Portugal has One of the Lowest Levels of Energy Savings in the European Union

“Portugal is the 28th EU member country to deliver the lowest energy saving values ​​for residential buildings over the three renovations levels” (deep, medium and light), he told the Zero Sustainable Earth System Association today, based on the conclusions from the latest report of the European Commission Joint Research Center (JRC) on progress made by Member States in implementing the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD), which is currently under review.

Also in relation to non-residential buildings, Portugal has the lowest savings rates from light and medium renovation and the second lowest in deep renovation, after only the United Kingdom.

“The report shows that deep renovations have had a significantly greater impact on energy savings than light and mid-level renovations,” stresses Zero.

However, most of the national investment in renovation has been in medium and light renovations, where rates of energy savings are lower.

The association reports that “the Portuguese building stock is an outdated park, especially in the residential sector”, and from a host of problems affecting the energy performance of national buildings “in addition to the natural aging of materials and lack of maintenance.”, they point out. and “the physical characteristics of the building, i.e. in terms of the low thermal performance of the surroundings and the inefficiency of the installed power systems.”

According to the report, Portugal recorded an exponential growth in the number of energy certificates issued between 2011 and 2018 (225% in residential buildings, 633% in non-residential buildings, 379% in public buildings), which for Zero, is a “very positive aspect” .

However, the association considers that the financial incentives and financial tools being promoted to improve energy efficiency in Portugal “remain limited”.

“Portugal remains below the required energy performance of buildings and needs to move forward with actions at the national level, in line with current policies and strategies to comply with the climate neutrality goal,” Zero defended.

At the European level, the residential sector has shown a reduction of approximately 10% in final energy consumption, due to improvements in energy efficiency and mild winters.

On the other hand, the European business sector witnessed a 2% increase as a result of economic growth, the report indicates.