A growing number of Europeans have made their homes more energy efficient as heating costs rise, according to the news agency
The energy crisis and skyrocketing heating costs have pushed Europeans toward energy-efficient home improvements and so-called “passive houses,” buildings with ultra-low energy consumption, Bloomberg reported Friday.
According to a survey by Sweden-based research firm Novus, two-thirds of Swedish households have made energy-saving home improvements in the past six months, from installing efficient lighting to replacing windows and doors with more modern versions.
Another survey cited the report as showing that 70% of Germans have bought energy-saving products this year. A previous UK survey also found that around a quarter of respondents were considering modernizing their homes in terms of energy efficiency.
The so-called “passive houses” have also become increasingly popular, states the report. The concept of these homes was first introduced in the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis, and envisions a combination of construction, insulation and ventilation systems aimed at storing and reusing the heat within the building, helping to keep conventional heating use to a minimum.
Swedish construction company Fiskarhedenvillan saw increased demand for its passive house models this year, the report said. Britain’s Norrsken, which also builds these types of houses, said there has been a “definite increase” in orders to upgrade windows and doors to more energy-efficient models.
The company noted that home improvement accounted for over half of its orders in the past two months, compared to only about 30% prior to that.
The energy crisis in Europe began in the spring, amid Ukraine-related Western sanctions against Moscow and Russia’s retaliatory measures, which caused supplies from Russia to fall and energy prices to rise. To reign in the crisis, many European countries introduced energy-saving measures and launched campaigns to promote energy efficiency. Over the summer, EU countries also agreed to cut gas consumption by 15% until the end of March 2023. Earlier this month, they also reached an agreement to cap wholesale gas prices within the bloc.
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(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk