On February 16, 2016, the European Commission introduced the first EU heating and air conditioning strategy, aiming to promote smarter, more efficient, and sustainable heating and cooling systems in buildings and industries. The strategy highlights that phasing out fluorinated gases under the EU F-Gas Regulation framework will accelerate the transformation of building air conditioning and heating systems. The European Parliament has explicitly stated that natural refrigerants possess high energy-saving potential.

Miguel Arias Canete, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, stated, “90% of buildings in Europe are energy inefficient, with most using inefficient old boilers. Of course, it’s not surprising that over half of the buildings were constructed before energy efficiency standards were in place and ended up being inefficient. However, the renovation rate for these buildings is less than 1%, so we need to do more work. Heating and cooling sector is one of the main driving forces to achieve the European climate and energy goals.”

Decarbonizing Buildings: Opportunities with Natural Refrigerants

According to the strategy, the F-Gas Regulation will continue to drive innovation in heating and air conditioning technologies in buildings. It states that eco-friendly refrigerants can offer further energy-saving potential but require revised existing standards to ensure their safe use. Additionally, the Commission highlights that the choice of refrigerant also impacts the energy efficiency of heat pump technologies. Reducing fluorinated greenhouse gases under the F-Gas Regulation can trigger the use of natural refrigerants, thereby enhancing energy efficiency. This means that there will be significant changes in the types of refrigerants used in the next decade, inevitably driving investments in equipment replacement and upgrades for higher efficiency.

The document also presents the application of natural refrigerants in different sectors. It notes that ammonia is widely used in large and medium-sized industrial refrigeration units. For small-scale equipment such as bottle coolers or vending machines, hydrocarbon refrigerants are gradually gaining popularity due to their high energy efficiency.

Regarding the development of commercial refrigeration, CO2 is gradually being adopted by large supermarket systems, either in complex systems with other refrigerants or as a standalone refrigerant in transcritical systems. Currently, there are nearly 5,000 CO2 systems in Europe, and their numbers are rapidly growing.

Financial Support for Building Renovations

Europe needs to accelerate the pace of building renovations. The 2016 European Energy Efficiency Directive will address the replacement of inefficient boilers and encourage innovation in multi-dwelling buildings. The European Commission has established a financial support mechanism through the European Structural Investment Fund. Energy efficiency renovations for private residential buildings have been included in the first batch of projects. Additionally, the Commission will launch “Smart Financing for Smart Buildings,” establishing new and innovative financing mechanisms for energy efficiency renovations, such as bundling and integrating numerous small-scale renovation projects.

Next Steps

To transition to low-carbon heating and cooling systems, the European Commission will conduct a comprehensive review of the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and the Smart Financing for Smart Buildings initiative in 2016.

The Commission will also present proposals on new electricity market design and renewable energy framework in 2016. Other actions to be promoted by the EU Commission include the development of a toolkit to stimulate multi-dwelling building renovations, enhancing energy efficiency in public education and healthcare facilities, and expanding training for building professionals through the BUILD UP skill competition.