Ebook: Towards a sustainable Northern European housing stock

Never were energy use and security of energy supply as high on the international political agenda's as they do now. There seems to be a consensus that energy savings and sustainable energy production must have a high priority. Because the energy use in the residential and non-residential building stock account for a large part of the total energy use, new programs are being developed in order to limit the consumption of energy in these sectors and a lot of attention is put into increasing the energy efficiency of the existing building stock. The introduction of the EPBD labelling in European countries is such an example. In almost all European countries there is a proliferation of initiatives from governments and/or private parties to undertake action. High energy savings potentials are claimed. However, when looking to the data on which the estimated energy saving potentials at European or national level are based, it seems to be rather difficult to find well underpinned data and many predictions seem to be quite disjointed.

The book that lies before you is based on a search and inventory of data on the existing northern -European building stock and related policy developments. In this book we try to give a realistic image of what is really known about the current quality of the building stock, the type of renovation activities that are undertaken and the policies being currently implemented. We also make recommendations how to improve the present situation.

This book is the result of a study that was undertaken under the umbrella of Erabuild and that covered eight Northern European countries: Austria, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The analysis was feed by a number of research studies at the Research institute OTB of the Delft University of Technologyat the following institutes and companies:

•Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd, United Kingdom

•CSTB, France

•IIBW, Institute for Real Estate, Construction and Housing, Austria

•IWU, Institute for Housing and Environment, Germany

•W/E consultants, The Netherlands.

These institutes gathered as much as possible data for this research. Next to data about United Kingdom, CAR Ltd gathered data for Finland and Sweden as well. Next to Austria, IIBW gathered data for Switzerland. We would like to thank personally William Fawcett en Minna Sunikka (CAR Ltd), Rofaïda Lahrech (CSTB), Wolfgang Amann and Alexis Mundt (IIBW), Rainer Greiff (IWU) and Evert Vrins and Harry Hoiting (W/E), for sharing their expertise and data with us. Additionnaly, many experts were consulted in the different countries and we would like to thank them as well: Georg Benke (Energy Agency, AU), Günter Lang (IG Passivhaus, AU), Margareta Mahidi (Statistik Austria), Robert Stefenelli (Baustoffindustrie, AU), Andrea Stockinger (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich), Mr Airaksinen (VTT, FI), Haari Hakaste (Ministry of the environment, FI), Olli Seppanen (Helsinki University of Technology, FI), Ms Sunikka (architect, FI), Nathalie Weiss and Patrick Elias (CSTB, FR), INSEE (FR), Orjan Svane (KTH Environmental Strategies Resarch-fms, School of Architecture and the built Environment of Stockholm, SW), Marianne Berger (BFS, CH), Mr Hauri (BWO, CH), Mr Jakob (CEPE, CH), Michel Schorer (Nuklearforum Schweiz, CH), Allan Brown (Sustainable Buildings, Communities and local Governments, UK), Tim Yates (BRE, UK).

Many Erabuild members participated actively to this research and gave useful comments on the book. We would like to thank in particular Stephan Jenniskens and Barbara Leenen (SenterNovem), Peter Whittington and Terry Boniface (BERR), Charles Filleux and Petra Karlstrom (BZH), Jan Sandelin (Formas), Julien Hans and Luc Bourdeau (CSTB), Christian Hageneder and Herbert Greisberger (Ögut), Klaus Stroing and Ludgera Klinke-Haberman (TÜV Rheinland).

The research described in this book was launched by Erabuild (www.erabuild.net). Erabuild is a strategic network for national R&D programmes from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, that started in 2004. The aim has been to influence the European Research Area (ERA) on sustainable development in the construction and operation of buildings by preparing frameworks for transnational R&D co-operation and learning networks identifying best practices in programme management. From 2008, Erabuild continues under the name Eracobuild. Eracobuild is organising a strengthened and enlarged continuation of Erabuild, coordinating national R&D programmes in the field of ‘construction and operation of buildings’ and identifying of priorities and industry needs for pre/co-normative research and research facilities. Eracobuild is gathering 31 programme owners or managers from 16 EU members states, 4 associated countries and 1 western Balkan country.

We would like to thank Erabuild and in particular all participating organisations:

SenterNovem (NL)

Formas, the Swedisch Research Coucil for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (SE)

SFOE, Swiss Federal Office of Energy (CH)

Tekes, Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (FI)

BMVIT, Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie (AT)

ÖGUT, Austrian Society for Environment and Technology (AT)

Haus der Zukunft (AT)

FFG, Austrian Research Promotion Agency Ltd (AT)

Ministère de l'écologie et du développement durable (FR).

They gave us the possibility to conduct this comparative research with a maximum efficiency.