Why Efficiency First?

This infographic and video by the International Passive House Institute emphasize the importance of prioritizing energy efficiency in buildings to address the limited capacity of the global electricity grid, which is projected to reach just 14,000 GW by 2050, while sectors like transport and heating will also be drawing from it.

Buildings represent 36% of the global final energy demand, so reducing energy demand is crucial. Efficient buildings provide multiple co-benefits, including better build quality, occupant health, affordability, and resilience. The Passive House Standard, which has a rigorous quality assurance system, eliminates the performance gap between predicted and actual energy use in buildings.

It also highlights the health effects of cold damp buildings and the benefits of improving housing conditions.

Finally, it emphasizes the importance of efficiency measures to avoid compensation from non-renewable sources due to seasonal disparity between energy demand and renewable generation, and the primary energy renewable (PER) factors that reflect the required resources to cover final energy demand.