6. Comparison with TNO figures

On 24 October 2024, TNO published a report on the share of renewable heating and cooling according to RED III definitions and its expected increase (TNO, 2024, in Dutch). As no CBS data were available at that time, TNO used the best available information to estimate the amount of renewable cooling in the Netherlands. For 2023, that estimate came to 11.0 petajoules, of which 2.6 petajoules from air conditioners and 8.3 petajoules from ground energy systems. The data sources used and thus the outcomes differ from CBS calculations in some respects. 

Unlike CBS, TNO included geothermal cold in its estimate. In the CBS calculation, this is not included because the Delegated Regulation requires detailed measurement data for ground energy systems, which are not available in practice. On the other hand, non-reversible cooling devices such as chillers are missing from TNO's estimate, because TNO relied on CBS data on (reversible) air conditioners that can (also) be used for heating. Data on chillers were not available at the time the TNO report was published. As a result, the installed capacity of cooling systems in non-residential buildings, excluding geothermal cooling, is considerably lower, according to TNO.

Finally, to calculate the average energy efficiency of air conditioners, TNO used data from the Ecodesign Impact Accounting report (European Commission, 2024). Those data are based on relatively old studies and minimum efficiency requirements and not specific to the Netherlands. BSRIA's data suggest that the efficiency of the larger cooling systems in the Netherlands is significantly higher in practice. As a result, the percentage of cooling that counts as renewable in the non-residential sector is considerably higher in the CBS figures than in TNO's estimate.