Stakeholders want the European Commission to push for indoor climate quality requirements in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) revision. Buildings may also help with adaptation towards climate change, experts quoted by Euractiv.com say.

Buildings in the EU should be not only energy efficient but also able to produce and store energy, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said at the launch of the Central and Eastern European Energy Efficiency Forum in Bulgaria held last week (22-25 June).

The revision of Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), due to be presented by the Commission in September, might focus on these aspects.

“We are considering strengthening some requirements on energy efficiency and renewable energy use in the buildings sector, in particular for existing buildings, and making buildings fit for smart appliances and home automation,” Šefčovič said.

Some stakeholders also want the executive to push for higher quality of indoor climate, like sufficient ventilation, or enough daylight inside the buildings.

“We do not have buildings for the purpose of energy efficiency but in order to provide a secure, comfortable and healthy living. The energy efficiency is something you would like to follow in parallel,” Andreas Hermelink, of the Ecofys consultancy, said at the conference.

According to Hermelink, more research is needed to show potential synergies of energy efficiency and healthy buildings.

Efforts to achieve higher quality of the indoor climate could also better motivate Europeans to meet their climate targets, Hermelink added.

“One of the ways to increase demand for energy efficiency is actually to focus on non-energy benefits, because factors such as improved productivity, employee satisfaction or improved health, are usually much more important to decision makers than just energy savings,” EurActiv.com was recently told by Steven Fawkes, an authority on energy efficiency financing.

Improved well-being is as important to Europeans as reduced energy costs, according to Healthy Homes Barometer 2016 carried out by the Velux Group.

When asked what would be their main reason for renovating, 75% of 14,000 homeowners from 14 countries answered they found reducing energy costs very or extremely important. The second most important reason for them was to improve overall well-being at home, which 73% find very or extremely important.