National and local governments are increasingly turning to regulated minimum standards for the energy performance of buildings to kick-start the renovation of the stock. But how can these standards be used to define the most efficient pathway for buildings to fully decarbonise? RAP outlines a standard that defines the minimum insulation, airtightness and ventilation levels needed to enable a building to be heated efficiently with renewable sources, via lower flow temperature water.

The zero-emissions heat solution for the majority of buildings will be either a heat pump, district heating or shared heating. Heat pumps run much more efficiently when they deliver lower flow temperature water. Running district heating at lower flow temperature could result in cost reductions of 14 billion euros a year across Europe. Buildings meeting the standard can also have their heating schedules operated flexibly at different times of the day to provide flexibility benefits to the electricity grid and cost savings to the occupiers.

This briefing draws on the recently developed Dutch home insulation standard that is designed to support households to adapt their homes in advance of the area-based phaseout of the fossil gas system, and transition to sustainable heat sources, by 2050.