New Energy for Old Buildings

New4Old promoted the integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies into historic buildings, and initiated the creation of a network of Renewable Energy Houses in the different Member States of the European Union.

Different approaches were proposed with the ultimate objective to reduce energy demand and the use of fossil fuels in Europe’s buildings, which account for more than 40 % of the final energy consumption of the European Union, and therefore represent a key area of attention for EU sustainable energy policy. The New4Old project was about integration of RES (Renewable Energy Sources) and RUE (Rational Use of Energy) into retrofitted historic buildings.

The project New4Old contributed to Renewable Energy Sources & Rational Use of Energy market penetration through a two-fold approach:

a) Creation of a network of light-house Renewable Energy Houses (REH) which serve as focal points for the sustainable energy policy discussion in the different EU Member States & contribute to the commercialization of RES & RUE equipments.

b) Capacity building among architects and planners through guidelines and training activities in the field of building integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency into historic buildings.

Inspired by the success of the REH in Brussels, it was the intention of this project to lay the ground for the creation of publicly accessible REH lighthouse projects, which serve as a base for further stimulation of the market replication of RES & RUE technologies in the respective countries. All REH of the network always featured the latest renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies available and served as focal points for the proposed communication and marketing activities.