Brussels, 29/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 April, the European Parliament energy committee (ITRE) gave unanimous approval to the revised draft directives on the energy performance of buildings and the energy labelling of products. Agreement on the two texts, part of the legislative package on energy security (2008), complementing the energy/climate package (2008), was reached with the Council in November 2009 (see EUROPE 10022). However, the Lisbon Treaty, which came into effect on 1 January, meant that changes had to be brought on the legal basis and comitology procedures. The texts will be put to the vote in Parliament during the May plenary session.
Legislation on energy efficiency aims to help consumers reduce their energy bills and the EU as a whole achieve its target of a 20% reduction in energy consumption by 2020. The two texts up for definitive adoption, which will replace Directive 2009/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 92/75/EC on the energy labelling of products respectively, contain changes which respond in substance to the challenges of climate change and energy security.
The new directive on buildings will require new buildings constructed after 1 January 2021 to be “zero energy”; Eurocodes (EU construction standards) will require buildings to produce as much energy as they use. In existing buildings, owners, when carrying out renovation work, will have to install intelligent meters and replace heating, hot water and air conditioning systems with high efficiency alternatives, such as heat pumps. Boilers and air conditioning will have to be regularly inspected.
The new directive on energy labelling will extend the scope of directive 92/75/EC, which applies only to domestic appliances (fridges, freezers, washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, ovens), to include commercial and industrial energy-consuming appliances (cold storage, display units, automatic distributors, etc.) and building products which affect energy savings, such as glazed units, window frames and external doors. The new labelling system will make it easier for consumers to assess running costs. It will still be based on the sliding scale from “A” (green, energy efficient goods) to “G” (red, poor energy performance goods), but it will provide for three additional categories (“A+”, “A++” and “A+++”). (E.H./transl.rt)