With Europe’s building stock responsible for 36% of the continent’s CO2 and 40% of its energy use, energy efficient building renovations are a Member State’s ticket to achieving the 55% reduction in emissions that the EU requires by 2030.
This is particularly true for Central and Eastern European countries where, according to the EU Building Stock Observatory, there are 43.6 million single- and multi-family homes – not to mention thousands of schools, hospitals, and office buildings. As two-thirds of these homes were built over 30 years ago, many have leaking windows, walls and roofs and outdated heating and lighting systems – meaning that these buildings are grossly inefficient and have a high carbon footprint.
However, it’s not just the environment that suffers from this inefficiency. Citizens do too, as an inefficient building often means higher energy bills and lower levels of comfort.
Renovating Europe is a daunting task. It’s also a necessary one. But with the right solutions and the right partners, it’s a task that is very much within reach. As Knauf Insulation Eastern Europe & Middle East General Manager Radek Bedrna said during his remarks at Renovate Europe Day 2024 in Budapest: “We need to work together to make buildings and housing affordable for citizens – especially for our children and future generations – and this work starts with energy efficient home renovations.”
The good news is that energy efficient building renovations can benefit both the environment and citizens.
The even better news is that doing so isn’t overly complicated.
The benefits of the right solutions
According to a 2022 Building Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) report, improving the energy performance of the building envelope would result in a 44% reduction in the amount of natural gas used for heating. Furthermore, such renovations would ultimately save 45% of the final energy consumption currently used to heat Europe’s residential buildings.
The BPIE report also looks at the positive impact properly insulating homes would have within different EU countries. Germany, for instance, stands to cut its buildings’ final energy consumption nearly in half (47%) and save 331.7 TWh. In Poland, that number would be 39%, whereas Romania would achieve a 56% final energy savings – the highest potential savings in the study.
When looking at gas savings, Italy, Slovakia and Romania see the highest savings at 49%, 53% and 56% respectively. Whereas France and Slovenia would see a significant reduction in oil-supplied heating energy, Poland would lower its coal-supplied heating by 49%.
What these numbers show is that regardless of energy source, improving insulation decreases fossil fuel use and, in doing so, reduces Europe’s energy dependency and carbon footprint.
Even greater savings can be unlocked by integrating complementary energy-efficient solutions on top of insulating and replacing windows—such as upgrading heating and cooling systems and using smart energy management. By combining these approaches, we can maximise efficiency, further decrease reliance on natural gas imports, and accelerate the shift toward a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
Ensuring insulation delivers on its energy saving promise
But why stop there when we have the potential to do even more?
Maximising a home’s energy efficiency starts with the right solutions—not just in insulation but in ensuring real energy savings. This means reliable methods for measuring efficiency, effective renovation strategies, and strong collaboration with decision-makers, contractors, and homeowners. In fact, in Hungary, Knauf Insulation provided input into the country’s Home Renovation Programme, an ambitious initiative that aims to renovate 20,000 single-family homes, calling for a 5-7 year predictability to allow the industry to adapt and deliver necessary energy bill savings to even more households.
The opportunity is here — let’s get to work and renovate Central and Eastern Europe’s buildings together!