EU Buildings Database
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Please select at least one year
How to use this database?
Indicators query:
- Select indicator(s) (Items tab in the left menu):
- Several indicators can be selected at the same time; (right) click on indicators;
- You can also use the search engine (at the bottom the indicators list) to find an indicator of your interest.
- Select country(ies) (Countries tab in the left menu):
- User can choose one or several countries; to display aggregated data for an entire European select "EU28";
- By default, all countries are selected;
- Select year(s) (Years tab in the left menu):
- User can choose one or several years; By default, the last 5 years (>2000) are selected.
- Short data sources are provided by default in the result data tables.
Detailed long sources can be visualized through
.
Links on data sources are available using the mouse on the short titles. - To display the results by indicator click on the "eye" icon, next to the indicator name.
- To display data by country by indicator click on the "eye" icon, next to the country name.
- Users can unselect indicators, countries and/or years by clicking on
. - A search engine module has been added into the database to allow users to search for information on a topic without entering the menu. In this case, users have to enter a keyword (e.g. nZEB) in the input field below the left menu; the system then lists all the indicators which contain the typed word.
Once selected, indicators appear in a table or graph. Data can be downloadable in Excel to be used for reporting purposes. Indicators are clearly defined, by hovering the mouse over the icon , close to the title of the indicators.
Settings and options:
- Function to export results to Excel
:- Export data per indicator;
- Export data per country.
- Function to visualize the selection through graphs
or tables
.
- Options
with the possibility to:- Change the number of decimals of the data displayed;
- Change the type of graphs (bar chart, pie, line, area) - Downloadable in png/jpeg/pdf/svg vector image;
- Display data quality (according to a 5-star system);
- Display comments on datasets regarding the methodology of calculation for instance.
Summary table Need help to use this database?
Building stock characteristics
EU policy makers have for a long time recognised the importance of building performance in the effort to mitigate climate change - starting with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) - but capturing the energy saving potential of the building stock has posed a challenge. While the efficiency of new buildings has steadily improved over time, most of Europe's existing building stock has yet to be affected by energy performance requirements. Reliable data on the composition of the building stock is required, in order to increase the effectiveness of building policies and to be able to evaluate if these policies had the intended result.
The main characteristics of the building stock are defined by the following indicators:
- Floor area per sector
- Residential buildings by construction period
- Building typology for residential and non-residential buildings
An heterogeneous building stock accross Europe
The EU building stock is quite heterogeneous. Across all Member States, the majority of the floor area is composed by residential buildings. The share varies considerably, from around 60% in Slovakia, Netherlands and Austria to more than 85% in the southern countries of Cyprus, Malta and Italy.
Most residential buildings were built before thermal standards were introduced
The average age of existing buildings and the share of new buildings from the total stock are good indicators, indicative of the overall efficiency of the building stock. The higher the share of new dwellings (built with higher efficient standards) the higher the overall energy performance of the building stock generally will be. In most EU countries, half of the residential stock was built before the first thermal regulations (built before 1970). In some other countries, such as Cyprus, Spain and Ireland, the share of new dwellings (built after 2000) is significant.
Different structure of residential buildings' classification
The building typology is fundamental to draw an accurate portrait of the EU building stock. The type of dwelling has an impact on the space heating energy performances, since different insulation characteristics imply different specific space heating consumption (due to different wall area in contact with the outdoors). For example, a semidetached house consumes in theory less per m² than a detached dwelling.
The building stock by type of dwellings differs significantly across the EU. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, single-family dwellings are the dominant type (above 80%), while in Spain and Estonia, multi-family dwellings represent more than 70% of all dwellings. If we look at the EU average, there is almost an equal share of both types of dwellings, with an average of 49% for multi-family dwellings.
Degree of urbanisation differs a lot between Member States
The degree of urbanisation is a classification based on a combination of geographical contiguity and minimum population thresholds applied to a 1 km² population grid cells. This indicator reflects the number of residential buildings/dwellings per location:
- High-density cluster/urban centre: contiguous grid cells of 1 km² with a density of at least 1 500 inhabitants per km² and a minimum population of 50 000;
- Urban cluster: cluster of contiguous grid cells of 1 km² with a density of at least 300 inhabitants per km² and a minimum population of 5 000;
- Rural grid cell: grid cell outside high-density clusters and urban clusters.
The average distribution of residential buildings is 42% in the urban centre, 30% in intermediate urban areas, and the remaining 28% in rural areas. Of course, this distribution differs among countries. While Germany, Sweden and Italy the degree of urbanisation is aligned with the EU average distribution, in Malta the population is mainly concentrated to the urban centre.
Breakdown of non-residential buildings by branches
The distribution of floor areas by branch is not homogeneous and depends on the economic structure of each sector. On average, three quarters of the service floor area is covered by offices (including both private and public; 30%), wholesale (27%) and education (16%).