Set of EPB standards out for formal vote at CEN and ISO level, a step closer to more reliable and transparent EPB declarations

Jaap Hogeling

Editor-in-Chief

In the REHVA Journal of January 2015 the enquiry for these 52 standards have been announced. Until April 2016 all standards have finalised based on the 2014 drafts and the many comments received. All experts and working/task groups did an excellent job to finalise this complex task. Now all standards are in the CEN and ISO system for final editing and translations. This is also valid for the almost. 40 connected technical reports. They all are expected to be published for a formal vote starting in October 2016 (2 months’ period). Assuming their acceptance, the set of EPB standards is expected ready for publication by the national standard bodies (NSB’s) by the beginning 2017. Meanwhile the NSB’s are encouraged to investigate at national level the possible need for national annexes to include national defaults choices and options as described in Annex A of most EPB standards. It is beneficial to start this process at national level based on the current drafts at CEN and ISO level. This will allow the NSB a swift publication of these possible national annexes at the same time the standards are published.

This journal includes 12 articles around several EPB standards. These articles are offering further explanation and very often focussing on the final work done since the enquiry. But also article related these EPB standards about the need for product standards to interlock to the EPB standards, future steps needed to achieve nZEB 2.0, nZEB in reality, and what about smart appliances.

The EU Commission communicated a policy document to the EU parliament an EU Strategy on Heating and Cooling was published (COM(2016) 51) stressing the importance of reducing the energy use for heating and cooling buildings. The now developed set of EPB standards will contribute to the evaluate measures to achieve this reduction.

Reduce the energy need of buildings, apply renewable based and efficient heating and cooling systems. Apply smart technologies and innovative solutions. In numbers the focus is on heating systems but when improving the buildings and adapting to climate change effects energy use of cooling systems will increase. Two thirds of the EU's buildings were built when energy efficiency requirements were limited or non-existent; most of these will still be standing in 2050. The low hanging fruits are simple renovations such as insulating the attic, walls and foundations, and installing double or triple glazing. These are cheapest when they are done in parallel with the HVAC system renovations. The EPB standards support this holistic approach. This in combination with nature-based solutions, such as well-designed street vegetation, green roofs and walls providing insulation and shade to buildings also reduce energy demand by limiting the need for heating and cooling.