The SUPERSHINE project has released a set of financial and socio-economic analyses, demonstrating that deep energy renovation in social and affordable housing delivers strong returns, substantial energy savings, and measurable reductions in energy poverty across Europe.
Covering lighthouse cases in Latvia (Riga), Italy (Boito), and Denmark (Faellesbo), as well as fellow cities including Turkey, Spain, Serbia, and Portugal, the results provide robust, comparable evidence to support scalable renovation strategies and innovative financing models.
Across all case studies, SUPERSHINE confirms a clear and consistent message:
bundling renovation measures into a full package delivers the highest return on investment.
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In Riga, returns reach 12.63% for affordable housing and 12.59% for ESCOs, well above the 6.11% benchmark
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In Boito, returns rise to 12.94% and 12.70%, confirming strong financial viability
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In Spain, the investment case is even stronger, reaching up to 14.80% for ESCOs
SUPERSHINE clearly demonstrates that whole-building renovation is the most financially robust strategy for both housing providers and investors.
The project also highlights the direct economic benefits for households, with significant annual savings per dwelling:
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Up to €859/year in Latvia
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Around €595/year in Italy
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Approximately €566/year in Denmark
Across all countries, wall insulation emerges as the most impactful individual measure, while combined interventions maximise total savings.
SUPERSHINE provides strong evidence of how renovation can dramatically reduce energy poverty indicators:
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Latvia: energy expenditure drops from 48.55% to 17.77% of income
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Italy: from 42.19% to 17.05%
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Turkey: nearly halved from 38.17% to 19.14%
Even in countries with lower initial energy burden, such as Denmark and Spain, renovation still leads to clear affordability improvements.
This confirms that energy efficiency is a key tool for tackling energy poverty across diverse socio-economic contexts.
The financial results are reinforced by significant improvements in building performance:
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Italy: from 1,086 to 373 kWh/sqm
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Denmark: from 476 to 102 kWh/sqm
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Portugal: from 967 to 474 kWh/sqm
These reductions demonstrate the effectiveness of SUPERSHINE renovation strategies in lowering energy demand, contributing to both climate goals and long-term cost savings.
Beyond financial and environmental gains, SUPERSHINE highlights the strong social impact of renovation:
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In Italy, households unable to maintain adequate comfort drop from 59.88% to 20.67%
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In Latvia, from 33.80% to 12.11%
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Similar improvements are observed across all case studies
The results across all lighthouse and fellow cities point to a clear conclusion:
Deep, integrated renovation is essential to maximise financial returns, reduce energy poverty, and improve living conditions in social housing across Europe.
Through its analysis, SUPERSHINE also highlights the importance of:
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Scaling up whole-building renovation approaches
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Adopting innovative financing models (shared and guaranteed savings)
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Supporting policy frameworks that enable large-scale deployment
Explore the complete financial tables of Trieste, Herning and Riga also Setubal, Belgrade and Zaragoza and insights to discover how SUPERSHINE supports evidence-based decision-making for sustainable and inclusive housing renovation.
Cover photo credit: Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich
