Energy: ENEA in the EU project to foster building renovations

Promoting the creation of an integrated network of services to support property renovations along the entire energy requalification chain is the objective of the European project EUPeers, funded with approximately 2.4 million euro from the LIFE 2022 tender comprising 11 partners from 8 EU countries^[1], including ENEA and the Piedmont Region for Italy.

"The partners, coordinated by the European Climate Alliance network, over the next three years will work to encourage renovation of the building stock, addressing the barriers that in Europe limit a deep renovation rate" explained Francesca Hugony, researcher at the ENEA Department of Energy Efficiency - Lombardy Territorial Office.

The project envisages the creation by experts or public administrations, of integrated redevelopment services of IHRS (Integrated Home Renovation Services) buildings, which take up the idea of already tested one-stop-shops, to provide territorial technical, economic and legal support, becoming an integral part of the path towards a zero-carbon building heritage in Europe. Local IHRS will be able to count on a shared service start-up kit and the creation of a community of practice, involving around 600 public and private entities in the construction chain. In addition, seven online platforms for the exchange and comparison of information and opinions will be set up, one at European level and six for as many partner countries (Italy, France, Latvia, Hungary, Ireland and Spain).

Specifically, ENEA will design a database for collecting information from members of the EU Peers Community and sharing good practices and coordinate the discussion among the Community members to identify challenges and methods to implement the service locally and participate in the communication and dissemination of project results at national level.

 “Home renovation can be challenging and there are still many hurdles that discourage owners this investment. It is urgent to make the property redevelopment process as accessible and transparent as possible, in the face of a very fragmented and so specialized commercial offer that often finds owners disoriented in choosing”, adds Hugony. “With EUPeers – he said – we will try to boost renovation and efficiency efficiency in buildings, in line with EU policies to reduce climate-changing emissions by 55% by 2030”.

In Italy, ENEA also contributes to developing new forms of assistance to local public administrations to promote energy upgrading, as in the case of the REEHUB^[2] and REEHUB Plus projects, which involve the municipality of Brindisi, and the Deciwatt project, coordinated by the Metropolitan City of Milan, which created the first "metropolitan" one-stop-shop in Italy.

 “The project will also help to encourage debate with stakeholders and enhance the role of the IHRS within European policies, formulating recommendations to introduce the service as part of European and national legislative frameworks,” concluded Hugony.