Renewable heat and cold

Picture of an industrial heat pump

The EKOenergy ecolabel has criteria for renewable heat and cold. The following types of renewable heat or cold can carry our ecolabel:

  • Renewable heat and cold that are produced with bioenergy in 100% renewable energy facilities (no co-fuelling with non-renewable fuels) and only to the extent of the used bioenergy that comes from the well-defined categories such as residues from agriculture, the food industry and the forestry industry.
  • Renewable heat and cold produced with gas that fulfils EKOenergy’s sustainability criteria,
  • Heat that is produced with heat pumps that are powered by renewable energy that complies with EKOenegry’s criteria and have a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) of 3.40 or more,
  • Recovered heat or cold which would otherwise dissipate into the air or water, provided that the heat recovery installation uses renewable energy which complies with EKOenergy’s sustainability criteria. (Waste heat originating from fossil and nuclear energy production is excluded.)
  • Geothermal heat or solar heat from installations that are located outside important biodiversity areas and nature protection areas. 

For each MWh of EKOenergy-labelled heat, the EKOenergy seller makes a contribution of 0.10 € (ten cents) to EKOenergy’s Climate Fund. Through its Climate Fund, EKOenergy grants money to renewable energy projects in developing countries. All financed projects help to realise the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

EKOenergy’s criteria for heat also include rules for reliable tracking of the energy and avoidance of double counting.

Are you interested in launching EKOenergy-labelled heat or cold in your country? Contact us for more information.

EKOenergy’s criteria for renewable heat and cold