What is the cost of the Energy Performance Certificate for buildings?

February 3, 2012 at 12:37 am | Posted in General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a comment
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I recently found  a research, published in December 2011  on the price of Energy Performance Certificates and main factors that influence  it  in different Member States. The research is made by the Energy Performance in Buildings  Concerted Action (EPBD CA) – a group of experts (mainly from the governments but also associated technical experts from each Member State) in charge with the implementation of EPBD at the national level.

What are the main findings of their study?

  • the price of certification is mainly dependent on the expert’s work and defined in most member states by the market conditions; however there are countries (Spain, Portugal, Malta) where part of the price is fixed (fixed fees imposed in the legislation) and part is determined by the market.
  • price of certification may vary considerable based on type of buildings (residential or non-residential) and if the building is new or existing; in some countries certification for existing buildings is more expensive than that for new buildings
    • in general the price of certificates for residential buildings typically range from 200EUR -600EUR
    • for the non-residential buildings the range can vary significantly from few hundred Euros for small and simple buildings up to 20 000 EUR for large and complex buildings
  • the main factors that influence the price of the certificate are the experience of the auditor, the methodology used, the size and geometry of the building, the characteristics of the HVAC systems

What is the situation in Romania?

According to the study there is no difference in price between certificates for existing or new buildings in Romania. The price is defined by market conditions and varies according to the type of building certified:

Residential, single family house – 2-3 EUR/m2

Residential, single flat in multifamily building – 1.5 -2.5EUR/m2

Residential, entire multifamily building – 1-2 EUR/m2

Small non-residential building (<1000 m2) – 2-3 EUR/m2

Large non-residential building (>1000 m2)  – 2-3 EUR/m2

The information in the research is based on a survey  with data from 2008. The situation might be different now considering that  the building energy performance certification market is growing and there are more energy auditors. Anyway, the EPBD recast will inevitably lead to changes on the market (more buildings will need to get the certification, penalties for non complying with the requirements of EPBD should be introduced in all member states) and inevitably on the price.

Get more insights on the price of energy performance certificates and the factors that influence it in different countries from reading the whole report here.

What do you know about the price of energy performance certificates in Romania?

Do you find the results of the study consistent with your experience in getting an energy performance certificate for your building?

Anca Bieru

RoGBC presents work at the Europe GBC Netwoork Meeting in London

March 21, 2011 at 11:52 pm | Posted in Events, General | Leave a comment
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Ecobuild is probably the largest fair in Europe focused on green building area with more than 1300 exhibitors and over 80 000 participants this year. Even if it is still focused mostly on the UK market, there are visible (and successful) efforts to make it more international.

This year World GBC had a special stand, representing all the existing Green Building Councils in the Europe network –  from more than 29 countries throughout Europe. RoGBC participated as well and apart from the previous years we had also some members (CEMS and Smart&Pepper Consulting)  attending the fair -with the support of UK Embassy in Bucharest. RoGBC’s mission at the event this year was to partially staff the World GBC booth offering information about the green building market and activities in Romania but also the CEE region.

Beyond staffing the booth our team had a very active presence in the 4th of March Europe GBC Network  meeting . The regional meeting was focused on three major aspects:

a. Discussing the common activities that could be developed in the network on policy areas - Anca Bieru, Director of Membership and Public Affairs and Chair of the Europe GBC Network Policy Task Force presented the proposed strategy for getting the network represented in the dialogue with main EU institutions ( European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Ministers) and  for enhancing collaboration among GBC’s around sharing best practices on policies from the  national level.

b. Discussing the common activities that could be developed in education area - Emilo Mitre Miguel discussed efforts to assess the current status of GBC training via a recent effort to categorize the various GBCs offereings.    Steven Borncamp, RoGBC president,  presented our RoGBC Green Building Professional Certification Program and offered and open source toolkit for GBC’s interested in developing similar programs. The initiative was well-received by both new and established GBCs as a way to stimulate collaboration on training among existing GBC’s and support the capacity in this area of younger GBC’s.

c. Discussing other collaboration activities that could strengthen individual GBC’s but also network’s capacity and visibility in front of third parties – Steven Borncamp presented a collaboration and communication framework to be developed between GBC’s that would create the basis for sharing information and create mutual promotion/visibility opportunities for GBC’s and their members in events organised by each GBC or group of GBC’s in Europe.

