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May 20, 2026
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Welcome to ASHRAE's European Policy and Funding Update! This monthly publication features information on policy and funding-related activities of interest to ASHRAE members in Europe. Archives of previous updates are available from the
ASHRAE European Policy and Funding Updates webpage.
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European Commission Publishes AccelerateEU Communication on Energy Security and Electrification
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On April 22, the European Commission published its AccelerateEU Communication, setting out a package of short-term measures and longer-term actions in response to rising energy prices. The Communication frames the EU’s continued dependence on imported fossil fuels as a structural vulnerability and calls for accelerated action to strengthen energy security and affordability.
The Commission places a strong emphasis on electrification as the central response to price volatility and import dependency, alongside faster deployment of domestic clean energy. For buildings, the AccelerateEU Communication highlights energy efficiency improvements and fuel switching as key measures, including replacing gas and oil boilers with heat pumps, which could halve energy consumption in buildings. The AccelerateEU Communication also points to the need to scale up deployment of clean heating
technologies and signals further action, including an upcoming Electrification Action Plan and potential market-based measures to accelerate heat pump uptake.
As a Commission Communication, AccelerateEU does not introduce binding measures but sets out the direction for forthcoming legislative proposals and policy initiatives in the coming months.
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EU Publishes Harmonized Framework for Lifecycle
Carbon Assessment of Buildings
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On May 4, the European Union published Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/52, establishing a common framework for calculating the lifecycle global warming potential (GWP) of new buildings under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which sets EU rules on the energy performance and decarbonization of buildings.
The regulation introduces a harmonized methodology to ensure consistent and comparable results across Member States and supports upcoming requirements to report lifecycle carbon in energy performance certificates from 2028.
Beyond construction materials, the framework requires emissions to be assessed across the full building lifecycle, including operational energy use, maintenance, and replacement of building systems. This means heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment will be assessed not only for energy efficiency but also for their contribution to total life-cycle emissions, potentially influencing design choices and technology selection.
| Environmental NGO Highlights Gaps in National
Building Renovation Plans, with Portugal
Lagging in Delivery Readiness
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On May 11, a report commissioned by the Climate Action Network Europe NGO studying National Building Renovation Plans (NBRPs), required under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), finds that most plans are not yet ready to deliver at scale. The analysis covers Belgium (Wallonia), Bulgaria, Denmark, Portugal, Romania, and Spain.
Across the six countries analyzed, the main issue is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of implementation. While targets are generally in place, plans often do not translate them into clear renovation pathways, financing structures, or delivery systems. This limits their ability to generate predictable renovation pipelines, which are critical for scaling building system upgrades, including heating and cooling technologies. The assessment also highlights weak alignment between renovation strategies
and heating system transformation.
Portugal ranks lowest in the assessment, with its plan still in the draft stage. Several key elements, including investment needs, delivery mechanisms, and social safeguards, remain undefined, with multiple areas explicitly marked as “to be determined.”
| Copernicus Data Confirms Accelerating
Warming Trend in Europe
| On April 28, the Copernicus Climate Change Service published its latest European State of the Climate report, confirming that Europe is warming faster than the global average, with above-average temperatures recorded across most of the continent in 2025.
The report highlights increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, alongside rising sea temperatures and more extreme climate conditions. The European Commission also signaled that an integrated framework on climate resilience and risk management will be presented later this year.
For the building sector, these trends point to growing pressure on cooling demand and system performance, as well as the need to adapt buildings to more frequent extreme temperature conditions.
| EU Household Gas Prices Increase in Second Half of 2025, with Wide Variations Across Member States
| On May 5, Eurostat published updated data showing that average EU household gas prices increased to €12.28 per 100 kWh in the second half of 2025, up from €11.43 in the first half of the year. Prices have returned to a more typical seasonal pattern following the volatility observed during the 2022–2023 energy crisis.
Significant price differences persist across Member States, with Sweden (€20.92 per 100 kWh), the Netherlands (€17.19), and Italy (€14.81) reporting the highest prices, while Hungary (€3.40), Croatia (€5.43), and Romania (€5.66) recorded the lowest. When adjusted for purchasing power, Portugal ranks among the countries with the highest household gas prices, highlighting continued affordability pressures.
Against this backdrop, heat pump sales across 11 European countries increased by 17% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, reaching around 575,000 units. Growth was strongest in major markets such as France, Germany, and Poland, while declines in countries such as Austria highlight the continued role of national subsidy schemes in shaping demand.
Taken together, the data indicates that heating technology choices remain highly sensitive to energy prices, policy support, and energy security concerns, with ongoing fuel market pressures reinforcing the shift away from fossil-based heating.
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France Accelerates Electrification of Buildings and
Tightens Heat Pump Incentives
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On April 23, the French government presented its electrification plan covering buildings, industry, and transport, aimed at accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels. In the building sector, the plan’s central measure is the phase-out of gas in new residential buildings from 2027, earlier than previously expected, alongside measures to discourage new gas connections and support electrified heating solutions such as heat pumps.
The plan does not introduce significant new funding and instead relies primarily on the reallocation of existing Energy Savings Certificates (CEE), which remain the main financial instrument supporting building upgrades and heating system replacement.
In parallel, a draft update to the CEE framework, notified to the European Commission on May 7, provides further detail on how these incentives will be implemented. The proposal introduces new eligibility conditions for heat pump support, requiring approved models that meet quality and industrial resilience criteria. Higher subsidy levels would be granted where heat pumps replace fossil fuel boilers, and installations would need to reference certified models under the new approval scheme.
