From micro to macro, the road to energy efficiency
The energy transition is an undertaking that requires the participation and commitment of every individual.
From micro to macro, the road to energy efficiency
The energy transition is an undertaking that requires the participation and commitment of every individual.
Let there be no doubt about it! Yes, the impact of changing a single LED light bulb contributes to the whole. Yes, replacing a normal water heater with a condensing one has an impact. And yes!... the simple gesture of switching off non-essential circuit breakers and hoists when we go on vacation or at the weekend contributes to the 2050 European Goal. We must be fully aware that no energy transition is possible without the contribution of each and every one of us.
After more than four decades of debate and legislation aimed at energy efficiency, a recent crisis has once again brought the real issue to the fore, which has been waiting for a long time. It has become clear that the energy transition is an undertaking that requires the participation and commitment of every individual. Finally, the real issue can bubble to the surface.
Historically, Portugal took an important step in 1973, during the oil crisis, by establishing pioneering regulations. This regulation, officially published in 1982, Decree-Law 58/82 of February 26, determined that energy-intensive industries should conduct energy audits. This meant that these companies had an obligation to understand where the energy they consumed came from, how it was used and why it was being dissipated or, in other words, wasted. In addition, industries were compelled to implement measures to rationalize energy consumption on the premises.
Surprisingly, this regulation remains in force to this day, with few changes from its original version. This particular piece of legislation, published in 1982, 42 years ago, obliged the monitoring of energy consumption and the implementation of measures to mitigate this consumption, astonishingly, 8 years after April 25, 1974.
It even provided for and obliged energy-intensive industries - which at the time, unfortunately, were more numerous - to carry out an energy audit, i.e. to find out which energy sources were consumed, where, how, when and why they were disseminated and, even more significantly, to establish energy rationalization measures that had to be implemented in the facility in question. It seems unbelievable that this legislation has evolved little in the 42 years that have passed.
From 1982 to the present day, an endless number of diplomas, regulations, ordinances, orders, technical notes and the like have been published, all with a similar end goal: to contribute to the energy efficiency of the country as a whole. As such, and in a similar way to other areas of activity whose regulation I don't know in depth, the pressing issue is not the lack of regulation but the total lack of verification and monitoring of compliance with it. Can anyone believe that in Portugal there are only around 1,400 installations in these circumstances?
For all these reasons, I'm very surprised that, in the midst of the energy crisis, the PRR is still not undergoing a thorough restructuring and is not reinforcing the calls for tenders that have received the most applications. By way of example, I can mention that there were five changes to the 2nd phase of the More Sustainable Buildings Program, most of which were aimed at increasing the budget, which currently stands at 135 M€ (initially the figure was around 30 M€). In other words, the average homeowner, who is entitled to a maximum of €7,500 (regardless of whether they have twenty houses to improve or just one) and is obliged to invest the full amount of the refurbishment/installation before they even know if it will be approved, subjected to bureaucratic and complex processes and, finally, subjected to old-fashioned requirements, did it!
He did so because he wanted to improve the conditions of the house he lives in, the apartment he rents, the family estate, the vacation home, among many other similar situations. As far as the program in question is concerned, no new notice or reinforcement is expected, nor is there any analysis of the applications whose submission deadline closed last October. The Environmental Fund itself informed us on April 22 that “all applications are at the ‘Submitted’ stage. Any updates to the stage of the applications will be notified to each applicant via the email address registered with them. So far, there are no plans to open a new phase of the program or what the requirements and conditions will be.”
In the case of service buildings, the situation is even more glaring, with only one call for proposals and a total allocation of €20 million. According to the plans presented and made public by both the government and the European Commission, 50,000 M€ - I repeat, 50,000 M€ - are expected to be transferred by 2030, of which, according to the information on the Recuperar Portugal website, only 1.22% will be invested in the production of energy from renewable sources and/or energy efficiency. It should be noted that of the €610 million earmarked in the PRR for energy efficiency, €240 million will be allocated to central public administration, not considering local government. There are no arguments against facts.
Governments change, and in this particular case it is even admissible that it is not possible to change the will, but the emerging need to be able to leverage all possible funds for this purpose should be a priority.
The future undoubtedly lies in insulating every m2 of wall in contact with the outside world, in every kWh produced from renewables, in every change that leads to energy savings, no matter how insignificant, and yes, the State, and particularly the funds allocated by the European Union, can and must contribute to this goal. The issue of energy efficiency should always be studied, analyzed and especially encouraged, from the micro to the macro. We can and must all contribute to our own energy independence.
This must be one of the few current issues that, selfishly, makes us all profoundly and paradoxically altruistic, for the sake of the greater good!
