The ability to use resources rationally is the best way to protect yourself or minimize the effects of the energy crisis. The construction sector has a great potential in this respect.
Energy efficiency is a very important element among the instruments of the EU climate policy. In September 2022, the European Parliament advocated raising the target of reducing final energy consumption by 40% and reducing primary energy consumption by 42.5% by 2030 (previously 32.5%).
Unfortunately, as many as 3/4 of buildings in the European Union, including approximately 4 million single-family houses in Poland, are energy inefficient. This is a serious obstacle on the way to climate neutrality for the European Community remembering this neutrality is to be achieved by the middle of this century. The key to solving the problem is to reduce energy losses by changing the lighting, replacing windows, doors and heating sources (including the use of RES), insulating walls and roofs or using innovative solutions such as smart thermostats.
In Poland, the “New Generation Engineers” project initiated in Łódź is to be an opportunity to develop practical solutions to improve the statistics. Students of the local university of technology will learn how to modernize existing buildings and design new ones so that they consume as little energy as possible. The concept is to be a determinant of new architectural standards and ultimately an inspiration for other cities which prioritize the reduction of energy bills and protection of the environment.
Miłosz Magrzyk
