Facing the increase in cooling demand of buildings in the coming years

• Better understanding of the cooling demand of buildings in the EU including measures to reduce cooling demand and improving the overall energy performance of the building
• Better understanding of the impact of growing cooling demand on the neighbourhood level and local grids
• Increased up-take and use of integrated solutions and services by market actors
• Up-take and consideration of integrated solutions inside renovation schemes and financing instruments, notably at national level
• Improved reporting under the National Climate and Energy Plans (NECPs) and for the Comprehensive assessments under Article 14 of Directive 2012/27/EU
• Improved accuracy and meaningfulness of demand side models
• Primary energy savings/Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year)
• Investments in sustainable energy triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro)

Taking into account that almost 50% of Union’s final energy consumption is used for heating and cooling, of which 80% is used in buildings^[1] modernising the heating and cooling systems of buildings is essential to decarbonise the EU building stock, to deploy local renewable energy potential and to reduce the EU’s dependence on imported fossil fuels^[2].

Due to the higher temperatures encountered during the last years and changes in lifestyles and expectations with regard to thermal indoor comfort, the cooling needs of buildings have considerably risen and are expected to further rise. According to IEA^[3], cooling is the fastest growing use of energy in buildings and without ambitious action in the field of cooling, the energy demand for space cooling will more than triple by 2050.

The growing demand for cooling needs to be tackled from two angles and in the spirit of the Energy Efficiency First principle, notably by conceptualising and implementing integrated solutions that drive down the cooling need of a building without compromising comfort on the one hand; by matching the demand by best available and renewable space cooling technologies on the other hand, which are well adapted to the different building types and needs.

This topic thus aims to support actions that complement and inform existing assessments and strategies on cooling, notably through a bottom-up analysis and taking into account local factors. Moreover, the topic aims to support approaches and activities that will contribute to ensuring that integrated cooling solutions are considered in public and private decision-making, planning, design and implementation processes.

The proposed actions are expected to provide an improved and comprehensive understanding of the cooling demand in buildings and to develop appropriate strategies on how this demand could be most effectively managed and met in a sustainable way, i.e. by reducing demand, improving energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy.

Actions under this topic should, through a bottom-up approach, complement existing assessments, roadmaps and strategies, starting from the local context while deriving meaningful conclusions for the national and European level. For example, it should give insights into the typical potentials, conditions and use patterns for sustainable heating and cooling in a local context, which would be an important aspect for Member States’ reporting, notably under the National Climate and Energy Plans (NECPs) and for the Comprehensive assessments under Article 14 of the Energy Efficiency Directive.

More specifically, actions under this topic should:

• contribute to a better understanding of state-of-the-art cooling technologies in buildings, both as decentralised (or individual) or as part of centralised systems[[COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION (EU) 2019/1659 of 25 September 2019 on the content of the comprehensive assessment of the potential for efficient heating and cooling under Article 14 of Directive 2012/27/EU

• contribute to a better understanding of measures to reduce cooling demand, including improving the overall energy performance of the building, inter alia by making use of active building technologies, such as active shading, automation and control systems
• take stock of and provide a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed solutions
• cover residential and non-residential buildings while paying particular attention to residential buildings, in particular with regard to thermal comfort and consider aspects such as lifestyle and user behaviour
• make the link to the neighbourhood level and consider aspects of local and urban planning as well as aspects related to the local grids, e.g. distributed electricity networks.
• identify key actors responsible for planning and implementing cooling solutions (municipalities, urban planners, architects, Energy Service Companies (ESCOs)/ engineering companies, energy advisers, installers etc.) and develop methodologies which ensure that these actors consider best available technologies, integrated and holistic solutions and that cooling needs are met in an optimal and integrated way.

Moreover, actions should:

• identify a set of tailored solutions and services for cooling, such as services that involve integrated designs and planning, or effective implementation of integrated/ holistic solutions (such as combination of innovative cooling technologies and active building elements) as well as solutions that involve multi-apartment and/or a group of buildings
• develop recommendations for policy makers, regulatory bodies, planners and industry and business representations (e.g. chambers of commerce) at different levels; these recommendations should be in line with existing policy instruments and specifically build on provisions as established under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Smart Readiness Indicator framework, product legislation and (local) governance.
• propose methodologies which facilitate existing financing schemes, notably public funds, e.g. at national level, to take into account cooling needs and measures to reduce cooling demand and deploy best available cooling technologies

Proposals should establish a solid evidence base. The data and the approaches to be developed should be endorsed by relevant market stakeholders across the whole value chain.

The proposed solutions and approaches, both technological (e.g. integration of technologies to reduce cooling demand and provide thermal comfort) and non-technological, should be subject to an element of validation. This can include testing of key aspects of the solutions in a real environment (e.g. existing buildings) and/or simulation. It should take into account factors influencing the effectiveness and suitability of the approach, and in any case consider the neighbourhood dimension and the overall local context.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 2 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

[1] DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/844 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency

[2] A Renovation Wave for Europe -greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives, Brussels, 14.10.2020 COM(2020) 662 final

[3] IEA report on “The Future of Cooling”, May 2018