Page 36 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2019 publication

36 Spring 2019 European Energy Innovation
ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS
The revised EPBD
The opportunity to unleash the multiplier effect of Building Automation and Control Systems
By Simone Alessandri (pictured), Director, Governmental Relations, eu.bac
2019 is a turning point
for energy efficiency of
Buildings. With buildings
that are responsible for
approx. 40% of energy consumption
and 36% CO2 emissions in Europe,
actions are needed, more than ever
before. In this regard, the European
Union played its part approving
an ambitious piece of legislation:
the revised Energy Performance of
Buildings Directive.
This Directive entered into force in
July 2018 and the Member States
have now time until March 2020 to
transpose it into national legislation.
Among the most innovative elements
introduced by this revision, the
following amendments are of utmost
importance:
• Definition of Building Automation
and Control Systems (BACS)
according to the European
Standards in the Directive
• Mandatory requirements for
installation and retrofit of Building
Automation and Control Systems
(BACS) in non-residential buildings
(existing and new) with effective
rated output of over 290 kWh, by
2025
• Incentives for installation of
continuous electronic energy
performance monitoring and
effective HVAC controls in existing
and new multifamily buildings
• Requirements for the installation
of individual room temperature
controls such as TRVs in new
buildings and alongside the
replacement of heat generators in
existing buildings
• Non-residential and residential
buildings equipped with BACS and
electronic monitoring, respectively,
are exempted from physical
inspections of Heating and Air-
Conditioning Systems
• Optimization of performance
under typical or average (real-life)
part load operating conditions
including dynamic hydraulic
balancing
• Reinforced requirements on
optimizing the performance of TBS
i.a. with controls
Let’s take a look, for example, at two
of the most important amendments
listed above.
Art. 8 par.1 (bullet point 4 in the above equipped with building automation
list) claims that Member States
shall require new buildings, where
technically and economically feasible,
to be equipped with self-regulating
devices for the separate regulation
of the temperature in each room
or, where justified, in a designated
heated zone of the building unit. In
existing buildings, the installation of
such self-regulating devices shall
be required when heat generators
are replaced, where technically and
economically feasible.
These requirements are already
successfully enforced only in few
Member States: as of today 4 out
of 10 radiators in Europe are not
equipped with temperature control,
leaving people out of control for
their heating expenses. The full
enforcement of this measure is
therefore needed on a large scale
and in short-term: it’s a no-regret
complement to longer-term road
maps for decarbonized building, it is
not invasive (installing TRVs takes 1-2
hours) and convenient: pay-back is
1-2 years and heating energy savings
are proven to be at least around 20%.
While the measures on self-regulating
devices are applicable both to
residential and non-residential sector,
the other important amendment
applies only to non-residential
buildings, but with wider-ranging
ambition and effects. Art. 14 par.4
(bullet point 2 in the above list)
claims that Member States shall lay
down requirements to ensure that,
where technically and economically
feasible, non-residential buildings
with an effective rated output
for heating systems or systems
for combined space heating and
ventilation of over 290kW are
and control systems by 2025 (Art.
15 adds the same requirement
for systems for air-conditioning
or systems for combined air-
conditioning and ventilation, with the
same threshold: 290 kW). The EPBD
text then continues specifying that
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