Waste Directive – in the public debate

November 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm | Posted in Legislative Outreach, News from Members | Leave a comment
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The 2008/98/CE Waste Framework Directive has to be transposed into the national legislation by the end of the year. This directive is important for the construction industry because it aims at recovering 70% of the construction waste by 2020.

More information about this directive and a brief analysis of the law project proposed by the Ministry of Environment  are available here. This analysis was carried out by Luiza Manolea, lawyer member of RoGBC in the Legislative Outreach Group.

Anca

New legislation for Public Private Partnerships in Romania; smoother path to Building Green?

November 4, 2010 at 7:47 pm | Posted in Legislative Outreach, News from Members | Leave a comment
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The new law that regulates the way public private partnership can be established and run in Romania was published on November 4th . Law nr.178/2010 was expected already by many for at least couple of years.  Without a dedicated legal instrument  Public Private Partnerships were not possible untill now. The section that is regulating the public concessions from OUG.34/2006 was a weak and inneficient substitute for setting up partnerships between public authorities and industry.    There were a lot of challenges between the different stakeholders (industry and public authorities) for reaching an agreement but finally we have a law now. The result is not perfect if we consider the analysis made by Luiza Manolea, active lawyer and member in RoGBC. The methodological norms that are to follow might give some clarity …or not. However this is a beginning and at least now we can start talking about Public Private Partnerships with the public authorities.

Maybe it is no coincidence that this long expected law came in a period of economic downturn. The Public Private Partnerships are great tools for boosting economic development and encouraging innovation  in periods when the budgets of the local  or central public authorities are close to bottom.  Since Green Building projects adress both criteria (stimulate local economic development and encourage innovation) we hope to hear soon about the first innitiatives of Public Private Partnerships that relate with sustainability in construction in Romania.  Establishing Public Private Partnerships represents a  great solution for the public authorities to finance new construction and major rehabilitation of existing buildings and use and implement  green building principles in the same time. There are plenty of sucesfull examples all over the world and not necessarily only in countries with previous tradition in building  high quality, energy efficient buildings with low impact on the environment. In India the CII Sohrabji  Godrej Green Building Center is considered one of the leading examples of Public Private Partnerships  that enabled the widespread green building movement in India.  The European Commision is also using this tool for funding research and development in different areas including buildings.

Looking forward to write about the first examples in Romania….

Anca

“Greening our Hotels – Green Hotels in Romania too” – September 28th, 2010, Bucharest

October 12, 2010 at 10:49 am | Posted in Events | Leave a comment
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On  September 28th, Romania Green Building Council held, at the Athenee Palace Hilton, a one day course on “Greening our Hotels – Green Hotels in Romania too”, in order to engage the hospitality industry and its related products and services in a discussion regarding the opportunity and importance of a more environmentally responsible approach of architectural design, rehabilitation and dealing with properties.

The workshop provided practice information about integrating available technologies in the design of more energy efficient and with low environmental impact buildings. In addition, the course was structured so that the participants had the time to interact with the speakers, during the “question& answer” sessions.

 

First part. Competitive advantages for building/ refurbishing green hotels.

In his welcoming speech, Steven Borncamp, president of RoGBC, gave a short introduction to the importance of the “green approach” in designing and operating new buildings, increasing international and local regulations for building materials and energy consumption, as well as the need for more action for generalized sustainable principles for all types of buildings. Stressing that “green” stands for quality, present and future, Mr. Borncamp also mentioned that for a slight increase of the costs for a green building (with 2-4%), the cumulative savings are about 40% per year, while the investment amortization is being done in the first 2 or 3 years.

Next, Linda Griffin, the new general manager of Hilton Athenee Palace, presented some recent actions that aim at reducing electricity consumption, promoting ecological means of transportation (bicycles for customers) and creating a Green Team, which would be involve in implementing sustainable initiatives in the hotel network as well as initiating a “customer awareness” program on environmental behaviors during accommodation.

David Nicholl- general manager of Schneider Electric- had a comprehensive overview on the benefits of generalized automation systems in all types of buildings, including hotels. Through the Active Energy Management systems, significant, controllable and predictable reductions are being made, throughout the building, while ensuring optimum comfort for residents. The integrated Schneider Electric solutions can lead to constant electricity and heat consumption reductions up to 30% in the long run.

