Last year, I described the European Commission's desire for an integrated approach to heating and cooling, as it sought to reduce and decarbonize its energy consumption. It has now structured its ideas in the form of the first Europe-wide strategy for optimizing the heating and cooling across commercial and industrial buildings.

The Commission says the rationale behind the strategy is that "by making the sector smarter, more efficient and sustainable, energy imports and dependency will fall; costs will be cut; and emissions will be reduced."

The heating and cooling strategy is, the EC says, a key action of its Energy Union framework strategy (which I have also written about previously) as well as contributing to the region's energy security and to addressing the climate agenda. The strategy is undoubtedly an ambitious one, covering not only heating and cooling in its conventional sense as it refers to buildings, but also refrigeration and industrial processes.

When taken in its entirety, heating and cooling accounts for a massive 50 percent of the European Union's annual energy consumption, which gives a pretty compelling case for policy focus. In addition, it accounts for 13 percent of oil consumption and 59 percent of total EU gas consumption (direct use only) — which equates to 68 percent of all gas imports.

The fundamental issue, the strategy notes, is that "European buildings are old." This leads to a number of problems for energy conservation, such as the fact that almost half of the EU's buildings have boilers installed before 1992, and their average efficiency is below 60 percent.

Equally significant is the EC's findings that a large swath of domestic and commercial heating sources are are older than their technical lifetime — 22 percent of gas boilers, 34 percent of direct electric heaters, 47 percent of oil boilers and 58 percent of coal boilers.

Another challenge is that refurbishment of existing buildings is a key opportunity for driving lower energy consumption, the strategy notes, but current refurbishment rates are woefully low — the EC estimates under 1 percent.

Renewables is another significantly underutilized resource for heating and cooling. The EC says, "Overall, renewable energy accounts for 18 percent of primary energy consumption in the heating and cooling sector, and there is a significant potential to increase its share."

Natural gas dominates in the region at 46 percent, followed by coal at 15 percent, biomass at 11 percent, fuel oil at 10 percent and nuclear at 7 percent. The combined contribution of wind, solar PV and hydro power is only about 5 percent, while other renewables like solar thermal, ambient heat and geothermal energy account for just 1.5 percent combined.

The final challenge, is simply that too much energy is being wasted. The perhaps surprising finding is that "the amount of heat produced from industrial processes and wasted in the atmosphere or into water in the EU is estimated to be enough to cover the EU's entire heating needs in residential and tertiary buildings."

There is clearly a vast amount of potential for a structured approach to the heating and cooling needs of the region, and the strategy's approach is to "decrease energy leakage from buildings, maximize efficiency and boost the share of renewables."

It identifies a range of actions:

1. Make renovating buildings easier

How? By developing a tool kit of measures to help in the upgrading of multiple-occupation buildings to modern heating and cooling technology and insulation; through better cost-sharing to allow both tenants and owners to benefit from the investment spent in upgrading; by promoting "proven energy efficiency models for public schools and hospitals," including advice on energy efficient technology from clean renewable sources; and by strengthening the reliability of energy performance certificates.

The better use of these certificates will be addressed in the upcoming review of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Presumably, the EC will look to improve take-up of the certificates to focus building owners on energy efficiency — readers with long memories will remember that these EPCs were the subject of a good deal of controversy when first introduced, as they were poorly enforced, and thus did little to drive energy reduction.

2. Increase the share of renewables

The Heating and Cooling Strategy draws attention to the fact that energy efficiency and the deployment of renewable energy complement each other. Therefore, it will focus its reviews of both the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on improved renewable solutions.

There are also plans for financial support for the deployment of renewable energy technologies via a range of funding schemes.

3. Reuse energy waste from industry

A key part of the strategy will be to tap into reuse of waste heat and waste cold, which is currently dissipated unused in air and water. A number of solutions can be implemented, the strategy notes, ranging from district heating systems, using waste heat, through to use of co-generation and absorption chillers to transform waste heat into cold that could be used in buildings through a district network.

Another important area is infrastructure development, "creating the right regulations" as well as physical infrastructure for heat reuse.

4. Get consumers and industries involved

The EC says building owners, operators and tenants as well as industrial sectors should be encouraged to make informed decisions. Among the drivers could be smart metering and billing and access to advice and funding.

When it comes to industrial processes, the EC notes that industry accounts for around a quarter of the EU's total final energy consumption, of which almost three quarters is used for heating and cooling. It envisages a three-pronged approach to industry: improving the internal processes, integrating individual plants on a site, and transferring the unused heat off the industrial site to nearby heat consumers, such as municipalities, through heat networks.

The strategy envisages a host of benefits for the EU, ranging from improved comfort and lower cost of heating and cooling — industry energy costs could be reduced by 4-10 percent with investments that pay for themselves in less than five years — to job creation, through the more labor-intensive manufacture of renewable technology. It notes that energy efficient goods and services sold in 2010 created approximately 900,000 direct jobs and 2.4 million indirect new jobs in Europe.

And, of course, the overarching benefit is that the Strategy will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution. The Commission says: "Demand for heating and cooling is expected to fall by 42 percent to 56 percent by 2050, with commensurate reduction in CO₂ reduction. The sector is expected to play a crucial role in emissions reduction."

The new set of Ecodesign Regulations governing energy efficiency of heating and cooling products, could save as much 9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030, it adds. A further benefit of the decarbonizing will be a significant reduction of air pollution, especially in urban areas.

The EC notes that this strategy should be viewed in the context of being a global leader in both energy efficiency and renewable energy: More than 90 percent of the efficient, renewable boilers sold to and used by Europeans have been developed and are produced by European companies.

It also boasts proudly that "Europe is also the cradle of emerging new technologies such as fuel cell co-generation and geothermal heating and cooling. Its innovative district heating and cooling companies have no competitors capable of substituting their products and expertise, and are invited in China, South Korea, Russia and the Middle East to install and operate their unique systems."

The long-term vision is certainly ambitious — a decarbonizing of Europe's building stock by 2050, saving the region an eye-watering 40 billion euros on gas imports and 4.7 billion euros on oil imports per year, while CO₂ emissions would be reduced by 30 percent and citizens' expenditures for heating and cooling their homes and buildings would be lowered by 70 percent. Air pollution from heating and cooling would be reduced by more than 90 percent, "eliminating related health problems."

Industry can move in the same direction, the EC adds, by taking advantage of the economic case for efficiency and new technical solutions. It is estimated that industry could reduce its energy consumption by 4-5 percent in 2030 and 8-10 percent in 2050 just by implementing commercially viable and available solutions. The share of renewable energies would reach 30 percent, and breakthrough technologies would help industries to decarbonize, while making production processes 30-50 percent less energy intensive.

To achieve all this will require a combination of updated legislation such as the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, together with a comprehensive program of guidance and education, including improved training for building professionals through the EC Build-Up skills campaign.

The strategy has been welcomed by cooling groups. Andrea Voigt, director-general of cooling manufacturers' body EPEE (European Partnership for Energy and Environment], describes it as a "welcome boost for our industry."

"As heating and cooling forms a major part of Europe's energy consumption, it makes sense for there to be a strong focus on this sector, and this strategy is therefore long overdue," she says.

Many observers will agree — it has been a long time coming, but an integrated approach to heating and cooling, and a focus on installing upgraded technology, will benefit the region's citizens and the cooling industry alike.