Municipal Energy Saving Systems
For over a decade, European municipalities have been establishing initiatives, strategies and action plans to increase the energy efficiency of private and communal infrastructure. Municipalities of EU member states, enforced by the EU Directive on energy efficiency, must work collaboratively to ensure that by 2020 and 2030, an energy efficiency of 20% and of 32.5% are met, respectively. Initiatives, such as the Covenant of Mayors, have been launched to foster commitment towards energy and climate targets. Signatories voluntarily agreed to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. To achieve this, participating municipalities drafted and submitted a Sustainability Energy Action Plan (SEAP), defining their energy saving and climate measures. More than 6000 municipalities have developed and approved a SEAP since 2008; however, when compared to the total number of municipalities across Europe, there is still a long way to go. It has been identified that a municipality's building stock represents the single largest potential for energy savings. It is also expected that more than two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas by 2050. Therefore, this solution aims to ease the conception and implementation of municipal energy saving measures. Problems to be solved Fossil fuel consumption Carbon emissions Detrimental urban air quality Wasted energy Unreliable energy supply Low energy monitoring