The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
As a consequence of the EU signing up to the Kyoto Protocol, which deals with climate change on a global scale, by 2012 EU states are required collectively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% compared to 1990 levels.
40% of Europe's energy is spent on heating, cooling, lighting and running offices and homes and the EPDB represents a concerted effort by EU member states to reduce the energy used in domestic and commercial buildings.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) includes four key tasks for each member state to implement:
- Each country must develop a framework for calculating the energy performance of buildings, which will measure how much energy a building will use in its lifetime.
- They must set minimum standards of energy performance and use for new and existing buildings.
- They must introduce energy certification in buildings, which will in theory operate in a similar way as the energy labelling on domestic appliances, with A-rating excellent and G-rating poor.
- They must implement a system of regular inspection and assessment of heating and cooling installations by independent assessors.
Minimum Standards
Each EU member state must ensure that buildings, including their heating cooling and ventilation systems are designed on a low energy consumption basis.
For new buildings with a total useful floor area over 1,000m2, feasibility studies should be completed to review the inclusion of alternative systems such as:
- Heat Pumps
- Decentralised energy supply systems
- Combined heat and power (CHP)
- District or block heating or cooling
"Minimum standards" also apply to refurbishment of existing buildings, whereby renovations over a certain value will be subject to minimum energy standards. This will apply to buildings over 1,000m2, or where the total cost of the renovation related to the building shell and/or energy installations such as heating, air conditioning, ventilation and lighting is more than 25% of the value of the property.
When the measures are being introduced
The legislation for EPBD was laid in Parliament in March 2007, and will come into force in a phased manner as outlined in the table below. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are a major part of the legislation. This excellent government guide outlines the scheme.
| 06-Apr-08 | EPCs required on construction for all dwellings. |
| EPCs required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 10,000 m2. | |
| 01-Jul-08 | EPCs required for the construction, sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 2,500 m2. |
| 01-Oct-08 | EPCs required on the sale or rent of all remaining dwellings |
| EPCs required on the construction, sale or rent of all remaining buildings other than dwellings. | |
| Display certificates required for all public buildings >1,000 m2. | |
| 04-Jan-09 | First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 250 kW must have occurred by this date*. |
| 04-Jan-11 | First inspection of all remaining air-conditioning systems over 12 kW must have occurred by this date*. |
*Note - a system first put into service on or after 1 January 2008 must have a first inspection within 5 years of it first being put into service.
Please Note: This is an introductory guide and is not a definitive source of legal information.
To stay aware of what's happening, take a look at these websites:
http://www.breeam.org/
The BRE Environmental Assessment Method is the voluntary measurement currently used to grade buildings for sustainability. This website describes how BREEAM works, and gives details on the requirements for an ‘Excellent' rating.
http://www.diag.org.uk
The Directive Implementation Advisory Group (DIAG) was set up to help the UK Government bring the EPBD into UK law, and to make it work. This site contains the timetable for implementation, as well as good background on the EPBD.
http://www.ukace.org/
The Association for the Conservation of Energy website contains interesting articles on reducing energy use in commercial and domestic buildings.
