Brussels – Energy efficiency, the great unknown. At least in Italy, which ranks last in improvements to housing conditions in terms of reduced heat dispersion and lower energy consumption. Eurostat published figures on improvements to Europeans’ homes over the last five years, and the overall figure suggests that in 2025, 23.9 per cent of the EU population lived in a home where energy efficiency had been improved over the same period. While the highest percentages of people living in more energy-efficient homes were recorded in the Netherlands (60.5 per cent), Denmark (34.0 per cent), in France and Slovenia (both at 33.3 per cent), on the other hand, the lowest percentages were in Italy (2.6 per cent), in Malta (7.8 per cent), and in Greece (9.5 per cent).
Italy, therefore, did not experience a season of renovations between 2020 and 2025, despite numerous initiatives aimed at improving buildings — including the Superbonus, the source of many uniquely Italian disputes. But that’s not quite the case. Because the season of renovations seems to have been exhausted before 2025. Data from the European statistical office indicate that at the end of 2023, Italy’s share of dwellings with improved energy‑efficiency performance stood at 14.7 per cent. This shows that in 2024 and 2025, the number of interventions declined as the renovation boom tapered off.
Energy efficiency measures over the last five years refer to all maintenance and refurbishment work carried out to improve energy performance. Such as improving the thermal insulation of external walls, roofs, or floors; replacing single-glazed windows with double- or triple-glazed windows; or, furthermore, installing more efficient heating systems.
In 2025, Eurostat continues, the reported improvements in energy efficiency in the EU compared with the previous five years were more common among homeowners (26.9 per cent) than amongst those living in rented accommodation (16.7 per cent), and higher among those living in detached houses (30.5 per cent) than amongst those living in flats (16.6 per cent).