The plan strengthens the policy push towards electrification in buildings, while the proposed changes to the CEE scheme introduce greater selectivity in support, with potential implications for technology choice and market access.
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France Extends RE2020 Requirements to
Additional Building Types
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On April 29, France published an update to its RE2020 building regulation, extending its scope to additional non-residential and industrial building types, including hotels, hospitals, retail, sports facilities, airports, and industrial and artisanal buildings. The updated rules entered into force on May 1, 2026.
The measure introduces specific methodologies for calculating energy and environmental performance for these building categories, aligning them with the existing RE2020 framework applied to residential and office buildings.
It also makes airtightness testing mandatory for these new building types, with defined maximum thresholds, bringing them in line with existing requirements for other sectors.
The extension of RE2020 requirements to a broader range of buildings is expected to have direct implications for system design and performance, particularly for ventilation and building envelope integration.
| Greece Introduces On-Bill Financing Scheme to
Support Building Energy Upgrades
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On May 8, Greece adopted a ministerial decision establishing an on-bill financing mechanism for energy efficiency upgrades in buildings, implementing Law 5299/2026.
The scheme allows households and small businesses to finance specific energy improvements, including heat pump installations, window replacements, and other building efficiency measures, with costs repaid gradually through electricity bills.
By linking repayment to energy consumption, the mechanism is designed to reduce upfront investment barriers and enable wider access to renovation measures, supporting increased uptake of energy-efficient technologies and contributing to national energy and climate targets.
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UK Sets Out Measures to Reduce Gas Influence on Electricity Prices and Support Electrification
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On April 21, the UK government announced a set of measures aimed at reducing the impact of gas prices on electricity costs, including expanding the use of fixed-price contracts for low-carbon generation and increasing taxation on excess profits from electricity generators.
Alongside pricing reforms, the government introduced additional measures to support electrification in buildings, including increasing grants for heat pump installations in oil- and LPG-heated homes to £9,000 and plans to simplify permitting rules to accelerate deployment.
Further actions include funding to support domestic heat pump manufacturing and proposals to make it easier to install heat pumps, solar panels, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, particularly in flats and rented properties.
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IEA Heat Pump Conference 2026
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On
May 26 – 29, 2026,
the International Energy Agency (IEA) will host its 15th Heat Pump Conference - the leading scientific conference and meeting place for academia, industry, market, policy makers, and investors interested in the field of heat pumping technologies in Vienna, Austria.
More information is available here.
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RoomVent 2026
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From
September 15–18, 2026,
RoomVent 2026 will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, as a leading international conference on room ventilation and indoor air quality. The event will bring together policymakers, designers, researchers, and engineers to exchange technical knowledge, present new research, and discuss developments in ventilation practices and indoor environmental quality.
More information is available here.
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EU
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The European Commission is made up of 27 Commissioners, 1 for each Member State, and represents the interests of the EU as a whole. Every Commissioner is in charge of a Directorate-General (DG) that can be compared to a Ministry at national level. The European Commission proposes legislation in the form of Regulations and Directives and submits them to the Parliament and Council for discussion and adoption.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:
The European Parliament is made up of 705 MEPs (see below) that are directly elected by EU citizens in 27 Member States.
MEP: Member of the European Parliament, a co-legislator within the EU that is made up of representatives from political parties throughout Member States.
COUNCIL OF THE EU:
Co-legislator, made up of representatives from Member State Governments. Has a six-month rotating presidency, currently held by the Czech Republic until the end of 2022.
EUROPEAN COUNCIL: The European Council is made up of the leaders of the EU member states, commonly known as EU27. It defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities but does not pass laws.
REGULATION:
EU legislative act that is binding in its entirety and is to be applied in its entirety across the EU by all EU Member States.
DIRECTIVE:
EU legislative act that sets out a goal that all EU Member States must achieve. However, it is up to the EU Member States to adopt their own laws on how to achieve the EU goals enshrined in the Directive.
HORIZON EUROPE:
is the EU’s main and biggest Research and Innovation programme for the period of 2021-2027. The programme has an overall funding of €95,5 billion. The program is divided into three pillars: open science, global challenges & industrial competitiveness and open innovation.
INVESTEU:
The InvestEU Programme builds on the successful model of the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan. It brings together, under one roof, the European Fund for Strategic Investments and 13 EU financial instruments currently available. Triggering at least €650 billion in additional investment, the Programme aims to give an additional boost to investment, innovation and job creation in Europe.
EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL:
is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making Europe climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review EU’s energy and climate laws to bring them in line with this ambition. Green Deal also introduces new legislation on the circular economy, building renovation, biodiversity, farming and innovation.
FIT-FOR-55-PACKAGE:
The European Commission’s work program for 2021 included the revisions and initiatives linked to the European Green Deal climate actions and in particular the climate target plan’s 55 % net reduction target are presented under the Fit for 55 package. The package is compiled of two parts, released on 14 July 2021 and 14 December 2021.
REHVA:
is the
association of European heating, ventilation and air-conditioning associations, based in Brussels.
You can find all relevant EU building policy related information in this useful document.
UK
BILL: A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to significantly change an existing law. A bill may start in either the Commons or the Lords and must pass a series of stages in each Houses. Once the bill has been agreed by both Houses, it receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.
HOUSE OF COMMONS: the House of Commons is the lower house and de facto primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords (see below), it meets in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.
HOUSE OF LORDS: The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have been approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons. While it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions.
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