Multiple benefits of renovation in buildings - PU Europe
Multiple benefits of renovation in buildings - PU Europe
Multiple benefits of renovation in buildings - PU Europe
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Multiple</strong> <strong>benefits</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> energy<br />
efficient <strong>renovation</strong> <strong>of</strong> build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
Table A.23 Indoor environmental quality<br />
Effect Temperature Ventilation Indoor air quality<br />
Source: REHVA (2006)<br />
Productivity is reduced by<br />
5-15 per cent when<br />
temperature is above the<br />
thermal comfort zone<br />
Productivity is <strong>in</strong>creased<br />
by 1 per cent for every<br />
two-fold <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong><br />
outdoor air supply<br />
Performance <strong>of</strong> text<br />
typ<strong>in</strong>g improves significantly,<br />
when <strong>in</strong>door air<br />
quality is <strong>in</strong>creased<br />
One study shows that the <strong>in</strong>door air quality significantly affects children’s ability to<br />
learn. 71 The study concludes that by improv<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>door air quality <strong>in</strong> Danish schools so<br />
the amount <strong>of</strong> fresh air was <strong>in</strong>creased to the level <strong>in</strong> Swedish schools, this would improve<br />
the learn<strong>in</strong>g ability <strong>of</strong> these students, and implicitly the productivity <strong>of</strong> future workers,<br />
which would improve Danish GDP annually by €173 million and public f<strong>in</strong>ances by €37<br />
million annually.<br />
A.10 Benefits from stimulat<strong>in</strong>g economic activity dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a period <strong>of</strong> recession<br />
Investments <strong>in</strong> energy efficient <strong>renovation</strong> <strong>of</strong> build<strong>in</strong>gs will stimulate economic activity.<br />
The beneficial effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong>vestments depend to a very large degree on the current<br />
economic circumstances. If <strong>in</strong>vestments are to <strong>in</strong>crease dur<strong>in</strong>g an economic boom,<br />
the result would most likely be <strong>in</strong>creased wage pressure <strong>in</strong> the construction sector, and<br />
very little additional activity, as the economic potential <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> available capacity<br />
would be limited. However, dur<strong>in</strong>g an economic recession, capacity, especially <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong><br />
labour, is more readily available. As energy efficiency <strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong>duce a boost to economic<br />
activity dur<strong>in</strong>g such a period <strong>of</strong> available capacity, this will br<strong>in</strong>g people from unemployment<br />
<strong>in</strong>to employment, to the advantage <strong>of</strong> overall society and to the public budgets.<br />
It should be stressed that the <strong>benefits</strong> calculated <strong>in</strong> this section are the gross <strong>benefits</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
the sense that they do not <strong>in</strong>clude any costs from the actual <strong>in</strong>vestments (this is taken <strong>in</strong>to<br />
account when measur<strong>in</strong>g the aggregate <strong>benefits</strong>) or from the cost <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>centivis<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>vestments.<br />
Hence, we implicitly assume that the <strong>in</strong>vestments will be undertaken without<br />
any public subsidies, but conversely by break<strong>in</strong>g down regulatory barriers that prevents<br />
the private sector from realis<strong>in</strong>g the economic potential <strong>of</strong> energy efficiency <strong>in</strong>vestments.<br />
We describe a number <strong>of</strong> such barriers <strong>in</strong> Chapter 2.<br />
Potential for <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g economic activity <strong>in</strong> the current situation<br />
The economic crisis has led to a significant reduction <strong>in</strong> GDP compared with the so called<br />
structural GDP, which is a measure <strong>of</strong> the GDP <strong>in</strong> absence <strong>of</strong> an economic recession or<br />
boom. This gap between actual GDP and structural GDP is known as the output gap.<br />
When the output gap is negative, there are available resources <strong>in</strong> the economy (this can<br />
for example be relatively high unemployment). As a result <strong>of</strong> the economic crisis the out-<br />
71 Slotsholm (2012), Socio-economic consequences <strong>of</strong> better air quality <strong>in</strong> primary schools<br />
68