MS show progress in the implementation of the EPBD

During the recent CA Plenary meeting in Budapest, MS informally reported their status of implementation and their intended calendar for publishing legislation and phasing in requirements for certification and inspections. Though many delays exist, something that was clearly expected for quite some time, most MS now have clear calendars and have adopted regulations and calculation methodologies or about to do so. Major conclusions are described in a summary presentation.
The larger delays correspond to inspection schemes for air-conditioning, which almost every MS plans to delay to 2009. There is a clear convergence among MS for most topics, at least a reduction in the number of options or alternatives. The largest spread corresponds to Summer requirements, now being introduced for the first time in most MS.
Clearly, few practical experiences of certification and inspections will be available in 2006.

Eduardo Maldonado

Next webzine issue: June 2006. All contributions welcome.
Deadline to submit your proposal: 25 June 2006.

France: RT 2005 replaces RT2000

To comply with the directive, the French Ministry of Housing prepared, with the involvement of a large number of professionals, a new regulation which will be mandatory for new buildings after 1st September 2006. This new regulation is an organic development from the previous one (RT 2000).
The requirements concerning thermal insulation and heating systems will be strengthened. New topics introduced by the new buildings regulation include the following:
the calculated consumption will be limited by an absolute value, and not only a project-related value ;
implantation and orientation have become parameters of the French calculation methodology, so that the outdoor climate is now better taken into account. Renewables have been introduced into the calculation, and the reference project is calculated with thermal panels for a part of water supply. Natural lighting is also taken into consideration. More generally, distinct summer and winter requirements are imposed in order to encourage an improved bioclimatic architecture approach. The calculation of air-conditioned buildings is now possible, and its use in France is seriously discouraged for residential buildings.
The enforcement for 2010 is announced to professionals with: condensing boilers mandatory in the North of France, for instance, heating pumps replacing direct electric heating, the end of thermal bridges, etc.

Author: M.C.Roger

The Netherlands: the Dutch government wants to make the Energy Performance Certificate less expensive for consumers

tThis means that for similar homes in a block, only a limited number of Certificates will be necessary. In addition, the Dutch governments wants to exclude monuments, churches, industrial buildings and temporary buildings from the Certificate.

Author: M.Heinemans (Senternovem)

Workshop of the Core team Procedures in Budapest at the EPBD conference following the Concerted Action meeting (10 May 2006)

The workshop entitled "Applied Science meets Daily Practice" was joined by the three IEE SAVE projects ENPER-EXIST, EPA-NR and EPLabel and was given a prominent place at the conference as the first session right after the opening session.
About 120 participants, mostly from Hungary but altogether from 17 different countries, were informed about the different possible rating procedures that are being developed in the SAVE projects. A second part summarised the Member States experiences with rating procedures contributed by members of the Concerted Action Core team.

Author: H.Erhorn-Kluttig (Fraunhofer-IBP)

European Commissions (EC) GPE is a preliminary contribution to the energy policy debate, addressed to all energy related sectors: authorities, stakeholders, energy suppliers and energy end-users. As 40 % of Europe's energy is consumed by the residential & tertiary sector, the energy performance of buildings and their installations engineering is of special interest for this debate. Besides the security of energy supply, demand-side management particularly in the housing sector therefore is N°2 on the Indicative List of Actions of the EU Council. Furthermore, an Action Plan will be adopted by the EC around Sept. 2006. In addition, the (new) MS are already called to use their National Strategic Reference Frameworks 2007-13 for energy efficient improvement of buildings, co-financed by the EU.

Author: M.Elsberger (EC-DG TREN)

New SAVE call published

The 2006 call for proposals - the last under the current IEE programme - has been published. European organisations can apply for financial support for their projects until 31 October 2006. Approximately € 50 million will be made available to co-finance up to 50% of the project costs. Organisations from EU Member States, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein can apply.

Contact: A.G.Sutherland (IEEA)

EEDAL'06 - International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting ( London, 21 June)

This important international event will provide a unique forum to share knowledge and experience between governments, industry and experts on the:
latest developments in energy and environmental impact of residential appliances and lighting;
policies and programmes adopted and planned at local, regional and international levels;
technical and commercial advances influencing the market growth of energy efficient residential appliances, consumer electronics, heating equipment and lighting.

Author: Z.Nagy (BRE)

EuroAce provides an interactive database with regard to EPBD

First public results of the ECO-BUILDINGS project BRITA in PuBs now available

The Eco-buildings concept is expected to be the meeting point of short-term development and demonstration in order to support legislative and regulatory measures for energy efficiency and enhanced use of renewable energy solutions within the building sector, which goes beyond the Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. The Eco-buildings projects aim at a new approach for the design, construction and operation of new and/or refurbished buildings, which is based on the best combination of the double approach: to reduce substantially (and if possible, to avoid) demand for heating, cooling and lighting and to supply the necessary heating and cooling and lighting in the most efficient way and based as much as possible on renewable energy sources and polygeneration.
The ECO-Buildings project BRITA in PuBs (Bringing Retrofit Innovation to Application in Public Buildings) finalized the first reports on "Analysis of Barriers and Needs in retrofit decision processes" and "Financial Strategies for low energy public retrofits in Europe".

Author: Hans Erhorn (IBP)