SECHURBA Guide Sustainable Energy Communities in Historic Urban Areas From Culture and History to Sustainable Development Securing the future, protecting the past

?Historic buildings and areas are often excluded from technological and sustainable development due to the strict and complex legislative and planning framework. Additionally, their exclusion from the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (2002/91/EC) and national policies and obligations towards energy efficiency and renewable energy, often holds them back from any dynamic development and technological innovation. However, the potential for energy saving and generation interventions in such areas and in buildings of historic excellence is significant. The SECHURBA project was developed to show that historic areas still have a role to play in modern lifestyles and can be adapted to help individuals and communities to reduce their carbon emissions and become more sustainable; highlighting the many interventions that can be taken, whilst respecting and maintaining cultural heritage. The key project outputs were to identify barriers and constraints to integrating sustainable energy technologies in such historic communities; to carry out energy audits throughout different case study buildings and produce recommendations to reduce their energy demand by a minimum of 40%. A software-based tool was to be developed for aiding decision-makers regarding interventions in historic buildings and planning