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Energy certificates
Updated: 12-Feb-2009
Colin Reid is the technical director at the Enova Group and is a chartered engineer specialising in renewable and sustainable energy systems. He has over 20 years experience in the industry and lives with his wife and three children near Almancil.
IN THIS ARTICLE, we look at energy certificates for buildings and the associated legislation which is now coming into force.
In 2002, the European Union issued a decree known as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This was aimed at tackling the problem of energy consumption in buildings which accounts for a large percentage of European carbon emissions.
Part of this EU legislation is the issue of Building Energy Certificates. These are certificates similar to those issued with refrigerators and washing machines with grades of A to G, A being the most efficient and G being the least efficient.
Each European country has been applying this legislation at government level and Portugal has now implemented its own national laws on the subject. With regard to Portugal, this new law can be summarised as follows:
As of July 2007, all new buildings over 1000 m2 require energy certification.
As of July 2008, all new buildings irrespective of area require energy certification.
As of January 2009, all buildings (new and existing) will require energy certification.
The interesting fact here is that as of next year, energy certificates will be required for all existing buildings as well as new ones. This will have a great impact on the housing market in the Algarve because, as of next year, without an energy certificate, it will not be possible to rent nor sell a property. The energy certificate will become a legal document along with the other documents required for renting and
selling properties.
With regard to new buildings, a new thermal project will need to be issued at planning stage along with the other engineering projects. For some time, there has been a requirement to issue thermal projects but with the new legislation, these projects are far more involved. They need to be carried out by mechanical engineers with specific government qualifications and, like gas and electrical projects, they will need to be certified. The thermal projects are split into 2 categories:
RCCTE – For buildings less than 1000m2 and less than 25KW heating and air conditioning.
RSECE – For buildings greater than 1000 m2 or greater than 25KW heating and air conditioning.
The RCCTE category tends to apply to residential buildings and the RSECE to commercial buildings, but not all the time. Larger houses could fall under the RSECE legislation. The RSECE project is even more involved than the RCCTE one.
Once the thermal project is completed, the energy grade is calculated using specialist software; all new buildings must achieve an A or a B grade to be approved at planning stage.
Existing buildings
With existing buildings, the procedure is a little different. As of January next year, existing buildings will need to be certified. This will involve a qualified engineer visiting the property and assessing the building in terms of the type of construction (walls, windows, insulation, etc.) and the type of services within (heating, air conditioning, solar, etc.). The engineer will then calculate the thermal efficiency of the building and then issue the energy certificate (via the government energy agency, ADENE).
With an existing building, the only legal requirement is to possess an energy certificate. It is not a requirement to achieve a particular grade. The idea though is that those houses with a superior grade will be more attractive to buyers and thus more valuable. There is also talk of introducing tax breaks and tax incentives for higher grade buildings (or increased taxes for lower grade buildings!)
It is therefore anticipated that there will be a surge next year for energy certification as there is a shortage of qualified engineers. It is therefore important to apply early.
Next month we look at how building design can play an important part in energy conservation.
Colin Reid can be contacted by phone on (00351) 282 960 969 or by email at energy@algarveresident.com. To visit the Enova Group website, click on the link to the right of this page.
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