Tuesday, 14 July 2026
As Europe accelerates its push toward decarbonisation, developers face growing pressure to deliver buildings that are both environmentally sustainable and financially viable. Yet according to Cristiana Roșu, CEO of RADOX, one of the industry’s biggest challenges remains understanding which sustainability investments genuinely create value for occupants and which are primarily driven by certification requirements.
In this interview with CIJ EUROPE, Roșu discusses how occupier expectations have evolved, why indoor air quality deserves far greater attention, the future of heat pumps and HVAC technologies in Romania, and how artificial intelligence could reshape building operations over the next decade.
Sustainability Must Deliver Visible Benefits
While sustainability is often presented as a win-win proposition, Roșu argues that the reality is more nuanced.
“Sustainability almost always comes with higher upfront investment costs,” she says. “The challenge for developers is understanding which measures are genuinely valued by end users and which are primarily valued by the industry itself.”
In emerging markets such as Romania, where affordability remains a key consideration, she believes developers sometimes invest in features that occupants do not necessarily recognise or appreciate, while overlooking measures that directly improve comfort, health or operating costs.
The result is a disconnect between sustainability strategies and consumer priorities.
“Developers need to distinguish between what they believe is important and what occupants perceive as valuable in their everyday lives.”
The Post-Pandemic Shift Toward Healthier Buildings
Roșu identifies COVID-19 as one of the most significant catalysts for change in the HVAC sector over the past five years.
The pandemic accelerated awareness around ventilation, fresh air supply and indoor environmental quality across offices, residential projects and industrial facilities.
While requirements differ by asset class, several common themes have emerged.
Office occupiers increasingly prioritise comfort and healthy working environments. Residential buyers focus on noise reduction, energy efficiency and lower utility bills. Logistics and industrial users continue to place operational efficiency at the centre of decision-making.
Yet Roșu believes the importance of air quality remains underestimated.
“We spend approximately 90 percent of our lives indoors,” she notes. “The quality of the air we breathe affects sleep quality, concentration, wellbeing and overall health.”
As buildings become increasingly airtight in pursuit of energy efficiency, she argues that fresh-air systems and heat recovery technologies will become essential rather than optional.
Fresh Air: The Overlooked Sustainability Investment
Throughout the discussion, Roșu repeatedly returns to one topic she believes deserves far greater attention: controlled ventilation and heat recovery systems.
These systems allow buildings to introduce filtered fresh air while maintaining internal temperatures and minimising energy losses.
According to Roșu, many public building rehabilitation projects financed through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) already incorporate such solutions. However, she worries that demand could decline once funding programmes conclude.
“I hope these systems do not disappear when financing ends,” she says. “Fresh air should become a standard requirement in modern buildings.”
She argues that many consumers continue to underestimate the impact of carbon dioxide accumulation in enclosed spaces. In typical residential bedrooms, oxygen levels can decline significantly during the night, potentially affecting sleep quality and recovery.
Despite these benefits, she notes that even experienced industry professionals often hesitate to invest in heat recovery systems for their own homes, highlighting a broader need for market education.
How RADOX’s Portfolio Has Changed
Over the past decade, RADOX has expanded beyond its traditional strengths in heating technologies to focus increasingly on cooling, ventilation and industrial applications.
Roșu points to climate change and increasingly hot European summers as major drivers of this evolution.
“Cooling technologies have advanced significantly over the last ten years,” she explains. “The industry continues to invest heavily in improving efficiency, reducing energy consumption and transitioning toward more environmentally friendly refrigerants.”
At the same time, RADOX has strengthened its position in the industrial sector, returning to the company’s roots from the early 1990s.
The company now supplies solutions ranging from residential heating and cooling systems to large-scale chillers, rooftop units, heat generators and industrial HVAC installations.
Heat Pumps: Opportunity and Reality
Among emerging technologies, Roșu sees significant long-term potential in heat pumps, particularly as Europe pursues electrification and decarbonisation goals.
However, she warns against viewing heat pumps as a universal solution.
“Heat pumps work exceptionally well in buildings that are properly designed and insulated,” she says. “But when installed in inefficient buildings, they can actually lead to higher operational costs.”
According to Roșu, successful implementation requires a holistic approach that includes high-performance windows, insulation, building envelopes and energy management systems.
Romania’s electricity infrastructure also presents practical challenges.
She cites examples of residential developments encountering difficulties in securing sufficient electrical capacity to support large-scale heat pump deployment, particularly in multifamily projects.
“The technology is advancing rapidly, but the surrounding infrastructure must evolve as well.”
Solar Power and Energy Storage
Although RADOX is not active in photovoltaic manufacturing, Roșu believes solar energy will remain an important component of future building energy strategies.
However, she stresses that solar generation alone cannot guarantee energy independence.
The key, she argues, lies in energy storage.
Large-scale battery technologies are advancing rapidly and becoming increasingly important in balancing variable renewable generation with consumption patterns.
“Photovoltaics are valuable, but without effective storage you cannot fully optimise their potential,” she says.
For countries such as Romania, with significant seasonal variations in solar production, storage solutions will become increasingly important in achieving reliable energy performance.
AI Will Assist Buildings Before It Runs Them
Artificial intelligence is already beginning to influence building management systems, but Roșu believes widespread adoption in Romania remains some distance away.
She expects AI to first emerge as a support tool for facility managers and operators rather than as a fully autonomous building management solution.
Many newer office and mixed-use developments already incorporate sophisticated building management systems capable of collecting operational data and optimising performance. However, Roșu notes that such systems remain far from universal.
“There is enormous potential for AI to improve building operations,” she says. “But Romania still has relatively few buildings with advanced management systems installed.”
Over time, she expects AI to help integrate heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and shading systems into coordinated building ecosystems that optimise both comfort and efficiency.
For now, however, she sees this as a long-term direction rather than an immediate market reality.
Romania’s Progress and Remaining Gap
Compared with more mature Central European markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic, Roșu believes Romania has made significant progress in adopting modern building technologies.
The principal difference, however, lies in consistency.
“In mature markets, standards are clearly defined and widely accepted,” she says. “In Romania, standards remain more variable and often depend on individual developers.”
That variability creates both challenges and opportunities.
Because market expectations continue to evolve, Romania still has substantial room for improvement across residential, commercial and industrial segments.
European funding programmes have played a significant role in accelerating this process, helping developers, designers and contractors adopt higher standards for comfort, health and energy performance.
Looking Toward 2030
Looking ahead, Roșu expects the industry’s trajectory to remain closely aligned with European decarbonisation and electrification policies.
Energy efficiency, lower emissions, advanced cooling technologies, heat pumps and intelligent building systems will continue to attract investment and innovation.
Yet amid all the technological change, she believes one issue remains underappreciated.
“The importance of fresh air is still not fully understood,” she concludes. “As buildings become more efficient and more airtight, we cannot forget that comfort and health depend on the quality of the environment inside them.”
For Roșu, the future of sustainable buildings is not simply about reducing energy consumption. It is about creating indoor environments that improve the daily lives of the people who use them, a goal that may ultimately prove just as important as achieving the next ESG certification.
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