Article written by Juan Cabrerizo, SATE specialist and thermal insulation expert at Propamsa
The prices that electricity has reached in recent times have put many Spanish households on the ropes, as they have had to face record highs in their bills. In addition, forecasts indicate that the trend of these prices will continue to rise, which increases concern among families, especially considering the coming cold with the transition into winter. Thus, beyond waiting for the government decree that could regulate prices, we have to look for alternatives .
These alternatives lay in improving the energy efficiency of our buildings. And the thing is, more than 99% of homes in Spain suffer unnecessary heat losses, which makes them great energy wasters. For this reason, energy rehabilitation becomes one of the keys to increase thermal comfort at home and also to reduce the price of the electricity bill.
But where does energy from our homes get out? Up to 30% escapes through the roof, 30% goes through the walls, 10% disappears through the ground and 10% escapes through the windows. The remaining 20% escapes our homes through thermal bridges. These are critical points such as pillars, slabs, blind boxes, windows or balcony doors, that break the insulating continuity and cause the effect of "cold wall" that generates humidity and cold feeling inside, which in turn causes higher energy consumption.
Thus, to put an end to the main energy leaks - walls and thermal bridges - the most effective solution is to insulate the building with external thermal insulation composite systems, or ETICS (SATE in Spanish), which surround the home or building and avoid these wastes of energy.
In this way, heat leaks in winter and cold leaks in summer are avoided, allowing interior temperatures to remain adequate and stable throughout the year. Consequently, this reduces the need to abuse the thermostat and saves a minimum of 30% on the bill, and even 90% in the case of passive homes.
Beyond lowering costs, reducing consumption affects emissions pollution which can be reduced by a third; a striking fact considering that buildings are the cause of up to 40% of pollution in large cities.
These solutions, located outside the structure, do not reduce space or impede the habitability of homes during installation . They also prevent condensation and humidity, and notably increase comfort at home, improving the quality of life and even modernizing the image of the building, which can improve its value by more than 20%.
Public aid in favor of energy rehabilitation
And there couldn't be a more opportune moment to carry out this type of reform, since the aid managed by the IDAE, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving, to reduce this waste is a reality and a sign that the Public Administration is also committed to improving the efficiency of the housing stock.
They are also joined by the more than 6,000 million euros that are contemplated in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Spanish Economy framed in the European aid funds that will subsidize between 35% and 100% of the total cost of the building rehabilitation works.