Vienna, 23 June 2017 – The long-term EU climate goals for CO2 emissions reduction in buildings are clear, and require several industries involved in this sector to act together in convergence. From its side, the European heating industry (EHI) is committed to reach the goals and contribute with a progressive business agenda driving change in the market towards higher energy efficiency and a broader penetration of renewables-based heating, putting consumers centre stage.
“We commit to promote only high energy-efficient technologies, bringing real benefits to European consumers in terms of comfort and environmental impact.” – said Klaus Jesse of Vaillant Group and EHI’s newly-elected Chairman.
“The EU low-carbon strategy for buildings will unleash momentous changes in the heating market, with an increasing role of high efficiency systems and a central role of consumers in their connected home by 2030” – Jesse continued – “Real change will happen only if all industries act in sync towards the 2050 climate goal: energy supply and distribution, technology manufacturers and installers, insulation industries, as well as the financial sector.
“Today’s challenge is not a technology challenge. Condensing boilers, hybrids, heat pumps, solar thermal, biomass boilers, micro combined heat and power, gas heat pumps, fuel cells are all existing technologies which can contribute to the energy turnaround. The challenge today is to raise awareness among consumers about the benefits of energy efficient systems, make it financially attractive to switch to them and support installers in bringing change into the market.” said outgoing EHI Chairman Ulrich Schmidt of Bosch Thermotechnology.
“Energy efficiency is the core business of EHI member companies. We are excited about a policy vision putting energy efficiency first because this is the key to unleash the potential in European markets and at the same time gives increasing opportunities for European manufacturers, at home in Europe but also in growing markets such as China. We will work with other industries to identify mutually reinforcing actions to turn this vision into reality”, Schmidt concluded.
*** Note to editors: for the European Heating Industry, replacing the old and inefficient heating appliances installed in Europe must become a priority for policy-makers involved in the EU’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets, such as the “Clean Energy for All Europeans package”. A 2016 Ecofys study shows how accelerating the replacement rate of old installed heaters by 25% helps to keep the EU on track to meet its 2030 CO2 emission reduction objectives.
EHI, the Association of the European Heating Industry, represents 90% of the European market for heat and hot water generation, heating controls and heat emitters, as well as 75% of the hydronic heat pump market. Our Members produce advanced technologies for heating in buildings, including: heating systems, burners, boilers, heat pumps, components and system integrators, radiators, surface heating & cooling and renewable energy systems. In doing so, we employ directly more than 120.000 people in Europe and invest more than half a billion euro a year in energy efficiency.