Historic buildings make up a considerable part of our building stock (one fourth for Europe). They are the trademark of numerous cities, and they will only survive if maintained as a living space. This means, that in order to save this heritage for future generations, we need to find conservation compatible energy retrofit approaches and solutions, which allow to preserve the historic and aesthetic values while increasing comfort, lowering energy bills and minimizing environmental impact.

In the last 10 years a shift in paradigm could be observed: While in times of the first EPBD, a strong opposition from conservators and architects could be observed – “don’t touch these buildings” – there is growing a new openness, a much more constructive approach – “let’s find the right solutions together”. Examples for this development are last but not least the installation of the International Scientific Committee on Energy and Sustainability within ICOMOS and the development of “Guidelines for improving the energy performance of historic buildings” (EN16883, now under final vote) by the CEN TC 346 on Conservation of Cultural Heritage.

Now is an important moment to identify and promote good approaches and solutions.