The EPBD on the horizon #8. Minimum energy performance standards and renovation of buildings – thresholds 16% and 26%
The European Union is introducing regulations in the area of energy efficiency of buildings to achieve climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EPBD introduces the requirement to define minimum energy performance standards and obliges member states to prepare plans for the progressive renovation of the housing stock.
Minimum energy performance standards for non-residential buildings
Member states are obliged to establish minimum energy performance standards for non-residential buildings. For this purpose, they must introduce thresholds of 16% and 26%, i.e., limits that determine how much energy a building can consume. The above thresholds will be expressed in a numerical indicator of primary or final energy consumption in kWh/(m2.year).
The 16% threshold will be determined based on data from 1 January 2020. It will constitute a clear numerical limit, classifying non-residential buildings in terms of energy consumption – 16% of the objects with the highest level of consumption will be identified as the most energy-intensive and will exceed the above threshold, while the remaining 84% will fit within acceptable energy efficiency standards. Similarly, the 26% threshold will be determined.
In connection with the above, the EPBD requires that member states take such actions to ensure that all non-residential buildings are below:
- the 16% threshold from 2030; and
- the 26% threshold from 2033.
Renovation of residential buildings
The EPBD introduces the requirement that by 29 May 2026, each member state develops a plan for the gradual modernization of residential buildings so that by 2050 all become zero-emission. This plan is to determine how to gradually reduce energy consumption in buildings and how many buildings and apartments need to be renovated in individual years.
The key goal is to improve the energy efficiency of 43% of buildings with the worst parameters (i.e., energy performance), which is to contribute to reducing the average primary energy consumption by all residential buildings by at least 55%. By 2030, the average primary energy consumption should decrease by at least 16% compared to the 2020 level, and by 2035 – by a minimum of 20–22%.
To achieve the above assumptions, member states will introduce, among others, minimum energy standards for buildings, technical and financial support for property owners and managers. Thanks to this, modernization will become more accessible, and energy savings – more noticeable for residents.
It should be remembered that the EPBD has not yet undergone the process of implementation into the Polish legal order, which is associated with the possibility of introducing exceptions from the above obligations, as well as the risk of the Polish lawmakers adopting even more ambitious goals in this area.
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Katarzyna Koszel-Zawadka
Partner | Attorney-at-law
Piotr Nowak
Junior Associate
