"Only 1.2% of the housing stock in Spain is adapted to the latest legislation on energy efficiency."

"Only 1.2% of the housing stock in Spain is built according to the latest legislation on energy efficiency, according to data from 2018". This was recalled by Ricardo García, vice-president of the Technical Committee of ATECYR, during a conference on "Energy in buildings before the 2050 objective", framed in the cycle organized by the Science Museum on the occasion of the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow.

"Energy efficiency - according to this expert - lies in the building itself". The keys, from the construction point of view, are that the buildings are constructed in an optimal way so that they demand little energy (thermal insulation, solar protection, etc.); that the installations are efficient; and that the use of renewable energies is introduced.

 "A poorly conceived building is already a great consumer of energy, and in the 'glory years' we have built many buildings that devour energy. Therefore, beyond the fact that new constructions are environmentally friendly, the key, in the opinion of this architect, is to "rehabilitate, rehabilitate and rehabilitate".

Ricardo García, professor at the Mondragón School of Engineering and the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, pointed out that in addition to the envelope renovations that are being carried out, "it would be necessary to renovate the installations, because buildings are where most electricity is consumed". He also referred to the importance of ventilation, especially with the experience following the pandemic: "New buildings must have adequate ventilation and this problem must also be solved in the rehabilitation".

"There are more and more of us and we consume more and more energy; we don't give time to nature. We have to give up and seek a balance between what we need and what we pollute," he said. In this sense, he stressed that Europe is betting on energy efficiency. "The goal for 2050 is neutral greenhouse gas emissions. It is a very ambitious challenge, which has to have intermediate targets. For example, by 2030, the challenge is for 74% of electricity production to be from renewable sources." "Everything that is planned from now on has to go in that direction," he said.

Neighborhood rings

In this scenario, according to the expert, one solution is to create neighborhood rings, district networks. "Connect the neighborhood with heat pumps to a ring and the ring to an energy source (foltovoltaic, biomass, etc.)," he said.

The lecture series organized by the Science Museum of the University of Navarra is part of the activities planned for Science Week. The sessions are organized thanks to the collaboration of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) / Ministry of Science and Innovation, Government of Navarra, Life Invasaqua and the Institute of Biodiversity and Environment of the University of Navarra.