Part of the BRE Trust

Standards, Regulations and Policies:Energy and Buildings

Roger Hitchin

What is a standard? BSI says:

– “In essence, a standard is an agreed way of doing something.”

– “Standards are the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent.”

– Policies may involve Regulations– Typically to cause people or organisations to do (or

desist from doing) something which may be in their direct interest but not that of society as a whole

– Regulations may call on Standards– To specify what must be done– Or how it should be done

Standards are not Regulations (or Policies)

An illustration: Policy Options for Air Conditioning Energy in Europe

- Air conditioning is only one element of building energy use

- Energy consumption is only one aspect of sustainability

- But the policy options illustrate some generic issues relating to standards

The European Air Conditioning Market

– Ownership of air conditioning is increasing– In new and existing buildings

• Chart shows installed GW cooling capacity

– Energy consumption is likely to increase further

Source: Roger Hitchin, Christine Pout, Philippe RiviereAssessing the market for air conditioning systems in European buildings

There is substantial potential for Energy Savings

– Existing studies have shown significant potential for savings through – Load reduction– Improved efficiency– Better operation

– Barriers to realising savings include– Low rates of building refurbishment– Long product and system lifetimes

Cooling Savings potential

24%

39%

37%

Fabric and equipment Plant O+M

Source: Knight I et al, HARMONAC project final report

The Market is rather Complex: – and so are the policy possibilities

– Three main categories of air conditioning– Moveable units; Packaged systems and products; Central systems; plus energy used for air movement

– 30 countries: EU- 27, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein – Different climates, energy regulations, a/c market history

– New-build and existing buildings– Many types of building

Source: BRE Report ‘Study to assess barriers and opportunities to improving energy efficiency in cooling appliances/systems’

Key policy options, potential saving up to 30% over a 10 year period

Source: BRE Report ‘Study to assess barriers and opportunities to improving energy efficiency in cooling appliances/systems

1. Demanding MEPS for Chillers and packaged cooling systems

– Policy prevents the use of low-efficiency products– Applies to series-produced products– But efficient products alone do not guarantee efficient systems

– Performance Regulation sets levels of requirements– Already implemented for some products via Energy-related Products

Directive• Applied across Europe irrespective of climate or use (single market issue)

1. Demanding MEPS for Chillers and packaged cooling systems

– Standards exist and are central to implementation– Define assessment methods

• Under standard operating conditions (including part-load)• Developed in conjunction with users

– Performance classes (energy labels) are defined in regulation, not standards

2. Performance requirements for air handling subsystems

– Policy. Imposes minimum efficiency requirements for parts of systems that are designed for particular buildings.– Ductwork leakage, specific fan power

– Regulations set performance requirements– Implemented at national level. (Has to be tested on-site)– Already in some national building energy codes or guidance

2. Performance requirements for air handling subsystems

– European Standards provide source material– Define assessment procedures– And performance classes (but in different standards)

– National implementations use some information from standards but do not generally cite them directly

3. Whole-system Performance Requirements

– Policy. Sets minimum performance standards for the whole system

– Regulations. Would set performance levels– Required by Recast EPBD– No Regulations so far

• Most savings could be achieved more easily through other instruments• Several difficult issues unresolved, including implementation route

3. Whole-system Performance Requirements

– Standards. None exist at present– Several difficult technical issues unresolved:

– Choice of metric– Agreed calculation method

– Policy looks difficult to implement and of doubtful extra impact• So role for standards is uncertain

4. Demanding Integrated Building plus System MEPS

- Policy. Minimum Performance Standards and Energy Labels for the building plus its fixed building services.- Includes savings from reductions of cooling load

- Regulation. European regulation via EPBD- Does not set specific requirement levels or procedures

- Subsidiarity applies- And national climates, policy priorities differ

- Therefore implemented through national regulations- Usually based on calculation, rather than measurement

4. Demanding Integrated Building plus System MEPS

– Standards. European standards exist– Used selectively by Member States as sources of information

for national regulations

– Substantial gap between requirements of users (MS regulators) and standards-writers. (Who are largely separate from each other)

• Standards mainly deal with complex calculation methods requiring using good data and high resource level

• Application is mainly to existing buildings where data are uncertain and time is limited

• Easy Quality Assurance is important in practice

5. Better operational practice

– Policy. Reduce energy wastage due to poor operation and management

– Regulation. European implementation through EPBD– But instruments are not very effective

• Mandatory system inspections• Feedback of measured annual consumption

– Savings can be made quickly but can disappear equally fast

5. Better operational practice

– Standards. European standards support existing instruments– Member States use them extensively (but selectively)

– Value of standards is weak because Regulatory instruments are largely ineffective

6. Reduction of outdoor air supply

– Policy. Avoid over-ventilating spaces where smoking is not now permitted

– Regulation. National design guidelines exist for new systems and buildings. – Unclear whether there are regulations for existing ones

6. Reduction of outdoor air supply

– Standards. European standards exist for system design– Generally reflected in national regulations and guidance

– Standards support guidance and regulation but these are patchy

Reflections

– Standards are crucial to regulations for series-produced products– Define mandatory procedures in support of Regulations

– At building- or system- level standards have a different role– Source material for national regulators to use selectively– Ideally this would be accompanied by guidance as to strengths and

weaknesses of options• But would they then be “standards”?

– This role is not recognised by most standard-makers

Reprise - What is a standard?

– “In essence, a standard is an agreed way of doing something.”

– “Standards are the distilled wisdom of people with expertise in their subject matter and who know the needs of the organizations they represent.”

– My Comment: Unlike series produced products, there are few people with the experience, time and motivation to write formal standards for buildings or systems. – However, there are voluntary “standards”, mainly for buildings