Technologies and socio-economic strategies to nZEB in the building stock of the Mediterranean Area

The greatest potential for energy savings in the EU is in its existing buildings. The concept of Zero Energy Building (ZEB), which represents the main future target for the design of new buildings, is now gaining an increasing attention in relation to the renovation of existing buildings, as well. This is exceptionally challenging considering the general context of economic crisis in the EU and, particularly, in the Mediterranean areas, currently experiencing high level of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. This chapter presents and discusses some progress in low and zero-energy research and practice. It contains a brief review of the current policy background and case studies, and a set of demonstration projects containing evaluation and demonstration procedures that consider the technical, economic and social feasibility of nearly zero energy buildings in the Athens metropolitan area.