Our head of Mass Consumption Roberto Cámara and Juan Casares, Chairman of the Confederation of Housing and Refurbishment Cooperatives of Spain (CONCOVI), have signed a collaboration agreement to improve energy efficiency by installing hybrid natural gas and renewable energy solutions in new-build and refurbished homes developed by CONCOVI member cooperatives.
The agreement defines several areas of action that will make it easier for these cooperatives to install hybrid natural gas solutions in their homes for heating, hot water and cooking, so that the homes can achieve greater financial savings and reduce energy consumption. Actions range from providing free advice for prior studies, drafting the specific project, designing the gas installation and supervising installation work, to guidance on the latest technologies and high-efficiency natural gas and renewable energy hybrid solutions emerging in the sector.
By installing natural gas technologies, these homes will enjoy efficient, economic, safe and continuous-supply energy that provides even heat throughout the home;this will improve the home's energy rating and increase the value of the building.
Increasingly clean energy
Natural gas is the cleanest conventional energy with the lowest emission level. It improve air quality in our cities because it reduces the emission of nitrogen oxides by over 85% and suspended particles (the main cause of breathing and heart problems linked to pollution in urban areas) by almost 100%.
The gas sector is currently immersed in a transformation process to inject renewable gas into gas infrastructures. This renewable gas is a green, zero-CO2 emission energy that can be distributed through the over 90,000 kilometres of existing gas infrastructure in Spain; it can be used for the same energy purposes as natural gas in homes, industry, businesses and also transport. As a result, homes developed by CONCOVI member cooperatives will have continuous-supply renewable energy without having to modify consumption equipment in the homes.
About CONCOVI
The Confederation of Housing and Refurbishment Cooperatives of Spain (CONCOVI) is the only non-profit social agent recognised by the State in the field of housing. CONCOVI is a Social Economy association and founding member of CEPES, the Spanish Social Economy Employers’ Confederation. It also represents Spanish housing cooperativism in the European Union as a member of Housing Europe, the European Federation of Public, Cooperative & Social Housing.
CONCOVI’s primary mission, which it has been working towards for over 60 years, is to defend cooperative members and, therefore, all affiliated cooperatives must complete a prior audit and approval process to guarantee legal compliance. CONCOVI associates housing cooperatives through their respective regional Territorial Federations and Unions, and directly affiliated cooperatives when an Autonomous Region has no federation body.
In 2020, the Confederation operated a total of 2.493 billion euros, monitoring almost 200 housing cooperatives at a national level, with a total of 11,593 homes. Last year alone, CONCOVI created over 50,000 jobs, highlighting the importance of housing cooperatives as creators of Social Economy employment in Spain.