About half of all European energy consumption is generated by heating and cooling systems in buildings and the industrial sector. While in the last few years, energy demand for heating has decreased - thanks to thermal insulation and the use of more efficient technologies - the demand for cooling is clearly increasing. Air conditioning systems are becoming more utilised within the residential sector, due in part to today’s increase in average temperatures. In order to confront this new challenge, the European Union has included the promotion of renewable cooling systems in the new European directive on renewable energy (RED II).
Today, cooling systems based on renewable sources are not largely widespread, however this technology has a wide-ranging potential for development. Polluting emissions could be significantly reduced by producing air conditioning systems for buildings and industries equipped with refrigeration systems or which require process cooling.
Which cooling systems can be defined as renewable? How can we calculate their contribution to the overall share of renewable energy produced by each country? The answer to these questions is far from trivial and could contribute to the diffusion of this technology on a large scale. The European Commission has recently included the promotion of renewable cooling in the new renewable energy directive - RED II - and has now entrusted a pool of international experts with the task of expounding a precise definition of renewable cooling as well as an effective methodology for including it in energy statistics. Eurac Research is part of this research group led by the Vienna University of Technology
Sustainable cooling systems are based on very different technologies: an example is thermally activated heat pumps from solar systems. Eurac Research´s renewable energy experts, together with the Vienna University of Technology (AUSTRIA), ARMINES (France), V&M (Denmark), and e-think (AUSTRIA) will spend the next years addressing the classification of all the technologies on the market and on calculation methods to quantify the portion of renewable cooling in total energy production.
The results of this work will be discussed with the institutions that manage various country´s energy policies alongside other research centres, industrial associations and sectoral organisations in order to promote shared processes.
For further information: simon.pezzutto@eurac.edu - antonio.novelli@eurac.edu
13.12.19
About half of all European energy consumption is generated by heating and cooling systems in buildings and the industrial sector. While in the last few years, energy demand for heating has decreased - thanks to thermal insulation and the use of more efficient technologies - the demand for cooling is clearly increasing. Air conditioning systems are becoming more utilised within the residential sector, due in part to today’s increase in average temperatures. In order to confront this new challenge, the European Union has included the promotion of renewable cooling systems in the new European directive on renewable energy (RED II).
Today, cooling systems based on renewable sources are not largely widespread, however this technology has a wide-ranging potential for development. Polluting emissions could be significantly reduced by producing air conditioning systems for buildings and industries equipped with refrigeration systems or which require process cooling.
Which cooling systems can be defined as renewable? How can we calculate their contribution to the overall share of renewable energy produced by each country? The answer to these questions is far from trivial and could contribute to the diffusion of this technology on a large scale. The European Commission has recently included the promotion of renewable cooling in the new renewable energy directive - RED II - and has now entrusted a pool of international experts with the task of expounding a precise definition of renewable cooling as well as an effective methodology for including it in energy statistics. Eurac Research is part of this research group led by the Vienna University of Technology
Sustainable cooling systems are based on very different technologies: an example is thermally activated heat pumps from solar systems. Eurac Research´s renewable energy experts, together with the Vienna University of Technology (AUSTRIA), ARMINES (France), V&M (Denmark), and e-think (AUSTRIA) will spend the next years addressing the classification of all the technologies on the market and on calculation methods to quantify the portion of renewable cooling in total energy production.
The results of this work will be discussed with the institutions that manage various country´s energy policies alongside other research centres, industrial associations and sectoral organisations in order to promote shared processes.
For further information: simon.pezzutto@eurac.edu - antonio.novelli@eurac.edu
13.12.19
Circa la metà dei consumi energetici complessivi europei è generata dai sistemi di riscaldamento e raffrescamento degli edifici e del settore industriale. Mentre negli ultimi anni la domanda energetica per il riscaldamento è diminuita – soprattutto grazie all’isolamento termico e all’impiego di tecnologie più efficienti – i consumi per il raffrescamento sono in netto aumento. Gli impianti di climatizzazione si stanno infatti diffondendo sempre di più nel settore residenziale, anche a causa dell’aumento delle temperature medie. Anche per questo l’Unione europea ha incluso la promozione del raffrescamento rinnovabile nella nuova direttiva europea sulle energie rinnovabili RED II.
Oggi i sistemi di raffrescamento basati su fonti rinnovabili sono ancora poco diffusi, ma si tratta di una tecnologia con un ampio potenziale di sviluppo. Può infatti ridurre in modo sensibile le emissioni inquinanti prodotte dai sistemi di climatizzazione degli edifici e dalle industrie dotate di impianti di refrigerazione o che necessitano il raffrescamento dei processi.
Ma quali sistemi di raffrescamento possono essere definiti rinnovabili? E come si può calcolare il loro contributo alla quota complessiva di energia rinnovabile prodotta da ogni Paese? La risposta a queste domande è tutt’altro che banale e potrebbe contribuire alla diffusione di questa tecnologia su larga scala. La Commissione europea ha infatti di recente incluso la promozione del raffrescamento rinnovabile nella nuova direttiva sulle energie rinnovabili — denominata RED II — e ora ha affidato a un pool di esperti internazionali il compito di elaborare una precisa definizione del raffrescamento rinnovabile e di una metodologia efficace per includerlo nelle statistiche energetiche. Eurac Research fa parte di questo gruppo di ricerca guidato dal Politecnico di Vienna.
I sistemi di raffrescamento sostenibili si basano su tecnologie molto diverse: un esempio sono le pompe di calore attivate termicamente da impianti solari. Gli esperti di energie rinnovabili di Eurac Research, insieme ai politecnici di Vienna e Parigi, lavoreranno nei prossimi tre anni sulla classificazione di tutte le tecnologie sul mercato e sulle metodologie di calcolo per quantificare la porzione di raffrescamento rinnovabile nella produzione complessiva di energia.
I risultati di questo lavoro saranno discussi con le istituzioni che gestiscono le politiche energetiche dei vari paesi, con altri centri di ricerca, associazioni industriali e altre organizzazioni del settore per favorire un processo condiviso.
Per maggiori informazioni: simon.pezzutto@eurac.edu - antonio.novelli@eurac.edu
Immagine: Adobe Stock/bht2000
13.12.19