REPLACE’s consortium meeting in April has shown: After a phase of intense preparatory work, sustainable heating and cooling actions are ready for take-off in 10 European regions!
Best practice examples are ready for use, where interested parties can look at what others have already implemented in terms of renewable heating and cooling. The Replacement handbook for end consumers is also available – and the one for intermediaries and investors as good as ready – presenting e.g. the benefits of sustainable systems, systems to choose from and answers to frequently asked questions. And the REPLACE matrices and the REPLACE your Heating System Calculator are nearing completion. From July onwards, the online tools will enable people to see at a glance which sustainable system is best suited for their building and to calculate replacement projects e.g. in terms of CO2 savings and costs.
The completion of these tools at the same time allows the REPLACE campaigns to start, which take place in the 10 REPLACE regions from Western over Central to South-Eastern Europe until August 2022. The implementation of the campaigns was therefore also a focus at the consortium meeting in April: Which activities are currently implemented and what are the challenges? Which activities have the greatest impact and how are end consumers, intermediaries and investors in the regions informed about the actions?
In Slovenia for example, a first webinar has already taken place, informing energy advisors about the technical handbook, the heating matrices and other tools, and presenting the use of heat pumps. In Croatia and North Macedonia, info hubs have been established providing dedicated spaces on renewable heating and cooling. And in Austria, a boiler replacement one-stop-shop is currently being implemented with a test phase in summer 2021. Actions in all other regions have started as well or are being prepared like supporting the use of mobile heating containers, facilitating collective actions like the realization of district heat networks or offering open house events to present realized sustainable heating or cooling systems.
A challenge that stays present in all regions is the COVID-19 pandemic. And although it might make face-to-face campaigns harder depending on the regional situation, or can have an influence on investments in renewable energy systems, REPLACE activities are put into action, adapted to the respective situation, to promote sustainable heating and cooling in Europe.