Sara Ramos
Energy Audit Specialist
INSEN Partnership
05.09.2024
Let there be no doubt about it! Yes, the impact of changing a single LED light bulb contributes to the whole. Yes, replacing a normal water heater with a condensing one has an impact. And yes!... the simple gesture of switching off non-essential circuit breakers and hoists when we go on vacation or at the weekend contributes to the 2050 European Goal. We must be fully aware that no energy transition is possible without the contribution of each and every one of us.
After more than four decades of debate and legislation aimed at energy efficiency, a recent crisis has once again brought the real issue to the fore, which has been waiting for a long time. It has become clear that the energy transition is an undertaking that requires the participation and commitment of every individual. Finally, the real issue can bubble to the surface.
Historically, Portugal took an important step in 1973, during the oil crisis, by establishing pioneering regulations. This regulation, officially published in 1982, Decree-Law 58/82 of February 26, determined that energy-intensive industries should conduct energy audits. This meant that these companies had an obligation to understand where the energy they consumed came from, how it was used and why it was being dissipated or, in other words, wasted. In addition, industries were compelled to implement measures to rationalize energy consumption on the premises.
Surprisingly, this regulation remains in force to this day, with few changes from its original version. This particular piece of legislation, published in 1982, 42 years ago, obliged the monitoring of energy consumption and the implementation of measures to mitigate this consumption, astonishingly, 8 years after April 25, 1974.
It even provided for and obliged energy-intensive industries - which at the time, unfortunately, were more numerous - to carry out an energy audit, i.e. to find out which energy sources were consumed, where, how, when and why they were disseminated and, even more significantly, to establish energy rationalization measures that had to be implemented in the facility in question. It seems unbelievable that this legislation has evolved little in the 42 years that have passed.
From 1982 to the present day, an endless number of diplomas, regulations, ordinances, orders, technical notes and the like have been published, all with a similar end goal: to contribute to the energy efficiency of the country as a whole. As such, and in a similar way to other areas of activity whose regulation I don't know in depth, the pressing issue is not the lack of regulation but the total lack of verification and monitoring of compliance with it. Can anyone believe that in Portugal there are only around 1,400 installations in these circumstances?
For all these reasons, I'm very surprised that, in the midst of the energy crisis, the PRR is still not undergoing a thorough restructuring and is not reinforcing the calls for tenders that have received the most applications. By way of example, I can mention that there were five changes to the 2nd phase of the More Sustainable Buildings Program, most of which were aimed at increasing the budget, which currently stands at 135 M€ (initially the figure was around 30 M€). In other words, the average homeowner, who is entitled to a maximum of €7,500 (regardless of whether they have twenty houses to improve or just one) and is obliged to invest the full amount of the refurbishment/installation before they even know if it will be approved, subjected to bureaucratic and complex processes and, finally, subjected to old-fashioned requirements, did it!
He did so because he wanted to improve the conditions of the house he lives in, the apartment he rents, the family estate, the vacation home, among many other similar situations. As far as the program in question is concerned, no new notice or reinforcement is expected, nor is there any analysis of the applications whose submission deadline closed last October. The Environmental Fund itself informed us on April 22 that “all applications are at the ‘Submitted’ stage. Any updates to the stage of the applications will be notified to each applicant via the email address registered with them. So far, there are no plans to open a new phase of the program or what the requirements and conditions will be.”
In the case of service buildings, the situation is even more glaring, with only one call for proposals and a total allocation of €20 million. According to the plans presented and made public by both the government and the European Commission, 50,000 M€ - I repeat, 50,000 M€ - are expected to be transferred by 2030, of which, according to the information on the Recuperar Portugal website, only 1.22% will be invested in the production of energy from renewable sources and/or energy efficiency. It should be noted that of the €610 million earmarked in the PRR for energy efficiency, €240 million will be allocated to central public administration, not considering local government. There are no arguments against facts.
Governments change, and in this particular case it is even admissible that it is not possible to change the will, but the emerging need to be able to leverage all possible funds for this purpose should be a priority.
The future undoubtedly lies in insulating every m2 of wall in contact with the outside world, in every kWh produced from renewables, in every change that leads to energy savings, no matter how insignificant, and yes, the State, and particularly the funds allocated by the European Union, can and must contribute to this goal. The issue of energy efficiency should always be studied, analyzed and especially encouraged, from the micro to the macro. We can and must all contribute to our own energy independence.
This must be one of the few current issues that, selfishly, makes us all profoundly and paradoxically altruistic, for the sake of the greater good!
Sara Ramos
Energy Audit Specialist
INSEN Partnership
05.09.2024
