Touch Ti Dis Vasilios CohortIII B49-DONE

8/2/2019 Touch Ti Dis Vasilios CohortIII B49-DONE

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F L A M EMSc in Energy

Heriot-Watt University

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

MSc in Energy

Project / Dissertation 2009-2010

Title: Energy Performance Certificate. Lessons learned in

Europe and national efforts in Greece.

Author: Mr. Touchtidis Vasilios- 071256049

Supervisor: Dr. Kostantinos Balaras (HWU TEIP)

F L A M E Flexible Learning Advanced Masters in Energy


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Declaration of Authorship

I, Mr. Touchtidis Vasilios 071256049 - Cohort 3(surname first then name and matriculation number)

confirm that the report entitledEnergy Performance Certificate. Lessons learned in Europe and national efforts in

Greece.

is part of my assessment for module B51PW (or Phase one of the Dissertation)

I declare that the report is my own work. I have not copied other material verbatim

except in explicit quotes, and I have identified the sources of the material clearly

Touchtidis Vasilios(Signature)

Piraeus, 11/02/2010(Place and Date)

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Abstract

In the past few years the European Union (EU) Member states have adopted

various environmental measures not only to stabilize the quality of the

environment but to improve it and provide high quality of life. For that reasoneach Member state has to follow and implement the directives and the legislation

deriving from the European Commission.

As buildings have become one of the fastest growing energy consuming sectors,

especially in the EU countries, the European Commission released the Directive

2002/91 (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - EPBD) ,regarding

buildings energy efficiency, that also carries an energy performance certificate(EPC) which is a certificate concerning the energy performance of a building. The

EPC includes a numeric indicator and reference values (e.g. current legal

standards and benchmarks) in order to make it possible for consumers to compare

and assess the energy performance of a building. The certificate should also

include specific recommendations for the cost-effective improvement of the

buildings energy performance.

Until January 4, 2006 all Member states were obligated to bring into force the

laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with EPBD,

and were given a 3-year extension to January 4, 2009 to handle issues on training

of qualified and/or accredited experts to complete full implementation of EPBD.

Some European countries have progressed at a faster pace and only few have

already developed the framework, methodologies and tools to comply with EPBD

and have gained practical experience with the issue, with the use of the EPC and

the acceptance of the EPC by the market.

Despite the clear reason, of improving energy efficiency of buildings to achieve

energy conservation, of the EPBD by the EU, there were many reactions during

the directives enforcement by many interested and third parties (landlords,

tenants, housing association companies, buyers, retailers, brokers etc.) about the

process of the certification of their building/apartment/property , the usefulness of

it, the deriving extra cost for issuing an EPC, the unknown effect on the real estate

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Greece has no experience on issuing EPCs and furthermore there are only few

citizens and interested parties that are aware of the oncoming measures. In this

research existing work and experience from the countries that have already

established the EPC and have accumulated some practical experience from its

implementation in their buildings, have gained some feedback on market

acceptability and possible problems that have been encountered, has been

collected and compared, for identifying some common solutions for Greece.

This research has implemented a pilot energy audit of an existing building using

an existing European methodology and software that is already adapted and

available in Greece in order to perform the audit and issue an EPC. The generated

EPC constituted a reference national EPC of this research in order to evaluate the

EPC in consultation with building owners and other interested parties (using a

standardized questionnaire), collect some practical feedback from the Greek

market for identifying problems/weaknesses of the reference national EPC (for

example, difficulties of owners to understand/trust and accept the value of EPCs,

recommendations for improving the energy performance, qualifications of the

auditors/experts etc), evaluating the potential impact / reaction of the real estate

market from the introduction of EPC. An analysis of the collected data will

substantiate proposals of how to improve the contents, value, effectiveness and

acceptance of the national EPC in the Greek market.

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Contents

Figures..8Tables...10

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION ....121.1 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH.....121.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND/OR HYPOTHESIS....161.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH (INCLUDING AIMS)....161.4 METHODOLOGY....201.5 DELIMITATION OF SCOPE.......211.6 OUTLINE OF THE DISSERTATION......211.7 SUMMARY...22

CHAPTER 2

RESEARCH DEFINITION2.1 INTRODUCTION232.2 THE PRACTICAL PROBLEM232.3 THE THEORETICAL PROBLEM...282.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND/OR HYPOTHESIS.....362.5 SUMMARY..37

CHAPTER 3METHODOLOGY3.1 INTRODUCTION.....383.2 RESEARCH PROCESS PLAN.....393.3 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS...423.4 SUMMARY...42

CHAPTER 4ANALYSIS AND RESULTSINTRODUCTION.434.2 RESULTS OF ANALYSIS: THE FINDINGS....434.2.1 EPBD IN EUROPE...434.2.2 IMPLEMENTATION OF EPBD IN EUROPE................................................484.2.3 LESSONS LEARNED IN EUROPE51

4.2.4 EPBD IN GREECE...604.2.5 EPC QUESTIONNAIRE...674.2.6 CASE STUDY BUILDING AUDIT..684.3 SUMMARY..71

CHAPTER 5DISCUSSION5.1 INTRODUCTION725.2 INTERNAL DISCUSSION OF RESULTS..725.3 EXTERNAL DISCUSSION OF RESULTS.825.4 SUMMARY...93

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CHAPTER 6CONCLUSIONS6.1 INTRODUCTION946.2 CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROBLEM.946.3 SUMMARY..95

ANNEXANNEX I88ANNEX II...........94ANNEX III..95ANNEX IV..98ANNEX V..108ANNEX VI.117ANNEX VII...127ANNEX VIII..133ANNEX IX.137

REFERENCES .....145

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Figures

Figure 1: Final energy consumption in the residential and tertiary sector of the EU-25 member states11

Figure 2: Final energy consumption in residential building of EU-25 member states....11

Figure 3: Awareness of the EPBD21Figure 4: Breakdown of consumption in buildings in the EU..26

Figure 5: Example of an EPC form, Englands & Wales EPC form..28

Figure 6: Methodology for calculating energy performance29

Figure 7: Three examples of EPCs as described in the draft Standards...30

Figure 8: Energy consumption by end use in EU tertiary buildings42

Figure 9: Energy consumption by end use in EU residential buildings...42

Figure 10: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive...43

Figure 11: . Familiarity with EPBD..49

Figure 12: Awareness level of EPBD...49

Figure 13: Why retailers would monitor a utility usage...51

Figure 14: Will the EPC be valuable in building marketing.52

Figure 15: Will the EPC be valuable in building marketing.52

Figure 16: Importance level of authorisation of organisations issuing certificates..53

Figure 17: Understandability and visual quality importance53

Figure 18: Overview of the selected building- Case study...73

Figure 19: Level of awarness of EPBD case study

Figure 20: Level of awareness Of Greek legislation case study

Figure 21: Would the EPC make you think what to choose from real estate market?.............................................

Figure 22: Understandability of the EPC case study.

Figure 23: Difficult elements on EPC case study..

Figure 24 : Important elements on EPC case study

Figure 25: Importance of the suggestions included in EPC..

Figure 26: Potential of changes/renovation on building cases study.

Figure 27: What can make EPC more friendly case study

Figure 28: Reasonable cost of the EPC for 100m 2 case study.......

Figure 29: Level of awareness of KENAK real property owners.

Figure 30: Would the EPC make you think what to choose from real estate market? real property owners..

Figure 31: Would the EPC make you think what to choose from real estate market? tenants (business premises)

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Figure 32: Would the EPC make you think what to chooses from real estate market? tenants

Figure 33: Understandability level by education level overall..

Figure 34: Education level vs clearly understandability overall

Figure 35: Importance of the suggestions included in EPC owners..

Figure 36: Importance of the suggestions included in EPC tenants..

