Spain faces mounting pressure to reduce residential energy use under the European Union’s recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Directive (EU) 2024/1275. Published in the Official Journal on 8 May 2024, it entered into force 20 days later. The directive requires each member state to reduce the average primary-energy use of its residential building stock by at least 16% by 2030 compared with 2020, and by 20% to 22% by 2035. The European Parliament and Council state that “Member States shall reduce the average primary energy use of the entire residential building stock by at least 16 % by 2030 compared with 2020, and by at least 20 to 22 % by 2035.”
The targets apply to the housing stock as a whole; they do not, on their own, require every homeowner to carry out a specified renovation. At least 55% of the reduction must come from renovating the 43% of residential buildings with the worst energy performance. That focus puts inefficient homes, many of them older, at the front of national renovation priorities, but the directive does not set a universal upgrade order based solely on construction year. Spain must decide which policies and tools will deliver the savings.
Targeting the Least Efficient
Spain’s approach will depend on the national renovation measures established under the directive. Authorities will use building-stock data and energy performance certificates to identify priorities. Potential upgrades include insulation and improved windows, along with more efficient heating and cooling. Plans may also add controls or renewable-energy systems. The European Commission says buildings account for around 40% of energy consumption and 36% of energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions in the EU, helping explain why the policy focuses on improving existing buildings as well as new construction. Age can indicate a greater likelihood of poor performance, but the EU-wide priority is based on a building’s energy performance, not its age alone.
Energy Certificates Gain Importance
Energy performance certificates, already mandatory for property sales and rentals in Spain, are set to take on a larger role in identifying performance and guiding improvements. Under the directive, certificates must provide reliable, comparable information about a building’s calculated energy performance, using national calculation systems within the EU structure. Renovation roadmaps can also lay out staged measures to improve a property over time. The directive does not automatically prohibit the sale or rental of homes with low ratings; any such restriction would require a separate Spanish legal measure.
Support for Vulnerable Households
The directive calls for financial incentives and technical assistance to be accessible, particularly to vulnerable households. It also provides support mechanisms, including one-stop shops that offer renovation advice and help households facing energy poverty access upgrades. Spain’s policy design will need to address affordability, prioritize the least efficient buildings and protect vulnerable residents. Member states must transpose the directive into national law by 29 May 2026; Spain’s final national building renovation plan is due by the end of 2026 and is expected to set out how the country will pursue the 2030 and 2035 milestones, along with the longer-term 2050 objective.
As Spain prepares for these changes, energy efficiency is reshaping priorities for homeowners and landlords as policymakers respond. The shift echoes wider trends in European infrastructure, including the launch of Kilauea, Europe's only water coaster, near Madrid. For more on major upgrades to Spanish attractions, see this report on Madrid's record-breaking water coaster.
With the first building-stock target set for 2030, Spain faces the challenge of reducing energy use across its housing stock while directing renovation efforts and support toward the least efficient homes and households most exposed to energy poverty.
