Making heating for consumers efficient, economically resilient, clean and climate-friendly

The aim of the REPLACE project is to motivate and support people to replace their old heating systems with more efficient, environmentally-friendly alternatives, as quickly as possible.

REPLACE covers 9 countries from Western, Central, and South-Eastern Europe with 10 representative target regions and altogether 8.3 million inhabitants: Federal State of Salzburg (AT), Canton of Sarajevo (BA), Rhodope Mountain Region (BG), Primorsko Goranska County (HR), City of Zagreb incl. three bordering counties (HR), Bavarian Oberland (DE), Skopje Region (MK), City of Šabac (RS), Slovenia, Castilla y León Region (ES).

By concentrating on these regions, REPLACE investigates a broad portfolio of heating and cooling technologies and appropriate renewable systems. The project thereof develops individual approaches, examines possible similarities and generates solutions that can be shared within and beyond its target regions. It does so through coordinated and transnational replacement campaigns, and with the support of local working groups.

This article collects some of the stories of how REPLACE is leading wide-reaching renovation campaigns in two of the nine countries, as an example: Spain and Croatia.

Testing regional, bottom-up modern replacement campaigns

In order to convince homeowners to renovate their houses, there is some convincing to do first. Partners therefore developed a heating system calculator and a heating matrix which were translated into the 8 languages of the project. These help people realise how much they consume and how much they could save, both in energy and economic terms, and what is the best option for them.

In Castilla y León, ERENand ESCAN have set up 7 information hubs that provided face-to-face, phone, or email information to families and other end-users on how to renovate their heating systems. They organised workshops to further build the capacity of Spanish professionals and exchange experience, and disseminated videos, …

In the City of Zagreb and in the border counties of Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje County and Karlovac, REGEA provided information, counseling and education on the use of renewable energy sources to children, youth, citizens, entrepreneurs, city and county employees administration. They helped 100 end consumers to receive subsidies for a climate-friendly heating system replacement and thus to buy heating systems, solar thermal systems, and heat pumps. They organised a press conference, and an information workshop and set up an information corner in Velika Gorica.

Showing citizens the way with real-life testimonies

One of the project’s strengths is the number of best practices gathered from the target regions in order to persuade consumers of the benefits of innovative low-carbon and renewable heating and cooling systems. These prove that replacements can be implemented quickly under real local conditions, being at the same time technically and economically feasible.

These examples also show the variety of solutions and approaches that are currently implemented in Europe by energy agencies and public authorities, ranging from residential building refurbishment and (R)HC replacement to demand-response and collective consumer actions. Here are a few examples implemented by the agencies:

• Low-energy family house in Zagorje (REGEA – HR)
• Heat pump in Zagreb’s upper town courtyard (REGEA – HR)
• Reduced heating bills by using pellets (REGEA – HR)
• Family house with solar panels in Rijeka (Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, Primorsko-Goranska County and REA Kvarner – HR)
• Duplex with a hydro-stove heating system in Castilla y León (EREN & ESCAN, ES)
• Biomass boiler in Salamanca, Castilla y León (EREN & ESCAN, ES)
• Replacing diesel boiler with biomass in Aranda de Duero, Castilla y León (EREN & ESCAN, ES)
• Innovative heating replacement in Guisasola residential (ESCAN, ES)
• Innovative renewable Energy System in a residential household (ESCAN, ES)
• New single-family home (ESCAN, ES)
• Old diesel boiler room replacement in residential building (ESCAN, ES)

These examples alone have generated massive energy savings, but also savings on the energy bills – and REPLACE partners are hoping that consumers will see that to replicate and continue to replace inefficient heating systems in their regions and other parts of Europe. These stories illustrate REPLACE's work in Spain and Croatia as an example, but the project is also operating in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, North Macedonia, and Slovenia. Full information on the project and its target regions is available on the REPLACE Project website.