 

Second part. Financial incentives, legislation and certification

Ms. Maria Daniela Toma – manager in Ministry of Environment- tackled issues of the environmental labeling of hotels. Introduced after 2005, eco-labels represent green building certification, based on 20 criteria which include, among others, indicators of ecological materials use, presence and quality of the vegetation in the site area, energy and water consumption, waste storage and recycling, cleaning systems’ efficiency, information about preventive ecological behavior etc. Specific matters regarding general aspects and regulations of green label certification are available on www.eur-lex.europa.eu. The fee for obtaining this certification is presently 200-300 euro/year.

Furthermore, two case studies were presented. Linica Stan, manager Saturn Hotel, presented the case of Saturn Hotel, Mangalia, while for Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bucharest, the presentation was held by Melania Secuianu, Administrative Manager Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Mark Velody – BERD consultant – held a methodological overview of financial procedures, with favorable interest or grants for energy efficient building projects.

 

Third part. Innovative solutions.

Rafael Mărculescu – Schneider Electric – completed David Nicholl’s presentation through an application of energetic management integrated systems. He showed that the implementation of this kind of systems is very useful for all types of hotel equipments (heating/ HVAC/ water management, lighting etc.) and that the investment amortization for Schneider systems is up to 3 years, meanwhile noticing reductions of 35% for heat, 60% for electricity, as well as the number of employees.

David Clark – Cundall Engineering – presented a hotel case study, underlining the three aspects – energetic benchmarking, clarifying the CO2 footprint criteria (design, passive/ active system, energy efficiency and the recovery of energies) and users’ information/ education, in this case the tourists.

 

Specific solutions

In the last part the presentations were about a) particular solutions (products and systems) for a successfully implementation of significantly reduction of electricity consumption, lighting through efficient LED and mercury light bulbs (Cuneșteanu – Philips România), b) packaging waste management (Lorita Constantinescu – Eco-Rom Ambalaje) and c) sustainable solutions for green spaces design, through water management and special effects for the aesthetic part and for air quality improvement (Katja Perrey – Katja Perrey Landscapes).

 

Organizer:

Romania Green Building Council (www.RoGBC.org)  is a non-profit and non-political association which encourages the development of market, educational and legal conditions necessary in the transformation of the building industry, in order to create and refurbish intelligent buildings, both sustainable and profitable. RoGBC is an “Established Council” within the World Green Building Council (www.WorldGBC.org) .

 

Cristina Şiu

Romania Green Building Council

Manager Marketing & Events

021-222 5135 / 021-260 0051 / 021 – 222 0011

Cristina.Siu@RoGBC.org

www.RoGBC.org

Final version of the EPBD approved

July 26, 2010 at 5:38 pm | Posted in Legislative Outreach | Leave a comment
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Last Wednesday, the representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Ministers came to an agreement on the final text of the new version of Energy Performance in Buildings Directive. The next step is for the Council to formally adopt the version, but in fact the major decisions were already taken. Our next 10 years are pretty much “shaped” when it comes to energy efficiency in buildings.

The final version is weaker than the version that was successfully voted by the European Parliament in April. We were expecting that the text to be modified in the negotiation process and some compromises to be made, but the final result is more a collection of recommendations than a powerful tool  that could significantly contribute to saving energy in the European buildings in the years to come. For the most advanced countries – were the national legislation and standards are very powerful (eg.  UK – all new buildings – carbon neutral starting from 2016) is not a big loss but for Eastern and Central Europe it is. In this region the national legislations are shaped mostly on the European Directives – if we have a strong Directive we have strong national legislation, if we have a Directive full of recommendations ….sometimes we listen and if we are lucky we look at the other Members States for best practices, we admire and start making a huge list of reasons for why not we cannot implement that measure or that mechanism or why we cannot allocate funds from the public budget …….and the list is long.

I presented briefly below the major changes (pro and cons) brought in by the final text of the EPBD:

Strengths:

  1. Abolition of 1000sqm threshold – all buildings undergoing major renovation, irrespectively of their size will need to comply with the Directive (improve their energy performance)
  2. Minimum energy performance requirements for minor renovations (practically when a building element that is part of the building envelope – windows, door, roofs – is replaced or retrofitted )
  3. All new buildings must be “nearly zero energy buildings” by December 2020; new public buildings have to comply with the standard  by December 2018

Weaknesses:

