Brussels, 17/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The new energy efficiency standards for boilers and water heaters, to enter into force on 26 September, will allow energy savings in Europe by 2020 equivalent to the power of 47 nuclear power plants of the Fukushima type, according to the official data of the EU compiled by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and presented to the press by MEP Peter Liese (EPP), on Wednesday 16 September.
The eco-design and a corresponding labelling measures for boilers and heaters should have been the first measures adopted in the framework of the 2005 directive on the eco-design of products, but talks between the European Commission representatives of industry on the details of these measures considerably drew out the decision, Liese explained.
From 26 September, only gas-fired boilers and heaters with high energy efficiency condensing technology will be authorised for sale in the EU, explained Paul Hodson, head of unit at DG Energy of the Commission, who was presenting this breakthrough alongside Liese.
This is the most significant eco-design and labelling package ever adopted by the EU, Hodson stressed, comparing the contribution to this package to the equivalent of a third of the total efforts made to date to improve energy efficiency.
For combi boilers, these measures will lead to energy savings which have been put at 56 million tonnes of oil equivalent between now and 2020, or the annual energy consumption of the Czech Republic. This amount is expected to rise to 100 million tonnes oil equivalent when all existing boilers are replaced by 2031, or the annual energy consumption of Poland, or of the entire iron and steel industry of the whole of the EU . Energy costs will be reduced by €42 billion a year by 2020 and by €93 billion a year by 2031. As for savings of CO2 emissions, these have been put at 110 million tonnes by 2020, 244 million tonnes by 2031.
For water heaters, these measures will allow energy savings of up to 19 TW hours by 2020, or the annual electricity consumption of Slovenia and Latvia put together, and could be as high as 126 TW by 2030, if all old heaters are replaced, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Poland. By 2020, energy costs would be reduced by eight billion a year and carbon emissions savings would stand at 26 million tonnes.
All in all, the new energy efficiency standards for heaters and boilers will make these products 50% more efficient than products currently in European homes. New products on the market cost nearly €1,000 more than the current products, but the investment will pay for itself in 3-4 years. In the long term, the new standards will allow households to save an average €480 a year on their energy bills by 2020. Additionally, these measures are expected to create more than 200,000 jobs by 2020.
Cutting off funding for Islamic terrorism. Peter Liese stressed that these new rules show that the EU is prepared to play a leading role in international climate negotiations, shortly ahead of the UN conference (COP 21). Furthermore, in the light of the refugee crisis and the coming 'climate refugee' crisis, these measures will help not only to reduce Europe's energy bills, but also to cut off the sources of funding for Islamic terrorism, by reducing the EU's dependency on imports of hydrocarbons from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. “Wealthy individuals in these countries are the main source of funding for the group Islamic State and one of the main causes for the refugee crisis. We should be putting money into our own industries instead of bankrolling Putin and sheiks in the Middle East”, Liese concluded. (Emmanuel Hagry)