Figure 37: Will the EPC affect the selling prices of real properties? overall

Figure 38: Will the EPC affect the renting prices of real properties? overall

Figure 39: Difficult elements on EPC overall

Figure 40: What can make the EPC more friendly overall

Figure 41: Contract/Accreditation of Inspectors overall

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Tables

Table 1: Short description by article number of the Greek national law 3661/2008.16

Table 2: Status of EPBD implementation in European Member states.48Table 3: Energy audit fee...........62

Table 4: Energy demand of the building calculated by different software tools...74

Table 5: Sample population of the survey...

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Glossary

C Degree Celsius

CO 2 Carbon Dioxide; the main Greenhouse gasEPBD Energy Performance Building Directive

EPC Energy Performance Certificate

kg kilogram

kWh kilowatt-hour (1 kWh = 3,600 kJ = 3.6 MJ)

m3 cubic meter

m2 square meter

PV Photovoltaic systemRES Renewable Energy Sources

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

The European Union (EU) Member States are working intensively to improve energy

efficiency in all end-use sectors and to increase the utilization of renewable energy

sources (RES) in order to reduce any environmental impact that derives from energy

consumption of combusted fossil fuels, and to support self-sufficiency and energy

security. Energy efficiency is expected to play a key role in meeting the EU target in

accordance to the Kyoto commitments to reduce CO2 emissions in an economic way.

In 2002, the gross inland consumption in the EU-25 member states was 1677 Mtoe, the

final energy consumption reached 1080 Mtoe, of which 44% (was from) oil, 23.9% was

from gas, 20.2% was from electricity, 4.8% was from solid fuels and only 4.2% was

from renewable energy sources and 2.8% derived from heat. This is a grim situation

having(baring) in mind that the EU-25 import dependency is 48% for all fuels, and

76.8% for oil, 51.3% for gas and 33.2% for solid fuels (Balaras et al, 2005).

Total gross inland energy consumption increased on average by 0.5 % per annum in the

EU-27 until 2007 (8.7% overall), despite some environmental benefits resulted from

fuel switching. From 2006 to 2007, the gross inland energy consumption however

decreased by 1.1 %. Fossil fuels in gross inland energy consumption in 2007 had a

share of 78.6%, compared to 83.1% in 1990. The share of renewable energy sources

was 7.8 % of total gross inland consumption in 2007, double in comparison to 1990

(4.4%) while the share of nuclear energy in total gross inland consumption increased

slightly, 13.4% in 2007 from 12.2 % in 1990.(Furbo, 2009)

As buildings have become one of the fastest growing energy consuming sectors,

especially in the EU countries, at the same time the requirements for the assurance of

the indoor environmental quality (thermal comfort, visual comfort and indoor air

quality) have increased, the energy efficiency potential is considered to be extremely

significant, taking also into consideration the prevailing situation of price fluctuations,

the rapid growth in population and the evolution of technology. In the past years many

studies have shown that energy efficiency could contribute to the reduction of the

current energy consumption by at least 20% in the EU, which is equivalent to saving 60

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billion euros annually (Doukas et al, 2008). Moreover, the same studies conclude that

an average EU household could save between 200 and 1000 euros per year, behaving in

a cost-effective manner, depending on its energy consumption (Doukas et al, 2008).

Energy management is an essential procedure of energy efficiency, since it is vital for

the effective operation of a country energy sector, as for the mitigation of currency

outflow from the national economy and last but not least, for the environments

protection as well. Furthermore, energy management is a significant factor to the

energy saving of an operational unit of production. The basic concept of energy

management is the continuous, systematic and well-organized audit of energy

consumption, aiming at energy cost optimization with respect to energy demands, user

characteristics, funding opportunities, financing ability and emission reductions

achieved . Indeed, in recent years, important efforts in applying energy management

processes have focused on the building sector, which demonstrates increasing energy

intensity and energy consumption indexes. Due to the rise of energy intensity and

energy consumption indexes, the European Commission released the Directive 2002/91

(EPBD) regarding buildings energy efficiency. Among other mandates, this Directive

carries an energy certification procedure for improving energy efficiency for every

building, setting its minimum energy requirements, according to its size in m 2.

Alongside the directive 2006/32, which concerns the energy end use efficiency of

energy services, the European Commission has set a suitable environment for the

systematization of the energy management procedure in more energy-consuming

buildings such as hospitals, hotels, malls and offices (non-residential buildings)(Doukas

et al, 2008).

The existing buildings stock in European countries accounts for over 40% of final

energy consumption in the EU member states (Figures 1 & 2), of which residential use

represents 63% of total energy consumption in the buildings sector. Consequently, an

increase of building energy performance and efficiency can constitute an important

undertaking in the efforts to alleviate the EU energy import dependency (currently at

about 48% as was shown before) that is also in accordance to EPBD. (Poel et al, 2006)

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regular inspection of boilers and of air-conditioning systems in buildings and in

addition an assessment of the heating installation (in cases) in which the boilers

are more than 15 years old.

These requirements have to be implemented by the 25 EU Member States. The deadline

for implementation was January 4 2006. Only for the 2 last requirements (certifications

and inspections), Member States may, because of lack of qualified and/or accredited

experts, had an additional period of three years (before January 2009) to apply fully and

most of the EU countries used this right for an additional period of time.

(Wouters and Dijk, 2006)

As it was mentioned before, the EPBD requires that an Energy Performance Certificate

should be available when buildings are sold or rented and should be displayed in public

buildings.

EPC will probably have a major impact on the increased awareness of building owners

and users regarding the energy performance of buildings. It should/could play a key

role in the improvement of existing buildings attempting to achieve the major challenge

to reduce building CO 2 emissions and energy consumption.

The implementation of article 7, which refers to the energy performance certification,

of the EPBD varies from country to country. The variations lie in the use of asset or

operational ratings, in the procedures for buildings that are sold or rented, in ways of

considering residential and non-residential buildings, on the specific approach for

public buildings.

A general trend across most European countries is the application of article 7 first in

new buildings and then after or at the same time in existing buildings. Besides,implementation is more advanced in residential buildings than in non-residential

buildings.

Application of article 7 for new buildings is quite different from application in existing

buildings. On one hand, for new buildings the details of construction, descriptions and

plans are more easily available. Besides for these buildings a calculation method has

been applied in almost all cases for verifying compliance with requirements of article 4

of the EPBD, about setting of energy performance requirements. On the other hand,

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there are no metered consumptions and the possibility of providing recommendations

for improvements will be relatively limited.

(Husaunndee et al, 2007)

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND/OR HYPOTHESIS

This research is going to examine the issue of energy performance certification in

Greece. Namely collected relevant literature will be used to compare the existing work

and experience from the countries that have already established the EPC and have

accumulated some practical experience from its implementation in their buildings, have

gained some feedback on market acceptability and possible problems that have beenencountered. To collect some practical feedback from the Hellenic market, this work

includes a building energy audit for generating an EPC that was then evaluated in

consultation with building owners. The audit was based on an existing European

methodology and software for the energy performance assessment of residential

buildings depending on the chosen building.

