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It is up to
us as professionals in the HVAC&R and building design community to design,
retrofit and install more energy efficient and smart buildings and building
systems. The cost-efficiency of the solutions to meet the national energy
performance requirements will also be influenced by the choices made by the
national building regulating authorities. Such as their choices and assumptions
assessing the Primary Energy Factors (PEF’s) and CO2
emission factors of the various energy sources. This is one of the reasons why
the Annex 1 of the EPBD requires EU-MS’s to report and motivate their choices
according the EN ISO 52000-1 and several other of the overarching EPB
standards. These national choices will influence the role of bio-fuels,
district-heating and cooling systems, CGHP and HP systems. How PV and
Wind-energy is awarded in relation to the Energy Performance declarations of
buildings (the Energy Certificate and related regulation on the requirement levels)
is also an important issue. Are these sustainable sources just rewarded as the
sustainable part of the national energy grid or can they be considered as
integral part in the building system and, if so, under which conditions and
circumstances (e.g. to optimize implementation and allocation of renewable
resources and to avoid double counting)? These choices have an impact on a
cost-efficient equilibrium between decarbonised energy supply and reducing the
final energy use of buildings to achieve the 2030, 2040 and long-term 2050
objectives.
The revised
EPBD doesn’t always give clear answers or guidance. But it is clear that
related concepts like energy storage capability and to be developed Smart
Readiness Indicators will become more relevant. This may help to develop
transparency regarding the interaction between energy grids and built
environment. Annex 1 of the EPBD requires EU-MS’s to declare their national EP
assessment procedures on basis of a group of overarching EPB standards (Member
States shall describe their national calculation methodology following the
national annexes of the overarching standards (EN- ISO 52000-1, 52003-1,
52010-1, 52016-1, and 52018-1). This is a first step to more overall
transparency in Europe. In addition to what is already included in these
overarching EPB standards, more clarity on the assessment background of PEF’s
and CO2 emission factors for various systems and
energy sources is needed. CEN/TC371-WG1 currently works on an additional EPB
standard “Determination and reporting of Primary Energy Factors (PEF) and CO2 emission factors”. This standard will provide a
uniform procedure to describe how the (national) Primary Energy Factors and CO2 emission factors related to energy delivered to or
exported from buildings have been assessed: the elements that are or are not
taken into account and related assumptions. It is expected that this standard
will lead to more transparency throughout Europe and an increased understanding
of the impact of the choices. This will help both policy makers and the
designers and retrofitters of our buildings and their systems and connected
energy grids to make the correct choices towards an effective reduction of the
energy use and CO2 emission of buildings in
Europe.
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