Policy Brief - Making Europe's buildings smarter: Case studies from the WeForming and META BUILD projects
Authors/Creators
- 1. R&D Nester - Centro de Investigação em Energia REN - State Grid S.A.
Description
Decarbonising Europe's buildings means turning them from passive consumers into flexible grid resources. Evidence from two Horizon Europe projects, WeForming (six demonstrations) and META BUILD (13 pilots), shows the technology is ready. In Croatia, low-cost sensors turn existing buildings into grid data sources. In Greece, price-responsive heat pumps cut costs without losing comfort. In Portugal, software revived a disused ice-storage system for balancing services. Both projects' scorecards rank technical infrastructure highest and public trust among the lowest.
The barriers lie in national implementation. The case studies show rights that may exist on paper but are undercut by incomplete smart-meter rollout and data access, fixed-rate retail contracts, taxes that favour gas over electricity, and settlement rules that struggle in practice.