  1. No obligation for member states to amend the minimum energy performance requirements in their building codes to achieve the result of the Commission methodology. This practically means that there will still be differences between same energy levels (A,B,C..etc) on the energy performance certificates in different countries. The objective of assuring convergence towards higher standards will not be achieved (at least not through this version of the EPBD)
  2. No concrete requirements for Member States to introduce targets to renovate existing buildings according to nearly zero energy buildings. They were not supposed to renovate the whole existing building stocks to this standard, but at least to consider this aspect to a minimum percentage of buildings that are renovated.
  3. No obligation for certifying and displaying the energy performance certificate in case of public buildings, unless they are bigger than 500sqm (the threshold will be lowered to 250 sqm in five years) and visited by the public. However an important number of public buildings will not be included in this category.
  4. Fiscal and financial incentives were introduced only as recommendations and not as obligations. Practically it will be up to each Member State to allocate or not funds from the state budget for putting in place measures to support the implementation of EPBD.
  5. The terms for applying the provisions of the new EPBD were delayed with two years after it comes into force. Practically – if the law will be adopted in 2010 (expected to happen) the Member States are supposed to publish the transposing measures in 2 years after the entry into force.

Next stage already started –  we (RoGBC together with WWF Romania and other representatives of the non-governmental sector) will have to continue our initiatives at the national level and lobby for proper implementation of EPBD and adoption of real measures that will contribute to encouraging the energy efficiency in buildings and promotion of renewable energy production. The new version of EPBD offers some good arguments in the discussions, but it is a weaker tool than what it could have been.

The final text of the directive is available here.

Anca Bieru

RoGBC signs position paper “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”

September 19, 2009 at 4:46 pm | Posted in Events, Legislative Outreach | Leave a comment
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Rogbc 1The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) along with WWF Danube-Carpathian Romania, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings (AAEC) signed a shared position paper, regarding the measures that should be taken in order to encourage energy efficiency. The document, entitled “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”, draws the attention on the economic opportunities associated with the implementation of environment policies, especially in the construction field. Some of the opportunities highlighted are the reducing energy costs, ensuring energy safety, raising comfort and creating new jobs.

In addition, the position paper underlines the necessity of immediate action in order to move towards a greener economy and explains that the practical measures to be applied do not represent budgetary costs, but investments towards a sustainable development. .

The position paper is available for reading here.

Energy efficiency conference organized by the Association of Energy Auditors – October 22-23

September 3, 2009 at 3:45 pm | Posted in Events | Leave a comment
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The capacity of Romania to meet the EU requirements regarding the energy performance of buildings

When: 22-23 October 2009

Where: Bucharest, Parliament Palace, Nicolae Balcescu room

Organizers: the Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings (AAEC) in collaboration with Commission of Industries and Services, with the support of the Chamber of Deputies.

It is a two day conference that will discuss the following:

  • the technical regulations and legislation regarding the building energy audit, at a national and international level
  • the institutional capacity of Romania to promote the energy efficiency of buildings
  • the financial tools (national and EU) and banking products available for energy rehabilitation of buildings
  • the building energy audit
  • the architectural solutions available for the energetic rehabilitation of buildings, and other technologies available for energy efficienc buildings
  • the use or renewable energy sources in buildings
  • the impact of the Energy Performance Certificate on the real estate market
  • the involvement of the society in the reduction of the energy consumption and the environment protection
  • relevant aspects from the activity of the building energy auditors.

More details about the event and the Call for Papers can be found here. (Romanian version)

The Registration Form is available here. (Romanian version only)

Local Incentives for Attracting Green Investments

September 2, 2009 at 12:59 pm | Posted in Events, Legislative Outreach | Leave a comment
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Romania Green Building Council is creating a strategy with local measures that could be implemented by local public authorities for attracting green investments. The initiative consists of:

  • realizing a comprehensive study on successful policies implemented by other local public authorities in different parts of the world and comparing/checking with existing national legislation on what could be done in Romania.
  • a survey with questionnaires sent to local public authorities, developers and architects meant to identify their feedback on the topic.
  • a Green Cafe on the 23rd of September where we will discuss more details, in workgroups with RoGBC members and guests from the local public authorities on specific suggested measures that the RoGBC is planning to promote further.

The results and the main conclusions of the survey will be presented to the local public authorities within the conference “Cities of the Future: Towards Low Carbon Economies”, organized in Brasov by the Association of Romanian Municipalities and the European Commission on October 14.

Please contact Anca Bieru at anca.bieru@RoGBC.org for more details or getting involved.

Protected: Position Paper – Introduction of Ecological Construction Materials in the Thermal rehabilitation program

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