REPLACE – Challenge and mission
The heating and cooling sector comprises 50% of final European energy consumption and over 68% of all gas imports. To reduce energy consumption and increase the share of renewables in this sector is therefore crucial for a successful Energy Union.
In particular, the fact that 80 million out of 120 million installed space heating systems in Europe currently achieve an energy label class C or D gives rise to motivate consumers to replace those units as soon as possible with more efficient, greener alternatives.
REPLACE – Campaigns and coordination
REPLACE therefore aims to improve coordination in local networks to implement replacement campaigns in ten target regions with over 8 million inhabitants: from Southern over Central to Eastern Europe covering the following regions:
- Federal State of Salzburg (AT)
- Bavarian Oberland (DE)
- Castilla y Leon (ES)
- Primorsko goranska County (HR)
- City of Zagreb incl. three bordering counties (HR)
- Canton of Sarajevo (BA)
- Rhodope Mountain Region (BG)
- City of Sabac (RS)
- Slovenia (SI)
- Skopje Region (MK)
In order to develop efficient campaigns, REPLACE
- identifies requirements for implementation actions concerning infrastructure, regulations and law,
- investigates stakeholders’ mind-sets and their needs,
- refers to lessons learnt from previous projects,
- and develops action plans tailor-made for each pilot region.
A crucial factor to adapt replacement campaigns to the various regional needs are local working groups. They connect all key actors in each region – local governments, consumer associations, developers, energy utilities and professional associations – to prepare the ground for regional campaigns and steer the direction of a wide range of replacement activities.
As an essential approach, REPLACE explicitly unites intermediaries, such as chimney sweepers or installers, who have constant access to consumers, and policy makers to develop common activities with maximum impact. REPLACE supports the local working groups by a communication framework and specific online and offline actions targeted to the needs of all relevant stakeholders.
REPLACE – Tools and replication
REPLACE implements regional campaigns and makes them replicable as well as sustainable by
- making all material openly accessible,
- offering instruments for campaigns, e.g. guidelines for end-users, intermediaries and investors,
- highlighting success stories,
- providing learning material and regional training seminars,
- and implementing policy and business-related improvements.
One central tool will be the “REPLACE Your Heating System Calculator”. It raises consumers’ and investors’ awareness of monetary and wider benefits of heating and cooling replacements and develops momentum towards collective actions.
REPLACE – Overall goal
All of the REPLACE activities aim at one overall goal: To inform and motivate consumers to replace their old and inefficient heating and cooling appliances with better, greener alternatives with the benefit of monetary savings and improvements in air-quality, comfort, safety, and security of supply.
REPLACE also addresses fuel poverty and reduces the risk of a heating crisis by supporting the use of regional renewable energy sources and equipment like biomass boilers or solar collectors produced in the EU.
Funded by: European Commission EU H2020
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Year: 2019-2022
Project website: https://replace-project.eu/