1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH (INCLUDING AIMS)

As it was previously mentioned, the existing building stock in European countries

accounts for over 40% of final energy consumption in the European Union (EU). In

2002, the gross inland consumption in the EU-25 member states was 1677 Mtoe, while

the final energy consumption reached 1080 Mtoe (Gaglia et al, 2006). In Greece,

according to the International Energy Agency in 2000, total primary energy supply

(TPES) in Greece was 27.8 Mtoe. Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) has grown at

an average annual rate of 2.5% over the past decade, but higher growth of 3.8% per

year has been forecast by the Greek government for the decade 2000-2010.Greeces

dependence on oil has declined since the early 1970s (77.7% in 1973), but oil still

represents 56.1% of all energy. Domestic energy production accounted for 35.9% of

TPES in 2000. Although it is expected to increase in volume, indigenous productions

share in TPES is expected to fall to 27.5% by 2010.(IEA, 2002)

Consequently, an increase of building energy performance can constitute an importantinstrument in the efforts to alleviate the EU energy import dependency (currently at

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about 48% and could reach two thirds by 2020 unless some urgent additional measures

and policies are not adopted) that is also in accordance with EPBD. As from January

2006 to January 2009, EU-25 member states have been given time to prepare and set

minimum requirements on the energy performance of new and existing buildings that

are subject to major renovations and for energy performance certification of buildings

(residential and non-residential) (Gaglia et al, 2006)

Developed countries need a high rate of energy consumption to maintain their standard

of living and comfort which is why the current challenge is to seek sustainable

development, maintaining activity, transformation and progress levels while adapting

needs to the existing resources and therefore achieving energy saving without reducing

the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of buildings or damaging the evolution rate of

them. This increasing concern for the preservation of the environment and particularly

with regard to climate change has led the European Union, as was mentioned before, to

establish some specific commitments, such as the Kyoto protocol..

These aspects have also led to the adoption of EPBD whose objectives are to: (Rey et

al, 2006)

Calculate the integrated energy performance of buildings.

Set minimum requirements for the energy performance of new buildings.

Energy certification of buildings (residential, non-residential)

Energy audits of buildings.

Regular inspection of boilers and air conditioning systems.

The energy performance of a building is defined as the amount of energy actually

consumed or estimated to meet the different needs associated with a standardized use of

the building(Gaglia et al, 2006). This amount shall be reflected in one or more numeric

indicators, which have been calculated, taking into account:

Insulation,

Technical and installation characteristics,

Design and positioning in relation to climatic aspects, solar

exposure and influence of neighbouring structures and micro-climate,

Own-energy generation, if any and

Other factors, including indoor climate, that influence theenergy demand.

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rticle Title Description

1 Scope Greek legislation in line with Directive 2002/91

2 DefinitionsBuilding,energy performance of building,energy audit,energy inspector,EPC,cogeneration,boiler,rated

output,heat pump,new building,building renovation,total area of building

3 Regulation of energy efficient buildings Calculation method of energy efficiency of buildings

4 New buildings New buildings that come under the law

5 Existing buildings Existing buildings that come under the law

6 Energy performance certification EPCObligation of issuing EPC for every sold or rent building,fining procedures to the deptor for not issuing anEPC,validity period of EPC,contents of EPC,etc.

7 Boiler inspection Details for boiler inspection

8 Airconditioning/Ventilation inspection Details for aircondioning/ventilation inspection

9Building inspectors and boiler and air-

conditioning inspectors Details to be disposed 6 months after the entry into force of 3661 law

10 Building permits Building permits only after energy efficiency survey

11 ExceptionsMonuments of special architectural and historic value,religious temples,non-permanent buildings(lessthan 2 years),buildings that are used less than 4 months per year,buildings of total area less than 50m2

12 Informing Informing of users and owners of buildings

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14 Other Irrelevant Provisions

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17 Entry into force 19/5/2008Table 1. Short description by article number of the Greek national law 3661/2008

(Source: The author)

The aim of this research is to collect, organize and analyze information on EPC

implementation throughout the EU-25 and to identify all of the problems (or successstories) that they have possibly faced during the market introduction of EPC. The

research will focus specifically) on market acceptance of the energy certificate by all

interested parties (householders, renters, brokers etc.). I will examine the impacts of the

implementation of the EPC on real estate prices, real estate markets and the concerns of

the residents about the cost of EPC, the rolling price effect on real estate prices, the

understanding of the official EPC form and the reliability of it.

The objectives to achieve these aims are to:

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1) Review and document the status of EPC in Europe and Greece

2) Identify the problems faced and practical experiences gained from the EPC

implementation in Europe

3) Review and document the status of EPC in Greece; document the existing (or

proposed) format of the official Greek EPC and prepare a revised version

based on other relevant European experiences.

4) Assess the official and revised versions of the Greek EPC through field

surveys: Audit a building using an existing methodology and software to issue

the EPCs; Prepare pseudo-EPCs for a representative number of residential and

nonresidential buildings; Prepare a survey questionnaire for building owners

5) Identify problems/weaknesses of the Greek EPCs by collecting feedback from

the building owners (for example, difficulties of owners to understand/trust and

accept the value of EPCs etc)

6) Evaluate the potential impact / reaction of the Real Estate market from the

introduction of EPC

7) Analyze collected data and prepare proposals of how to improve the contents,

value, effectiveness and acceptance of the Greek EPC.

1.4 METHODOLOGY

This research is not going to solve the specific problem of the Energy Performance

Certificate procedures but its aim is to add more information to the already established

knowledge and experiences of how an EPC can become easier to understand and more

reliable to the end-users without losing its validity.

This is why this research is not an applied research but combines the research review

with empirical review trying at the same time not only to reassess the theory but also

trying by the inductive method and by observation of the data to answer the research

questions and to conform to a relationship type : ifthen.

By research review the researcher is trying to: (Skittides, 2006)

Attempt a synthesis research in the chosen area

Interpret a theory by new data

Interpret the data by a new theory

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The type of this research is going to be a survey. Surveys usually have an exploratory

nature but also can be used as a case control. Survey is a process that is based on the

collection of information from a sample of population to estimate and to draw

conclusions.

For the survey a specific type of questionnaire was created and opinions were collected

from a representative sample of building owners and occupants living in different areas

of Greece, different education levels and financial status.

Finally, an energy audit of a residential building and a calculation of its energy

performance was also performed using the EPA software tools, namely EPA-ED

(EPAED) and EPA-NR (EPANR).

1.5 DELIMITATION OF SCOPE

In the present work the status of Energy Performance Certification progress in

European countries will be reviewed to identify the problems faced and practical

experiences gained during the implementation of the EPBD. A survey within Greek

borders will help us to identify problems of the Greek EPCs by collecting feedback

from different building users (owners, tenants etc) and other interested parties. The

answers will be analyzed and proposals of how to improve the acceptance value of the

EPC in Greece will be made.

1.6 OUTLINE OF THE DISSERTATION

The first chapter defines the research problem, the aims and the justification of the

research. That allows the reader to demarcate the scope of this research and among

methodology, that is presented also in this chapter, to realize the process that was

followed to present this work.

The second chapter is divided into:

The practical problem, were the problems environment is described and the

problem context among problem of interest are set. The practical problem and

its contents describe the consequences of the EPC implementation and the

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potential difficulties during the certification process in order and EPC well

marketed and better known to be resulted.

The theoretical problem, where its divided into the subject, which is the energy

consumption in building sector all across European Union. Secondly isdescribed the area of the problem, which is the EPBD and the EPC and

concludes with the gap in knowledge which is basically consisting by the

potential difficulties that will be faced during the certification process.

The second chapter ends with the research questions been listed.

The third chapter contains the research process plan. It describes graphically the step by

step procedure that was followed for this work. The ethical considerations of the

present research are presented at the end of this chapter.

The fourth chapter deals with the main issues of this research. The EPBD directive is

presented among the status of implementation of the Directive all across EU-27. Next

lessons that learned in Europe during the implementation process of EPBD and EPC are

presented and the status of EPBD in Greece as well in a different subsection. The

questionnaire that it was used is also presented in this chapter and finally there is a

small presentation of the -Case Study building that was selected to be audited and the

second questionnaire that was used only to be answered by the owners/tenants of the

building that was selected before.

The fifth chapter will present, discuss and analyze the results and the final chapter,

chapter 6, will present the conclusions of the research work.

