopted by Poland, is a bow to developers. Building an energy-efficient house requires more financial expenditure as better and more expensive materials have to be used. But such an investment pays for itself as running costs are much lower in such a house. For developers, the most important thing is attracting as many customers as possible with an attractive price. It is true that not everybody can afford such solutions. And with a small budget and little awareness regarding the realistic gains, they choose cheap solutions which have been used previously. That is why it would be much better if the government, instead of departing from the solutions adopted by the European Commission, carried out a social campaign showing the advantages of energy-efficient buildings – for both the environment and an increasing number of private investors who are implementing environmentally-friendly solutions.