The set of electronic tools neZEH evaluates the energy efficiency of hotels through a questionnaire and identifies options for energy efficiency, including the efficient use of non-renewable sources, while raising awareness of the issue through inspiring examples .
The near-zero Energy Hotels (neZEH) set of electronic tools, which is available online at: www.nezeh.eu evaluates the energy efficiency of hotels and proposes measures to improve efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy sources for almost zero consumption. The toolkit is the result of a project over three years funded by the European Union.
The set of electronic tools neZEH evaluates the energy efficiency of hotels through a questionnaire and identifies options for energy efficiency, including the efficient use of non-renewable sources, while raising awareness of the issue through inspiring examples .
The project aims to support hotels in Europe to comply with the regulations of almost zero energy buildings (NZEB), which requires all EU Member States to meet by 2020. A building NZEB must demonstrate a high level level of energy efficiency. The near-zero, or very low, the amount of energy required to be generated very significantly by renewable energy sources, including those produced on-site or nearby.
As stated by the Secretary General of UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, "this unprecedented initiative shows not only the concerns, but also the high level of commitment, the tourism sector to address one of the concerns around the world: climate change".
Sixteen hotels across seven European countries (Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain and Sweden) have participated in the project as a pilot European neZEH Hotels. These are inspiring examples to become the European hotel industry on how to implement best practices to achieve performance nearly zero energy level.
Prior to the implementation of the set of electronic tools, the political implications of a tourism sector zero energy in Europe were discussed in the European Parliament on 17 March 2016. The event, aimed at heads of regional, national policies and European, they stressed the need to reduce legislative barriers and introduce support measures to promote zero energy growth and ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism in the EU.
The neZEH project is co-funded by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy Programme for Europe. Its aim is to accelerate the rate of large-scale renovation of hotels near zero energy buildings (NZEB), providing technical advice to hoteliers and demonstration of flagship projects NZEB in the European hospitality sector.
The neZEH partnership includes ten partners in seven European countries: the Technical University of Crete-Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems Lab (Greece), the coordinator of the project partner, together with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the Network of the Region European sustainable and competitive tourism (NECSTouR), sustainable Innovation (Sweden), Creara Consultores SL (Spain), Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar (Croatia), the Istituto Superiore sui Sistemi per l'Innovazione Territoriali (Italy), the Agency Braşov for Energy Management and Environmental Protection (Romania), the European Federation of heating and air conditioning associations (Netherlands), and energies 2050 (France).