1.7 SUMMARY

In this chapter the reader is introduced into the background of the research which is the

building sector as a major consuming field. Based on the justification of the research

which primarily the lack of experience on issuing EPC in Greece, the reader has a clear

view on the objectives of this research and on the methodology that was followed to

make this research practicable. Finally, the outline of the dissertation is presented.

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DEFINITION

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2.1 INTRODUCTION

The research definition includes the practical and theoretical problems. The following

paragraphs describe the practical problem. The practical problem consists by marketing

issues of EPC, the consequences of its implementation and finally it describes the

obstacles faced during the EPC implementation. On the other hand the theoretical

problem concerns about the energy consumption in buildings which had as a result the

establishment of the EPBD and the EPC. Finally it includes practical experiences

gathered form different sources which describe the effectiveness and the weaknesses of

the EPC. Finally the chapter concludes with the research questions that will lead the

research to the desired target.

2.2 THE PRACTICAL PROBLEM

The problem environment: EPC well marketed and better known

Article 7 on the energy certificate of buildings has initiated a lot of research and

expectations from the EPBD. Encouraged by the successful labelling of household

appliances, it is considered as one of the key policy instruments to achieve energy

saving in buildings in the EU. In the Netherlands, Energy labelling is carried out

through the Energy Performance Advice scheme (EPA), targeted to encourage energy

saving in retrofits and up to now about 50,000 EPA evaluations have been undertaken

(0.76% of the total housing stock), conducted by 500 registered EPA consultants. The

evaluation costs 150-200euros. The energy certificate for existing dwellings is likely to

be based on the EPA, while the certificate for new construction has not been developed

yet. The EPA is widely known and relatively well used in the Dutch housing sector, but

the evaluations do not necessarily motivate the implementation of the suggested

improvements in practice. In the beginning, the energy audits and some of the

suggested improvements were supported by government subsidies but they were

stopped in 2003 because of budgetary reasons and the free-loader effect (Beerepoot and

Sunikka, 2004)

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After the financing cut, the number of EPA evaluations have slowed down beside that

the EPA system can contribute more to the development of the energy certificate in

terms of process and as an example of a successful policy instrument. The success of

the EPA in terms of acceptance can partly be based on the consideration of costs. It was

used by large developers where it is well marketed and it has been subsidised to make it

better known in the market.(Sunikka, 2005)

Cushman & Wakefield was commissioned by ICSC Europe and REP (Real Estate

Publishers) to update its annual survey of International retailers. In this survey among

other basic questions, one that was examined was if the retailers are aware of the

EPBD. 250 retail companies were interviewed between May and June 2007 by Simpson

Carpenter, a specialist market research agency. Figure 3 shows the awareness level of

the EPBD of retailers in Europe and in US.

Figure 3. Awareness of the EPBD (Source: CUWA)

Almost a third of retailers overall were aware, with retailers from Western and Northern

Europe showing the highest levels of awareness (38%), followed by Central (25%) and

Southern (24%) retailers while retailers from Eastern Europe came last (17%, although

some countries will not be affected). (CUWA)

This survey despite taking place in 2007, shows that even the retailers which are not

part of such a robust economy, are not well informed about the EPBD and moreover

their obligation or their right to issue/be issued an EPC for their stores. That lead us to

the conclusion that major acts must be made to push EPC in the market.

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The problem context: Consequences of the EPC implementation

The implementation of EPBD will greatly affect awareness of energy use in all new and

existing buildings following renovation/ refurbishment. It is intended to lead to

substantial increases in investment in energy-efficiency measures within both of these

building types. It is likely that in future a building with cost-effective energy efficiency

will be more attractive to tenants or buyers and that could increase its market value.

Lower running costs for tenants/buyers will follow where there are energy-efficient

technologies and designs in buildings. The owners will be required to display energy

rating certificates once the EPBD comes fully into force for each EU country. Energy

conservation is increasingly becoming recognized as a major factor in a competitive

marketplace (CUWA).

The EPDB as a legislation in every EU country ,in which it is in place, will require

hotels, pubs and restaurants and any kind of building to have an EPC before they can be

sold. That issue is already causing confusion, as property experts have highlighted, as

the seller, and not the property agent will have to pay the price to make an EPC

available to prospective letters or buyers, and those sellers who fail to obtain one will

be liable for a fine of between 500 and 5,000 (Sharkey et al, 2008).

The timescale required for a certificate to be issued for any new building is expected to

be between 7 and 10 days, depending on the direct availability of an energy assessor.

Energy assessors will collect information about the building energy consumption,

including plans, dimensions of the building, its uses, the number of floors, the amount

and type of the heating systems, and the fuel used by calculation methods or by

collecting other info and bills.

According to Darren Bond, head of valuation services at property agent Christie & Co,

the new legislation is already causing confusion and as he mentioned he still doesnt

know how many energy assessors there will be to provide the EPCs, on time, while the

rumours reveal that there is a shortage of them.(Sharkey et al, 2008)

On the other hand the implementation of EPC, according to the German Energy Agency

(DENA), will bring more transparency to the real estate market and provide all market

participants (retailers, buyers, tenants, brokers etc) with useful and reliable informationabout the energy requirements and energy quality of a building. Anyone wishing to buy

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or rent or lease a flat or house in future will be able to use this certificate, in an easily

accessible way, for a comparison of interesting properties, and will have an important

guide at hand which provides orientation and aids the decision-making process about

the investment to be made. (DENA)

In a research that was carried out by the Chartered Institute of Housing and Building

Societies Association, the UK Housing Review 2007/08, shows that there is a

significant predicted growth in the rental homes market. Moreover the average

mortgage costs compared with income for first-time buyers are now higher than they

were at the peak of the last housing boom in the 1990s. Tenants now pay almost a 1/3

less than the repayments on a 100% mortgage for an average house highlighting the

problems that first time-buyers have in trying to get on the housing ladder. Chief

Executive of property-careers.com, Stephen Callaghan said that this is good news, as

residential landlords are preparing for the compulsory EPC issue on their properties.

(Callaghan, 2008)

The problem of interest: Potential difficulties with the certification process

The certification process is expected to cause major social, economic and

environmental transformations especially in the Real Estate market. In the UK the

DCLG Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the EPBD includes a summary

assessment about the forthcoming financial costs and benefits of EPBD implementation

for the commercial property sector, that are expected to have full effect on every EU

country for each building is obligated to comply with the Directives requirements. The

analysis predicts that EPBD will have a significant impact on the number of

commercial properties in the years to come and furthermore 150000 EPCs will be

required each year while the calculated cost of EPC process was calculated to be 1,148

million over the period 2008-2020 which is the 2,5% of annual property development

and improvement investment expenditure in the UK. Despite that the certification

procedures and its implementation will provide key benefits in carbon dioxide saving

(carbon dioxide emissions decrease). Another concerning area is the unit cost of an

EPC that was calculated to be at around daily rate of 400 for the Assessors but without

estimating the time needed for every survey. In terms of direct property market impact

there has, to date, been limited debate regarding environmental legislation (specifically

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energy certification) in the UK. The research of the Investment Property Forum (IPF)

revealed that the most significant expected impacts are the capital and value

differentiation of properties and price chipping against the rental or capital value of the

property, as the potential tenant or buyer of property will use the certifications

recommendations, for improving the energy performance of the building, to reduce the

value of the property. These impacts have potentially significant implications for

property investment holdings and also future investment behaviour. With these impacts

being close to realisation, it is becoming clear that investors who have not yet started

considering the EPBD and its requirements within their strategy are going to face

difficulties in the short term. Key areas where investors need to be informed are: the

current availability of assessors, costs of surveys and potential difficulties with the

certification process.

