The Role of Indoor Climate in the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

From the beginning of 2006 all new buildings (residential, commercial, industrial etc.) must have an energy declaration based on the calculated energy performance of the building, including HVAC and lighting systems. This energy declaration must refer to the primary energy or CO2 emissions. The directive also states that the energy performance calculation must take into account the indoor climate, but gives no guidelines. CEN is now preparing a series of standards to cover the requirements for the indoor environment, energy performance calculations for buildings and systems, ways of expressing energy performance, inspection of heating-cooling-ventilation systems and conversion to primary energy. The paper will present the directive, give a status of the ongoing implementation of the directive and discuss the issues related to the indoor environment.