The heat waves that have hit the Czech Republic in recent weeks are set to intensify in the coming decades. The Czech housing stock is one of the oldest in Europe, and three quarters of Czech houses and apartments are therefore not prepared to face such heat waves. Continued renovation of outdated housing stock is therefore necessary, with an emphasis on insulating apartments and houses. Heat waves particularly affect the elderly and other vulnerable groups, with 61 000 people dying in Europe last year due to heat.
A number of NGOs, led by the DUHA Movement and the Centre for Passive Housing, are therefore warning that the Czech government must urgently support large-scale renovation and reconstruction of older houses. High-quality insulation will not only save heating costs in winter, but will also contribute to better living conditions in summer and save the lives of the elderly population.
A recent Europe-wide study by IS Global reports that a record 61,672 people died in Europe last summer due to the heat. Logically, the highest death toll occurred in southern countries such as Italy and Spain, but Germany is already in third place. And as climate change continues, heat is becoming a major problem across virtually all of Europe, as evidenced by last week’s extreme temperatures in the Czech Republic.
“Heatwaves show that retrofitting our homes is and will be a life-saver for older and vulnerable populations. Too many people lose loved ones prematurely simply because of the poor quality of our homes. Instead of letting people use expensive and energy-intensive air conditioning, our government can save thousands of lives by targeted support for renovating the least energy-efficient homes and focusing on those who need it most,” says energy expert Ondřej Pašek of the DUHA Movement.
With extreme temperatures becoming the new norm, experts estimate that unless effective and efficient heat mitigation measures are put in place, an average of 68,116 people could die on the European continent by 2030 and as many as 120,610 by 2050.
More than three quarters of Czech housing has poor insulation conditions, and 60% of dwellings built before 1980 are only partially insulated or not insulated at all.
Adequate home insulation is one of the main reasons for renovations. The interest in insulation is mainly driven by protection against cold and energy savings, but the effect of protection against summer heat is also becoming stronger. The state helps these renovations, for example through subsidies in the New Green Savings programme, which is now also targeted at low-income groups.
However, according to NGOs, the current support is insufficient. They believe the Czech Republic needs to complement the stable and long-term New Green Savings Programme with free advice and assistance with well-targeted complementary measures for low-income households in single- and multi-apartment buildings, project preparation and low-interest loans. It is equally important to find support measures for low-income groups living in rented housing.
The organisations are therefore calling on the government to take major steps to ensure more resilient homes in the future to prevent high excess mortality: EU countries are currently negotiating a new agreement to set minimum standards for the energy performance of buildings through the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Adoption of this agreement would go a long way to protecting the most vulnerable.
Continuing to move away from gas boilers and coal to alternative solutions such as electric heat pumps must be part of government policy. “As part of the refurbishment of the building, we need to think about measures to prevent summer overheating. A good thermal envelope retains heat in summer and protects against cold in winter. The external shading of windows, which are the most common source of overheating, should definitely not be forgotten. Controlled ventilation with heat recovery also helps to maintain a comfortable temperature. An ill-considered installation of cooling (air conditioning) can cause more problems than benefits. Therefore, it is better to prevent overheating,” explains Michal Čejka, an energy saving consultant at the Passive House Centre.
According to him, only a minority of the population still lives in high-quality and well-insulated buildings. “Yet it is a solution that protects against both summer heat waves and high energy bills in winter. That’s why we support efforts to speed up renovations, for example in the context of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Directive currently under discussion,” he concluded.
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