As it was mentioned before there is a shortage of Assessors in UK, while in Greece

there is no official legislation yet (the draft Presidential Decree was presented in

January 2010) setting the requirements of an Assessor, and the shortage of Assessors is

a major problem for every country of EU for implementing the EPBD not to be

mentioned that lack of Assessors was the main reason for the delay in implementing the

first phase of the EPBD relating to residential property, for many countries. The IPF

research showed that some investment companies have shown considerable foresight in

considering strategies for procuring the services of energy assessors in the short term to

reduce the potential problems that they might encounter in the future but others have

not even begun the process of certification, a key aspect of which is engaging an

assessor. Next, as the potential cost of energy survey stays unclear, the DCLG has set

an approximate cost for EPC survey raging from 130 to 1,790 depending to the

buildings size. However, it is questionable whether these estimates are realistic when

at the same time that it is rumoured that there is shortage of assessors. Although the

regulations have been published, there is still a need for clarification in the market place

with regard to some of the details of the regulations and the certification process.

For all the potential impacts and potential problems to be faced during the EPBD

implementation, property investors should consider taking a collaborative approach to

planning for the implementation of the EPBD, involving fund managers, asset

managers, facilities managers and energy assessors. Also in the short term,

property investors should also consider acting on the following recommendations:(Dixon et al, 2008)

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Developing a strategic approach to the potential value impact from the

certification of the energy performance of buildings;

Planning for the future in considering liquidity of portfolios and also

considering strategies for future transactions to quantify the need for assessors

in the short and medium term; and

Addressing the procedural implications of procuring certificates, such as data

availability for existing buildings, ahead of time.

2.3 THE THEORETICAL PROBLEM

The subject : Energy consumption in buildings

According to Miquez et al (2004) transport and industry are major energy consumers,

but the most important is that in Europe buildings account for 41% of all energy

consumption (Figure 4), and that ratio is growing every year as standards of living

increase and use of air-conditioning and heating becomes more widespread all over

European countries. It is calculated that there are around 10 million boilers more than

20 years old in European homes and by replacing them, a result of a 5% cut in the

energy used for heating would/could be achieved. Moreover, between 30% and 50% of

the energy used for lighting (in offices, commercial buildings and leisure facilities)

could be saved if more efficient technologies and systems were used. Air conditioning

use is more widespread than the in previous years but it is estimated that over half theenergy it consumes could be saved if equipment compliant with stricter standards were

used. (Miquez et al, 2004)

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Figure 4. Breakdown of consumption in buildings in the EU (Source: Miquez et al,2004)

During the decade of 19902000, European dwellings increased by 0.9% pa, while the

energy demand was limited to 0.4% pa. This reduction was mainly the result of better

building design, materials, construction, and more efficient equipment, which is

progressively being introduced to the market, and the restructuring of the new EU

member states economies involving a more rational use of energy as a result of

increasing fuel prices. On the other hand, it is not always possible to secure the

desirable indoor conditions in existing, usually inefficient, older buildings because of

high-energy costs and lower financial resources of their occupants. European

households spent one fifth of their expenditure on housing, water, and energy linked to

housing (21%), which is by far the biggest share when compared with other

consumption purposes. In 2001, this ratio ranged from 29% in Sweden to below 10% in

Cyprus and Malta, differences that are probably influenced by energy related expenses.

(Balaras et al, 2005)

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The Area: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) & Energy Performance

Certificate(EPC)

The European Parliament and Council approved in December 2002 a directive on the

energy performance of buildings (EPDB). The directive requires member countries to:

(Olesen, 2007)

1. Develop a comprehensive methodology for calculation of

the integrated energy performance of buildings and HVAC (Heating Ventilating

and Air Conditioning)

systems including heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting

2. Set minimum requirements for energy performance of new

buildings

3. Apply requirements in existing buildings

4. Develop an energy certification system for buildings (Figure 5)

5. Have heating and air-conditioning systems inspected

regularly.

According to the fourth requirement that the EPBD is setting, each member state has to

develop an energy certification system and to issue an EPC for every building that it is

subject to the corresponding national legislation.

According to the Local Authority of Building Control (LABC) in England and Wales

an EPC provides a rating for the energy efficiency of a building. The ratings are set

against standard criteria to enable one building to be compared with another of a similar

type. EPCs are similar to the certificates now provided with domestic appliances such

as refrigerators and washing machines. They give information on the energy

performance as well as the environmental impact through carbon emissions and eachcertificate also has a recommendation report, providing information about

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recommendations and ways to improve the energy efficiency of the property. This

information is rated on a scale of A to G, where A is the best and should have the

lowest fuel bill.

The rating that could be achieved if all the recommendations were to be implemented is

also given. New homes will have a reduced recommendation report which will contain

more advanced energy saving improvements such as solar panels. This is because it is

expected that improvements to the thermal elements (walls, floor and roof) will be

incorporated in the design. (LABC)

Figure 5. Example of an EPC form, Englands & Wales EPC form (Source: LABC)

To determine the data for issuing the EPC as above, various CEN standards (WorkingItems 1-32, WI) are used, as CEN (European Committee of Standardization) set them to

facilitate member states in the implementation of the EPBD.

The calculation methodology (Figure 6) according to WI 14 (Working Item) allows

three different levels of complexity which can be chosen according to relevant criteria

such as type and/or complexity of the building and its services. The calculations are

based on specified boundary conditions of indoor climate and external climate.

The three levels are: (CEN, 2004)

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Simplified hourly calculation;

Simplified monthly calculation;

Detailed calculations;

Figure 6. Methodology for calculating energy performance (Source: CEN, 2004)

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The gap in knowledge: Practical experience and effectiveness of EPCs

The shape of the certificate is very important to enable an easy understanding by non

specialists. The CEN standards offer three examples (Figure 7) of certificate layout

which can be used as a basis by Member States. The first example includes a calculated

rating and energy classification, the second includes a calculated and a measured rating

and the third one includes a continuous scale instead of energy classes.(Visier, 2006)

Figure 7. Three examples of EPCs as described in the draft Standards (Source: Visier,2006)

Until now, only few European countries have launched energy certification schemes,

ready for use, and more countries are yet to comply. Still, it is possible to call attention

to elements that must be considered with regard to schemes now on the drawing board

and existing schemes that should be revised to become more user-friendly and more

understandable. Only in this way can building stock knowledge concerning energy

consumption, energy savings and evaluation of energy saving potentials be improved.

When a certification scheme is launched the next important issues are the framework

for the certification procedure and the administration of the scheme. Another issue is

the approach to collecting the data necessary for issuing an energy label. (Thomsen,

2007)

In the framework of Intelligent Energy Europe Programme a project was conducted by

the name of IMPACT- IMproving energy Performance Assessments and Certification

schemes by Tests. The IMPACT project had the next objectives among others:

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1) Test energy performance certification for existing buildings in practice in 6

pilot countries

2) Exchange experiences and success factors

3) Derive recommendations for improvement of certification schemes

The tests were conducted in: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands

and Spain and the target groups for IMPACT were:

National stakeholders responsible for EPBD implementation (ministries,

building

research institutes, national energy agencies)

Market actors (experts, building owners, intermediary organisations like real

estate agents or municipalities)

After that the IMPACT project has set some minimum requirements to make the EPC

more understandable and to make it easily acceptable by the end-users.

Options to make EPC more understandable are:

Avoid misunderstandings on differences between calculated and metered energy

consumption (energy bills)

Technical terms used in the certificate, such as primary energy, final energy,

CO2-emissions need to be explained because most users may be non-experts

When end-users are considering taking energy saving measures, they usually

need to have additional information. For additional explanations and for

initiating follow-up activities easy access to professional information has to be

taken care of. For instance, putting the name, address and telephone number of

the expert or of the regional/central info point on the certificate. An option

proposed is to add the recommendations for improvements to the certificate as

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an extra component of the document that landlords do not need to present to

tenants.

