New eceee explanatory note explains why EPBD must focus on energy needs
(30 Nov 2017) eceee Press Release – eceee believes that energy efficiency first means that energy demand should be reduced as far as possible before the remaining energy needs are supplied by renewables. This principle is necessary to secure long-term sustainable building and to save more energy, resources and money. eceee now publishes an updates technical note on the EPBD Annex I, where these issues are defined.
According to eceee, the proposals currently on the table for the revision of Annex I of the EPBD will mean a step backward compared to the 2010 version, by removing the double indicator of performance of buildings and reducing it only to one, primary energy (not better specified in the texts). This is in contradiction with the Standard ISO EN 52000 produced under Mandate 480 by the EU Commission. In fact, the Standard states: “the use of only one requirement, e.g. the numeric indicator of primary energy use, is misleading”.
According to their own stated objectives, while drafting revisions to the EPBD and its Annex I, the EU institutions should respond to the question: what parameters are needed for successfully promoting “efficiency first”, high share of renewables, transparency of Energy Performance Certificates?, eceee writes.
A clear answer based on physics is given by the International and European Standards on buildings. The standard explains which indicators are needed (a complete definition of the indicators and explanatory graphs are presented in the explanatory note.
The eceee review and analysis conclude that the most rational approach to the issues raised in the note is to explicitly maintain 2 indicators, as in EPBD 2010, for describing the performance of buildings. According to physics and ISO EN 52000 those indicators are energy needs and primary energy (in both its declinations total and non-renewable).
See explanatory note on eceee’s EPBD pages.