Electricity End-Use in Buildings: A Survey of New Member States and Candidate Countries

A large body of literature points to the large cost-effective energy conservation potentials in the countries that joined the European Union in April 2004, but the present understanding of the size and details of this potential is limited. Therefore, the European Commission has started a project, managed by DG-Joint Research Center (JRC), with the declared aim to develop a bottom-up end-use electricity consumption database for the building sector in the new EU member states (NMS), candidate countries (CC) and in the Western Balkans (WB). This database will contain reference data concerning electricity consumption and savings potential in buildings (both residential and commercial), a sector which is using a large amount of energy and is considered by the European Commission to be a priority sector for energy conservation policy measures.The paper presents the preliminary results of the first survey of electricity consumption and saving potential in buildings in the NMS and the CC. The paper provides the first results of JRC project on electricity end-use efficiency in buildings in NMS, CC and WB comprising an analysis of data on the installed end-use technologies (penetration rate, usage pattern, specific energy consumption, etc.), an evaluation of the corresponding electricity use and an estimate of the electricity savings potential. The key barriers and incentives to end-use electricity efficiency in buildings will be presented, together with an inventory of current polices. Based on the preliminary results of the study, the paper will present a first set of policy recommendations on how to unlock the electricity saving potential in the buildings sector of NMS and CC.Beyond summarising the present state of understanding in the area of electricity end-use data and conservation potentials in MNS and CC buildings, the paper will identify the status and potential key areas for further research which is needed for policy-making at both the EU and the NMS level for the most efficient unlocking of the sizable energy saving potential.