Furthermore the EPC has to be accepted by the end-users and the IMPACTs project

recommendations are:

Clear content and layout

Official approved document, (mandatory certificate format)

Good performance experts

Limited cost

Customisation of the certificate by adding a picture of the building Personal presentation / elucidation

On the other hand there is a problem with acceptance from housing

associations/companies. They have problems with displaying recommended energy

saving measures, because they fear that tenants will use this information for demanding

improvements or as argument for not paying the entire rent. It is recommended to check

the possibilities for dissuading this resistance. (Joosen et al, 2006)

From another point of view, in a comparison made between Denmark and Belgium

about the use of energy labelling system, there were also interesting conclusions.

The generalised conclusions on acceptance of knowledge and trust are the following:

Personal contact with the expert engenders trust.

The reputation of the system or the expert matters.

Too obvious or simple knowledge devaluates the trust whereas too complicated

knowledge is ignored.

Information from different sources, including from the expert, must be

convergent.

Even if trust in the energy expert is high, advice from the expert will always be

interpreted, namely in conjunction with the house owners previous knowledge.

The social network is important both as regards promoting and hinderingacceptance of knowledge.

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difficulties during the certification process in order and EPC well marketed and better

known to be resulted.The theoretical problem, where its divided into the subject, which

is the energy consumption in building sector all across European Union. Secondly is

described the area of the problem, which is the EPBD and the EPC and concludes with

the gap in knowledge which is basically consisting by the potential difficulties that will

be faced during the certification process. The chapter ends with the research questions

which summarize the process that was followed to complete this research.

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

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In this chapter the research process plan has been developed. The overall steps of the

project are presented in terms of schematic appearance. The main procedure illustrates

how I will be able to achieve the basic goals that are defined in previous chapter.

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Outcome1.Which is the current status of EPC in Europe and Greece?2.What problems faced and what practical experiences gained duri ng the

EPC implementation in Europe?3.Is there an official EPC form/scheme established in Greece? or 4.Is it in need to asses an EPC form cause of lack of an officia l one?5.Which is/are the building(s ) that are going to be audited and where there

are located?6.How much detailed energy audit will use?7.What are the feedbacks from the owners and the end -users about the

proposed/official EPC form?

8.What are the impacts of the implementation of EPC in market?

Definition of researchmethodology

Strategic choices -Researchmethods:

1. Approach Method

2. Type of Design

3. Category of ActivityOutcome

1. Empirical ,deductive, inductive

2. Survey, case study

3. Discovery (survey), exemplar (case study)

Tactical choices -ResearchTechniques Outcome

1.Questionnaires

2.Interviews

Test DesignValidity : CanResearchQuestions beanswered?

NOT OK

NOT OK

OK

3.2 RESEARCH PROCESS PLAN

39

Start

Initial idea: Thedevelopment andeffectiveness of buildings EPC

Literature search: 0 -10papers

F r o m

Sources of information:

European Commision

Buildings Platform

Electronic Buildings Directive Action (e -EPBD) Center for Renewable Energy Resources (CRES)

Herio Watt University

Papers from online journals on http:// www.sciencedirect.com

More literature search:10-50 papers

Establish Research Title:

Energy Performance Certificateof Buildings.Lessons learned in Europe andnational efforts in Greece

Define theAims/Objectives of

the researchOutcome

1. Review and document the status of EPC in Europe and Greece2. Identify the problems faced and practical experiences gained fro m

the EPC implementation in Europe3. Review and document the status of EPC in Greece; document the

existing (or proposed) format of the official Greek EPC and preparea revised version based on other relevant European experiences.

4. Assess the official and revised versions of the Greek EPC throughfield surveys: Audit a building using an existing methodology an dsoftware to issue the EPC s; Prepare pseudo -EPC s for arepresentative number of residential and nonresidential building s;Prepare a survey questionnaire for building owners

5. Identify problems/weaknesses of the Greek EPC s by collectingfeedback from the building owners (for example, difficulties of ownersto understand/trust and accept the value of EPC s etc

6. Evaluate potential impact / reaction of the Real Estate market f romthe introduction of EPC

7. Analyze collected data and prepare proposals of how to improve t hecontents, value, effectiveness and acceptance of the Greek EPC.

Define the practicalproblem:

1. The problemenvironment

2. The problemcontext3. The problemof interest

Outcome

The problemenvironment:

EPCwell marketed and better known

The problemcontext:

Consequences of the EPBDimplementation

The problemof interest:

Potential difficulties with the certification process

Define the theoretical problem:

1. The Subject: Energy consumption

2. The Area: Energy Performance of BuildingsDirective (EPBD) & Energy PerformanceCertificate (EPC)

3. The Gap in knowledge: Issuing an EPCandmake it more reliable and more understandable

Define the research problem Outcome

To determine the ways with which EPCcan be more acceptable

and understandable to the end -users of a building

Define the ResearchQuestions

A

A

Complete Design B

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Start

Status of certification

processes in EU

Status of certification

processes in EU

EPC scheme /form in EU

countries

Marketacceptance /experiences

gained /problems

Outcome

Recommendations based on

feedbackcollected fromfield surveys

and other European

experiences

Greek EPCscheme / form ?

Propose anEPC format

NO

YES

Select representative residential and NRbuildings to issue pseudo-EPCs

Energy survey of a building to collect data anduse available software to prepare an EPC

Issue of EPCs

Develop a surveyquestionnaire

Evaluate EPC

contents,effectivenessand acceptance

with buildingowners. Collect

and analyzefeedback.

Conclusions40

B


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CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter contains the presentation of the gathered data about the EPBD, its

implementation in all European countries and the presentation of results of similar

surveys to the researchs objective about the key issues, the lessons learned and

problems faced during the implementation of EPC. There is also the presentation of the

EPBD transformed into Greek national law and finally the questionnaires that were

used to gather the opinions from different respondents but also specifically from

occupants of the selected building that was used as case study and its described at this

chapter.

4.2 RESULTS OF ANALYSIS: THE FINDINGS

4.2.1 EPBD IN EUROPE

Energy consumption and wastage elimination are among the main goals of the

European Union. EU priority for improving energy efficiency not only will be key

factor for meeting the commitments on climate change made under the Kyoto protocol

but also will be proved decisive for competitiveness but even more for security of

supply.

Having in mind that more than 40% of European energy it consumed in building sector,

it is clear that energy conservation is challenging and a good prospect for reducing

consumption. That is why the EU introduced legislation such as EPBD.

The EPBD requires from all member states to reform their building regulations, to

introduce regulations about inspections of boilers and air-conditioners and finally to

introduce energy certification for all buildings.

For that reasons all countries have to face the challenge to adopt the directive, with all

its advanced aspects, and transform it into national laws. It is a great opportunity not

only for mobilising energy efficiency across European Union but is also a challenge for

many member states as well. ( EPBDCA)

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The directive was adopted on 16 th of December 2002 and has set into force on 4 th of

January 2003. It is considered as a very important legislative component of energy

efficiency activities of the European Union, not only because its focuses on the most

energy consuming sector, but also because it is designed in a way for meeting the

Kyoto protocols commitments and furthermore to clear issues that were raised during

the Green Paper debate about energy supply security.

Forecast studies have projected a potential in the buildings sector of 22%, which could

be realised for energy used in heating, air-conditioning, hot water and lighting

purposes. (MURE, 1998). The saving potentials could be on: Boilers, lighting and

cooling.

By come off 22% of savings in building energy consumption, that means that about

20% of the EU Kyoto commitment could be met.

