ABSTRACT
Energy efficiency has become a key priority of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as resource efficiency. Through efficiency, security of energy supply can be improved. Emissions can also be reduced, and energy reserves that would otherwise be wasted due to inefficiency can be recovered. Horizon 2020 Energy Efficiency Call 2015 defines ‘deep renovation’ in accordance within the Energy Efficiency Directive as a cost-effective renovation which leads to a refurbishment that reduces both the delivered and final energy consumption of a building by a significant percentage compared with the pre-renovation levels, leading to a very high energy performance. It also states that such deep renovations could also be carried out in stages. The method used in this country by country comparison is based on the payback period criterion. Deep renovation payback periods are generally long in Northern European countries and some middle European countries because of relatively low energy and relatively high construction costs.
