Energy performance of buildings

Climate change sets the priority goals of environmental efforts in the building sector in relation to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment. The operation of buildings represents 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe. Concrete offers a very effective solution to the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Directive 2002/91/EC of 16 December 2002), which applies minimum requirements on the energy performance of new buildings, including heating and cooling energy. The main energy benefit of using concrete in buildings is its high thermal mass that leads to thermal stability. This saves energy and produces a better indoor climate/environment for building occupants and users.

Concrete is capable of buffering a large part of the free heat gains such as solar radiation and heat and can decrease energy consumption and improve thermal comfort.

The thermal mass of concrete in buildings:

• Optimises the benefits of solar gain, thereby reducing the need for heating fuel.
• Reduces heating energy consumption by 2 - 15%.
• Smoothes out fluctuations in internal temperature.
• Delays peak temperatures in offices and other commercial buildings until the occupants have left.
• Reduces peak temperatures and can make air-conditioning unnecessary.
• Can be used with night-time ventilation to eliminate the need for daytime cooling.
• When combined with air-conditioning, it can reduce the energy used for cooling by up to 50%.
• Can reduce the energy costs of buildings.
• Makes best use of low-temperature heat sources such as ground source heat pumps.
• The reductions in energy use for both heating and cooling cuts emissions of CO2.
• Will help future proof buildings against climate change.

In June 2008, CEMBUREAU responded to a public consultation on the recasting of the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2002/91/EC). In its response, the Association supported the extension of the existing Directive to cover buildings of less than 1000m^₂ in order to achieve further CO₂ reductions. As approximately 70% of buildings in the EU are under 1000m², this would create new energy performance requirements for the majority of buildings in Europe. There is general consensus on the need for stricter regulations on energy consumption in buildings.

The European Parliament adopted its opinion in second reading on the proposal for a Directive on energy performance of buildings on 18 May 2010. As no motion to reject the Council’s common position nor any amendment were tabled, the second reading opinion was approved without a vote. The adoption closes the procedure and the Directive will now be published and enter into force.

The agreement reached between the Parliament and Council on the Directive is the following:

• The 1000 m² threshold for refurbishing buildings was removed.
• Concerning the substance of the proposal as agreed on 17 November 2009, Parliament and Council agreed that in 2020, all new buildings (commercial and households) will have to be “nearly-zero energy” buildings.
• In 2018 all new Public sector buildings will have to be “nearly-zero energy” buildings.
• Financial incentives will be made available to implement the Directive. Furthermore, the Commission is committed to examining the appropriateness of increasing the threshold in the Structural Funds for housing.
• A possibility to upgrade existing buildings to “nearly-zero” energy buildings has been inserted in the text.
• A voluntary EU certification scheme for the non-residential sector will be established.

Latest news

Proposal for Energy Efficiency Directive published

Proposal for a Directive on energy efficiency aiming to create a common framework for the promotion of energy efficiency in the EU to reach the target of 20% primary energy savings by 2020 has been published. It sets several energy efficiency requirements for end-user sectors such as the cement industry. High efficiency standards would have to be applied by the public sector for the renovation of owned buildings, and for the purchase of buildings, products and services. Read more

Council calls for more flexibility in energy efficiency of buildings

The European Council issued draft conclusions earlier this month calling for Member States to be given more flexibility in their approaches to improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings. The Council said that the commission should now come up with alternative proposals for tackling public buildings and be more flexible about the timescale for wider improvements to existing buildings. Draft Council conclusions can be found here

Energy performance of buildings Directive enters into force

The Directive amending and repealing Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings, which was published in the EU’s Official Journal (OJ) on 18 June 2010, entered into force on 8 July 2010. Read more

Click here to view a portfolio of examples of low energy concrete buildings from across Europe, available from the European Concrete Platform website.

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