The Directive is set to improve the energy performance of buildings with four

requirements to be implemented by the Member States :

1. General framework for a methodology of calculation of the integrated performance

of buildings

2. Setting of minimum standards in new and existing buildings

3. Energy Certification of Buildings

4. Inspection and assessment of heating and cooling installations.

The Directive is foremost a measure that concerns a large number of different interested

parties at all levels and thats why its implementation will have multiple and different

impacts on different categories of professionals, companies, investors and citizens on

general and every energy consumer across Europe.( Bowie & Jahn, 2003 )

As it was mentioned before two major issues are the key factors of the EPBD. The

environmental benefits commitments of Kyoto protocol and the security of energy

supply. The Treaty of the European Community laid down, long ago, the basic

principles by calling for: preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the

environment, protecting human health, prudent and rational utilisation of natural

resources and for promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or

world-wide environmental problems .In absolute terms, households and the tertiary sector are the biggest energy users,

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accounting for more than 40% of the final energy demand within the European Union,

Figures 8 & 9 while the EUs demand for energy has been growing at a rate of between

1 and 2% annually since 1986. On the other hand industrial demand has been relatively

stable, as a result of the transition to a service-oriented economy, the increased demand

for electricity, transport and heat from households and the tertiary sector has more than

made up for this decline.

Figure 8 & 9. Energy consumtion by end use in EU tertiary and residential buildings

(source : MURE, 1998)

The Directive is set to promote the improvement of energy performance of buildings

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within the Community taking into account outdoor climatic and local conditions as

well as indoor climate requirements and cost-effectiveness.

The Directive is designed around 14 articles:

Figure 10. Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (source : Recast)

In November 2008, the Commission adopted the proposal for a recast of the Energy

Performance of Buildings Directive. Throughout 2009, the proposal has been going

through the approval process of the European Parliament and Council. The recast

proposal confirms the importance of effective implementation at the Member State

level, the importance of Community-wide co-operation and the strong long-termcommitment and role of the Commission itself to support such effective

implementation.

In November 2008 Commission Communication stated that we could consume 11%

less final energy in 2020 if we realize the untapped potential that the buildings have for

cost effective energy savings. The magnitude of the potential savings is such that every

effort must be made to achieve it. In April 2009, a series of amendments have been

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approved by the European Parliament concerning the proposal and in July 2009 under

the Swedish Presidency, has been developing its position on the recast proposal.

Laminated meetings between Parliament, Council and Commission started in

September 2009 to negotiate the agreement and finally on 17 th of November a political

agreement has been achieved. Major Highlights of the Political Agreement include:

After 31 st of December 2020 all new buildings will have to consume nearly zero and the

proportion of energy that they consume must be form renewable resources at most.

Nearly zero definition was agreed to describe either a very low energy consuming

building or a building with high energy performance, but the consuming energy should,

to a very significant level, be covered by energy from renewable source, including

renewable energy produced on-site or nearby.

All public authorities that own or are renting a new building must chose to invest on

nearly zero buildings, as an example, after 31 st of December 2018.

No specific target has set about renovating the existing buildings, but Member States

shall follow the example of buildings of public sector and develop their policies and

their legislation in order to transform the refurbished buildings or those who will be

refurbished, gradually into nearly zero energy consuming buildings.

The 1000m 2 threshold for major renovation has been deleted and this will take effect

when the national regulations have been implemented and applied, probably at the

beginning of 2014.

There is a specification of minimum requirements for components that may be used as

replacements or in renovation, despite that for major renovations, the holistic

calculation methodology is still the preferred method.

Also in the recast Directive there is a harmonised calculation methodology so the

minimum energy performance requirements will be pushed up for each Member State

towards a cost-optimal level that is set out, where each Member State will have to

justify to the Community in case there is a difference of more than 15% between

current requirements and cost-optimal requirements.

Finally each Member State will be required to set a more detailed procedure of issuing

EPCs and also control systems must be created to check the procedure of performance

certification and set penalties for non-compliance. Member States shall lay down the

rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted

pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are

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implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and

dissuasive. Member States shall communicate those provisions to the Commission.

(Recast)

4.2.2 IMPLEMENTATION OF EPBD IN EUROPE

Until January 4, 2006 all Member states were obligated to bring into force the laws,

regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with EPBD, and were

given a 3-year extension to January 4, 2009 to handle issues on training of qualified

and/or accredited experts to complete full implementation of EPBD. Some European

countries have progressed at a faster pace and only few have already developed the

framework, methodologies and tools to comply with EPBD and have gained practical

experience with the issue, with the use of the EPC and the acceptance of the EPC by the

market. Table 2 shows exactly the status (by legal contex, EPC experience, experts

qualification, advertising campaign) of EPBD implementation in all European Member

States.

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Latvia yes no* by education criteria

+ exams

face to face meetings,discussions, seminars,

radio programmes

Lithuania yes yes*

by education +

experience, training + 3 buildingscertification as

practical experiencePromotional and

information seminars

Luxembourg yes no*

architects or engineers or any

other under certainconditions

flyers, informationmeetings, reduced

interest ratesto house builders if the

projected housesatisfies the energy

efficiency category A (passive

house) or B (low energy house)

Malta yes no

architects,civil,mechanical,

electircal engineers+ training

information seminars,Government

subsidies and grants to property owners,

developers, and thegeneral

public are also givenNetherlands yes no* training --

Norway yes no n/a --

Poland yes no*

educational criteria+ exams and/or

training

educational program +leaflets, posters,brochures, TV spots,

site platform dedicated to EPC, conferences

Portugal yes yes*

architects or enginners with past

experience +courses +

examination

brochures online,internet site, seminars,

TV spot

Romania yes yes*

enginners or architects + courses

+exams

brochures online,

seminars

Slovak Republic yes yes*

eductaional criteria+ practical

experience +training +exams --

Slovenia yes no*

educational criteria/degree +training + exams

newspapers,magazines, radio and

TV spots, technical seminars

Spain yes no* n/a --

Sweden yes yes

educational criteria+ past experience +

training + exams

brochures online,seminars, press

campaign

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United Kingdom yes yes*

educational criteria/degree +

exams --Table 2. Status of EPBD implementation in European Member states (source: the

author)

*asterisk indicates that there is an available picture of the EPC of the particular member

state on Annex I.

4.2.3 LESSONS LEARNED IN EUROPE

In 2004, by grant agreement No. EIE/04/016/S07.38627, a project took place known by

the acronym: STABLE. The subject of the project was : Securing The Take-off of

Building Energy Certification: Improving Market Attractiveness through Building

Owner Involvement and some of the objectives between others were :

Improve market attractiveness of energy certification

Increase the awareness and interest of European building owners

Seven countries participated in the program. Greece had also participated among

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, and Netherlands.

The method that was used to find out which aspects influence the attractiveness of the

energy certificate was a questionnaire that has been designed and sent out to interested

parties (both professionals* and owners/tenants**) relative to the building sector.

*The questionnaire for professional organisations has been used in Finland,

Sweden, The Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium and Austria. Country reports

of the results in those countries are available (except for Belgium).

**This questionnaire for consumers has been used in Belgium, Sweden, The

Netherlands and Austria. Separate reports of the results in those countries are

available.

(STABLE, 2007)

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Also as it was mentioned before, Cushman & Wakefield was commissioned by ICSC

Europe and REP (Real Estate Publishers) to update its annual survey of International

retailers. In this survey among other basic questions, one that was examined was if the

retailers are aware of the EPBD, figure 11, . 250 retail companies were interviewed

between May and June 2007 by Simpson Carpenter, a specialist market research

agency.

