Multiple benefits of renovation in buildings - PU Europe

Multiple benefits of investing in energy
efficient renovation of buildings
Figure 13 Energy saving potential with rebound
Mtoe
70
60
50
40
6
19
30
20
10
0
Without rebound Low rebound effect High rebound effect
Rebound effect
Energy saving potential
Note: The figures depicts the low energy efficiency in 2020
Rebound effect is measured for room heating improvements (including insulation)
Source: Copenhagen Economics based on Greening et al (2010)
1.5 Aggregating the benefits
In order to consider the profitability of energy efficient renovation in buildings in the EU,
not only the pure energy savings should be taken into account. Conversely, co-benefits
such as health improvements and reduced outlay for subsidies to energy consumption
and renewable energy deployment should also be considered.
We estimate that by achieving the potential for energy efficient renovation in buildings in
2020, EU Member States may achieve annual benefits worth of €104 billion in the low EE
scenario, and €175 billion in the high EE scenario, cf. Figure 14. €42 and €88 billion of
these respectively are benefits from improved health, where our estimates are subject to
considerable uncertainty and should be interpreted accordingly. If investments are continued
in order to meet the energy efficiency potential in 2030, these annual benefits are
likely to be doubled. Please note that in the aggregate benefits, the rebound effect has
been taken into account. We apply a rebound effect of 20 per cent. This implies that the
aggregate figures used in this section are 20 per cent lower than in the preceding sections,
whenever the rebound effect is relevant.
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