Environmental and health related criteria for buildings - ANEC

IBO - Environmental and Health related Criteria for Buildings
Individual measures (like reduction of heat loss parameters) are awarded in almost all
sustainable building assessment systems 1 in order to focus on important optimisation
strategies and to ensure that besides the efficiency of HVAC systems (see next section) the
building itself meets defined quality requirements.
The authors try to avoid the rating of individual measures due to the complexity of regional
and local specifics and market availability of components but recommend the assessment of
the heating and cooling energy demand in addition to more comprehensive energy indicators
like delivered or primary energy demand which are based on these basic figures (see
sections b-e).
Because of the variety of calculation methods within the EU member states and the various
main indicators used for energy performance certificates, a more consistent method is
required for an EU Eco-label of buildings. Two options are possible:
- referring either to EN ISO 13790 2 (in this case uniform calculation parameters have to
be defined where national adaptations are allowed in principle 3 to guarantee the
comparability of calculated figures for an EU-wide labelling of buildings)
- or the reference is the PHPP calculation method (Passive House Planning Package
2007) following the guidelines of the Passive House Institute Darmstadt.
Defining benchmarks for rating, an EU-wide Eco-label must not neglect regional climate
conditions (heating/cooling degree days, solar radiation, etc.). A differentiation into at least
three zones (cold, moderate and warm climate zones 4 ) within Europe is recommended.
b) Delivered energy (including efficiency of HVAC systems)
The delivered energy for each energy carrier should be part of any consumer-oriented
assessment system (rated in both absolute figures and in comparison to similar building
services to be able to assess the energy efficiency of the system(s) installed). The delivered
energy (defined as the final energy demand lowered by the gains of (solar) plants on the
building site) is of significant relevance for the prospective buyer or tenant of a building or
building unit. Energy costs are based on the delivered energy (to the building or building unit)
including losses and gains of all HVAC systems installed (calculation is based on
standardised conditions for user behaviour and climate and usually includes all energy
services).
Power consumption for domestic appliances is not always included in the calculation
methods of the final or delivered energy demand or, if taken into account, it is calculated only
by default values as electrical appliances are usually not provided by the builders. However,
1 (apart from DGNB which uses highly aggregated indicators such as primary energy non-renewable or CO2-
emissions over the whole life-cycle).
2 EN ISO 13790: 2008 Energy performance of buildings - Calculation of energy use for space heating and cooling
3 E.g. method of calculation (monthly balance/ heating (cooling) period balance, simplified or detailed hour-based
simulation). internal gains from electrical appliances, etc. Climate data (heating degree days, solar radiation) and
corresponding parameters (e.g. length of heating period) have to be defined regionally as consequence of
methodology.
4 Cold: above 4200 heating degree days, moderate: between 2200 and 4200 heating degree days and warm:
below 2200 heating degree days per year (according to the study Boyano, A.; Wolf, O.; “Analysis and evaluation
of 3 rd draft criteria for Buildings and next steps: The application of the Ecolabel Regulation (EC66/2010) to
Buildings: Draft Preleminary Study Task 1: Product Group Definition and Priorization Analysis of Previous Draft
Criteria Studies (ed. JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, October 2010)
Final Report 6 31 03 2011