Figure 11. . Familiarity with EPBD (source:STABLE, 2007)

Figure 12. Awareness level of EPBD (source: Cushman & Wakefield)

By figure 11, it appears that both Swedish and Dutch respondents are more informed

about the EPBD and its different aspects in comparison to the retailers. On the next

figure 12, someone can notice dramatically low awareness on EPBD despite that thissurvey took place in 2007, 5 year before the publication of EPBD. Even that the

retailers are not part of such a robust economy, are not well informed about the EPBD

and moreover their obligation or their right to issue/be issued an EPC for their stores,

than owners that are somehow more informed about the Directive and its components.

On the other hand on the Cushman & Wakefields survey one may assume that the

questionnaire might be filled in by people/retailers that are obviously far from energy

efficiency matters than average because first they are concerned about the sustainability

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of their business economically and anything else comes second, than owners who hunt

up a better living environment for them.

Despite what stands at last, someone can say by certitude that major acts must be made

to push EPC in the market.

Another interesting issue on the STABLE project are the reasons that EPBD-certificate

is considered valuable:

Assessing maintenance and running costs (overall 82%)

Planning maintenance and/or renovation (overall 80%)

Developing renovation, reconstruction and maintenance strategies (overall 74%)

Making investment / acquisition decisions (overall 73%)

Development environmental and energy management (overall 68%)

Marketing (overall 67%)

Assessing market value of a building (overall 67%)

The respondents from all seven countries said that the first reason that they consider

EPBD-certificate as a valuable utility is that it gives them the opportunity to assess themaintenance and running costs of their property. That answer comes in accordance to a

similar issue that was set on the Cushman & Wakefields survey. On the question to

give reasons of why they would monitor a utility usage and by crushing majority, figure

13, the retailers answered: to assist in reducing operating costs .

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Figure 13. Why retailers would monitor a utility usage (source: Cushman &

Wakefields)

From a technocrats view, EPBD implementation may or may not affect investments on

building sector in case of individuals and/or companies. The key issue is if an Energy

Performance Certificate can affect the price of a building according to its

maintenance/operating cost and also if it can make it more or less appealing to

investors/tenants. Both surveys showed that the majority of the respondents believe that

an energy labelling scheme can create such a change of correlation on real estate market

prices. At first the STABLE project on its survey questions about the value of energy

certificates and if its valuable in marketing buildings for investors or tenants, figure 14,

gives precedence on the opinion that the investments on building sector can and

possibly will be affected a lot by future energy labelling.

Figure 14. Will the EPC be valuable in building marketing (source: STABLE, 2007)

These results are verified even more, after the answers on the retailers survey. Some

42% of retailers overall agreed with the statement, figure 15, while some 35% disagreed

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and a fifth were neutral on the question about the prospect of change on the attraction

level of a building after issuing an EPC.

Figure 15. Will the EPC be valuable in building marketing (source: Cushman &

Wakefields)

Another issue that the STABLE project investigates is about the authorisation of

organizations issuing certificates and how important or not respondents think it is.

Except for Greece, authorisation of individual experts is regarded less important and

authorisation of organisations is very often regarded as not important for all countries

(Figure 16).

Figure 16. Importance level of authorisation of organisations issuing certificates(source:STABLE, 2007)

The consultants competition is regarded important to the quality of EPC but the

comprehensiveness of the building inspection is regarded less important than the quality

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Good performance experts

Limited cost

Customisation of the certificate by adding a picture of the building

Personal presentation / elucidation

On the other hand there is a problem with acceptance from housing

associations/companies. They have problems with displaying recommended energy

saving measures, because they fear that tenants will use this information for demanding

improvements or as argument for not paying the entire rent. It is recommended to check

the possibilities for dissuading this resistance. (Joosen et al, 2006)

Finally according to Gram-Hansen et al, 2006, after interviewing home owners and

building users, they came up with the generalised conclusions on acceptance of

knowledge and trust that are the following:

Personal contact with the expert engenders trust.

The reputation of the system or the expert matters. Too obvious or simple knowledge devaluates the trust whereas too complicated

knowledge is ignored.

Information from different sources, including from the expert, must be

convergent.

Even if trust in the energy expert is high, advice from the expert will always be

interpreted, namely in conjunction with the house owners previous knowledge.

The social network is important both as regards promoting and hinderingacceptance of knowledge.

Societal deafness and individual lapse of memory of received advice are likely

when information is in conflict with established norms .

As it was mentioned before the good performance of experts and the reputation of them

are added to the acceptance of the EPC. That is why experts/consultants must be notonly well trained but to act as professionals.

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official law come about. This law passed through the Parliament and has officially been

incorporated in the Greek legal system since May 2008.(EPBD Buildings Platform,

2008)

The Greek law, is known by reference number 3661/2008 (: 89'/19.5.2008), is

nothing more than a simple translation of the EPBD without setting out any real target

for improving the energy efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of Greek

buildings. This law does not reflect the outcome of a long term planning of Greek

national energy policy but simply describes some general obligations that should be put

into force as dictated by the European directive and furthermore key issues are left

unanswered and to be disposed by another Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD-) 6

months after the enforcement of law 3661/2008. The execution orders were the

responsibility of the Ministries of Development and Environment, their formation has

been assigned to Centere for Renewable Energy and Energy Saving (CRES). After a

few months Ministry of Development and CRES have put on public discussion the

Draft Rules for Energy Efficiency of Buildings, which is known by the Greek acronym

, and also a Draft Presidential Decree on the establishment of the Forum of

Energy Inspectors. Until the end of 2009 no official announcement has been disclosed

about the status of implementation of these two major issues.

Draft Rules for Energy Efficiency of Buildings Document as it was released for the first

time for public review on December 2008 contained the following:

The purpose and contents of the Energy Efficiency Building Audit among to :

1. The requirements of the Audit

2. The cost of the Audit

Definition of Energy Efficiency Requirements

1. Maximum permitted rates of thermal transmittance values of building

components

2. Energy requirements of buildings

How to Prepare Energy Inspection of Buildings

1. Method evaluation

2. Energy Audit process

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Draft Framework for the creation of Energy Inspectors Body

1. Qualification and skills

2. Registration3. Categories of Energy Inspectors License

4. Cost of Energy Audits

5. Training

6. Quality control process of Energy Audits and of reliability of energy

performance certificates

And also :

Inspection of Boilers and Heating Installations Air Conditioning Systems

Lighting

In Greece, there were reactions after the communication of the Directive EPBD to the

public and its adoption by the Greek law 3661.

The original intention to impose a fee of three euros per square meter was abandoned

by the Ministry of Development, bringing the cost to issue an energy certificate for

residential buildings to be reduced to 1 euro per square meter after the reactions from

owners and from the Hellenic Property Federation (P.OM.ID.A ...).

xcept that Greece delayed the completion of the framework for the Energy Efficiency

Regulations for Buildings and the Energy Inspectors Body, had not yet done anything

to spread the importance and the usefulness of the Directive. Only a few Conferences -

Meetings took place but their results are known only to a limited public.

The President of the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) but also

POMIDAs President Stratos Paradias on the 40th international conference of Congress

of the International Union of Property Owners (UIPI) with target of energy saving in

buildings and title "Effective use of energy for low-cost and sustainable Development ",

organized by the Swedish Association Homeowners and the Chairman and Vice UIPI,

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emphasized that "the property owners do not disagree with those laid down in European

Directive providing for Energy upgrade their buildings to save energy, but the absence

of information, technical guidance, financial assistance and practical support of the EU

and the states - members are all ultimately

stay in the theory and any savings would not see in practice.

In the same conference the European Commission was represented by Mr. George

Katsarakis General officer of Business and Industry in Europe, who presented the

proposal of Commission amending Directive (EPBD recast) which aims to accelerate

the pace of upgrading the existing buildings, the widespread use of performance

Documents

Touch Ti Dis Vasilios CohortIII B49-DONE