Comparing European residential building stocks: Performance, renovation and policy opportunities

Greater potential energy savings can be achieved in the large stock of existing dwellings than in the relatively small proportion of newly built dwellings. Although the energy performance of existing dwellings is much poorer than new dwellings, the stock of existing dwellings is very large in a 'mature' built environment of most developed countries. In the past decade, awareness of the potential energy savings has spread widely among the many stakeholders involved. Nonetheless, most regulations and instruments are still aimed at achieving sustainable newly built construction. An evidenced-based overview of the current state of the residential building stock is provided for eight northern European countries along with current renovation data. Comparisons are made on the characteristics, physical quality and developments of the residential building stock. Existing policies and incentives to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions are analysed for their impacts on the existing building stock as well as the barriers preventing successful sustainable renovation. Common denominators in the current state of renovation of residential building stock are used to identify possible future instruments and incentives that are needed to overcome current barriers.