• Tools 11 October 2021 Solar PV on municipal buildings: a guide to feasibility and financial analysis Building scale renewable energy is the most impactful action that cities can take to decarbonise their energy sector, especially with the rapidly falling costs of renewable energy technologies. City governments can move fastest by using their own underutilised rooftop space to generate electricity with solar PVs. Not only is this a cost-efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, but it can also reduce municipal reduce energy costs and generate financial…
• Tools 14 May 2020 SMARTER Finance for Vulnerable Families The purchase of a new home, regardless of its energy efficiency level, is one of the lowest priorities of low income households. People with limited financial resources are often facing many other basic existential problems and their initiative to acquire new green housing is  low.  Moreover,  most  of commercial banks and other commercial financial institutions consider low income clients a high risk group for any type of loan. However, private initiative from third parties and…
• Podcast 6 February 2020 Embodied carbon in construction materials - the new concern for architects Problem: Production of the currently preferred construction materials for the building industry is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions globally Key message: As buildings become increasingly energy efficient in most parts of the world, the production of the construction materials mostly used - concrete, steel and glass - become the buildings' most severe climate impact. To reduce this climate impact a rethink of the materials that go into construction is necessary.
• Podcast 29 November 2019 Geographic Information System (GIS) applications for scaling up energy efficiency Problem: Geographic Information Systems or Geographic Information Science (GIS) has the potential to be more and more used in energy planning processes. From studies on energy access to grid analytics, researchers and practitioners in the field of sustainable energy have started to recognise to potential of this system. Nevertheless, energy efficiency studies and applications are not as present and, consequently, GIS remains still an abstract concept. However, the deployment of GIS for energy…
• Podcast 17 October 2019 Battle for the thermostat: energy efficiency and gender Problem: There is a significant difference in perception of indoor thermal comfort between men and women, with men demonstrating a strong preference lower temperatures than women, sometimes referred to as the ‘battle of the thermostat’. Research discussed in this episode shows that there is also a notable impact on productivity and cognitive performance, with women performing better at high temperatures than at low temperatures. At the same time in most modern office space, the settings for the…
• Podcast 10 September 2019 Derisking investments into green buildings Problem: Energy efficiency is becoming more and more recognised as a cost-effective mitigation measure for achieving the Paris Agreement and SDGs, however, it is considered a not very tangible, not too sexy, relatively fragmented and small-scale efforts. The question that many actors are facing in the field is to how to bring the scale to Energy Efficiency on the local, national and global level. Key message: Derisking buildings through green mortgages can help to bring scale to energy…
• Tools 8 June 2018 The H2020 EmBuild project launches the Navigator, a practical guidance for the formulation and implementation of an effective renovation strategy for buildings The H2020 project EmBuild - standing for Empower public authorities to establish a long-term strategy for mobilizing investment in the energy efficient renovation of the building stock - worked directly with public authorities in towns and regions in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Germany, to generate new tools, better processes and enable higher capacity in local governments to design ambitious but realistic renovation strategies. Some of these efforts resulted in the…
• Tools 27 October 2017 [Thermal atlas] Major enhancements made to the Heat Roadmap Europe energy planning tool Heat Roadmap Europe (HRE) added major new features to its energy planning tool, the perfect basis for European governments, businesses, consultants, academics, and planners to make informed decisions about investments in energy efficiency measures and use of untapped alternative energy sources for heating and cooling. The tool will also support the implementation of European climate commitments, ensure wiser investment of public money, reduce costs for consumers, and cut carbon emissions and…

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