Award for the Best Scientific Article of the ETSI of the 4th Quarter of 2022

The Jury of the Award for the Best Scientific Article of the Quarter at the ETSi has awarded the Award for the Best Scientific Article of the ETSI of the 4th Quarter of 2022 , to the work entitled “A review on buildings energy information: Trends, end-uses, fuel and drivers” , Energy Reports, vol. 8, November 2022, pp. 626-637. DOI: 10.1016/j.egyr.2021.11.280 by María González-Torres, Luis Pérez-Lombard, Juan Francisco Coronel, Ismael Maestre and Yan D.

Summary

Buildings are one of the main culprits of climate change, accounting for a third of global energy consumption and a quarter of CO2 emissions. However, complete information is lacking for the development, evaluation and monitoring of policies to mitigate its impact. This paper analyzes energy use by building types, energy services and fuel sources and discusses challenges to the reliability and consistency of available data.

Residential buildings consume the most, representing approximately three quarters of global consumption in buildings, despite the expansion of the tertiary sector in recent years. 60% of the world's tertiary energy continues to be consumed in the OECD, although consumption in developing countries will continue to grow exponentially as their standard of living and, consequently, their level of education, health, leisure and entertainment.

Regarding the analysis by energy services, air conditioning systems concentrate 38% of consumption, which requires strengthening policies in this regard and encouraging modernization. Furthermore, electrification is increasing rapidly, constituting a tool for climate change mitigation, if its generation through renewable sources were promoted.

After analyzing the impact factors behind the energy trends of the last 20 years, it is concluded that the increase in energy use will only be slowed if global cooperation allows developing nations to break the link between economic growth, urbanization and consumption. To achieve this, it is necessary to increase efficiency in both construction and equipment, decarbonize the energy matrix and raise awareness among citizens about energy savings and sufficiency.