Carbon dioxide reduction in historic buildings An EU-funded consortium has investigated the energy efficiency of historic urban districts and developed technologies for its improvement without affecting the buildings’ cultural value. Climate Change and Environment Industrial Technologies Energy Fundamental Research © Alvinge, Thinkstock EU Member States have committed themselves to curb their energy consumption and thus reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To this end, a main focus of Europe’s effort is to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. Across the EU, they are responsible for about 40 % of the energy consumption and 36 % of CO2 emissions. However, historic buildings have received little attention. The EFFESUS (Energy efficiency for EU historic districts sustainability) project was initiated to examine Europe’s historic neighbourhoods and monuments considering all energy aspects. The focus was on the energy efficiency of individual buildings, building ensembles and districts. The overall goal was to develop and demonstrate, through seven case studies, a methodology and criteria for selecting energy interventions in historic districts. The case studies were Bamberg in Germany, Budapest in Hungary, Genoa in Italy, Glasgow in the United Kingdom, Istanbul in Turkey, Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Visby in Sweden. In the context of EFFESUS, the term historic urban district meant a grouping of old buildings, built before 1945 and representative of the period of their construction or history. These buildings did not necessarily have to be protected by heritage legislation. Research was performed by an interdisciplinary consortium of 23 partners from 13 countries. The consortium developed a repository of existing and new cost-effective services and technologies for significant energy efficiency improvements in the rehabilitation of historic districts. The main deliverable was a software-based decision-support system that includes all the parameters needed to select and prioritise energy efficiency interventions. Project partners matched energy demand and supply using a geographic information system. They also analysed the opportunities to reduce the distance between demand and supply presented by smart grid solutions, involving locally generated renewable energy. Other options included energy storage technologies and indoor climate solutions. By learning from the past, EFFESUS resulted in many innovations promising to reduce the environmental impact of historic urban districts. Key outcomes are described in the booklet titled ‘Energy Efficiency in European Historic Urban Districts – A Practical Guidance’ that is available on the project website. Keywords Carbon dioxide, historic buildings, energy efficiency, EFFESUS, energy interventions
