Mapping the Energy Performance of Existing Residential Building Stock: The Case of Seville

Abstract

Residential buildings account for a significant share of the total energy consumption in the European Union (EU). With the European Commission estimating that 75% of Europe’s building stock is energy inefficient, renovation of existing buildings is crucial to help reduce global energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This study provides insight into the energy performance of the residential building stock in the most populated city of Andalusia, Seville. The data contained in 45,920 energy performance certificates (EPC) of dwellings were processed and analysed according to the type of dwellings (single-family dwellings and individual dwellings in multi-family blocks), construction period, and their district location. The results obtained revealed that most of the dwellings have a poor energy performance rating (with approximately 66% classified under label E). The districts with the highest percentages of dwellings with the worst-energy performance (EPC “G” and “F”) are D4 Cerro-Amate district (36%) and D2 Macarena district (34%). The bottom-up approach used in this study provides useful information to assess the energy performance of Seville’s residential buildings on the urban scale. These findings can help define renovation strategies and public energy policies targeting districts having buildings with poor energy performance.