18.6.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 153/1

(1)

Council Directive 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances (3) has been substantially amended (4). Since further amendments have to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity.

(2)

The scope of Directive 92/75/EEC is restricted to household appliances. The Commission Communication of 16 July 2008 on the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan has shown that the extension of the scope of Directive 92/75/EEC to energy-related products which have a significant direct or indirect impact on energy consumption during use could reinforce potential synergies between existing legislative measures, and in particular Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy related products (5). This Directive should not prejudice the application of Directive 2009/125/EC. Together with that Directive and other Union instruments, this Directive forms part of a broader legal framework and, in the context of a holistic approach, brings about additional energy savings and environmental gains.

(3)

The Presidency conclusions of the European Council of 8 and 9 March 2007 emphasised the need to increase energy efficiency in the Union so as to achieve the objective of saving 20 % of the Union’s energy consumption by 2020, set targets for the EU-wide development of renewable energies and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and called for a thorough and rapid implementation of the key areas identified in the Commission Communication of 19 October 2006 entitled ‘Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Realising the Potential’. The action plan highlighted the enormous energy savings opportunities in the products sector.

(4)

Improving the efficiency of energy-related products through informed consumer choice benefits the EU economy overall.

(5)

The provision of accurate, relevant and comparable information on the specific energy consumption of energy-related products should influence the end-user’s choice in favour of those products which consume or indirectly result in consuming less energy and other essential resources during use, thus prompting manufacturers to take steps to reduce the consumption of energy and other essential resources of the products which they manufacture. It should also, indirectly, encourage the efficient use of these products in order to contribute to the EU’s 20 % energy efficiency target. In the absence of this information, the operation of market forces alone will fail to promote the rational use of energy and other essential resources for these products.

(6)

It should be recalled that Union and national legislation exists which gives certain rights to consumers with respect to purchased products, including compensation or exchange of the product.

(7)

The Commission should provide a priority list of energy-related products that could be covered by a delegated act under this Directive. Such a list could be included in the Working Plan referred to in Directive 2009/125/EC.

(8)

Information plays a key role in the operation of market forces and it is therefore necessary to introduce a uniform label for all products of the same type, to provide potential purchasers with supplementary standardised information on those products’ costs in terms of energy and the consumption of other essential resources and to take measures to ensure that potential end-users who do not see the product displayed, and thus have no opportunity to see the label, are also supplied with this information. In order to be efficient and successful, the label should be easily recognisable to end-users, simple and concise. To this end the existing layout of the label should be retained as the basis to inform end-users about the energy efficiency of products. Energy consumption of and other information concerning the products should be measured in accordance with harmonised standards and methods.

(9)

As pointed out in the Commission’s Impact Assessment accompanying its proposal for this Directive, the energy labelling scheme has been followed as a model in different countries around the world.

(10)

Member States should regularly monitor compliance with this Directive, and include the relevant information in the report that they are obliged to submit every four years to the Commission under this Directive, with special regard to the responsibilities of suppliers and dealers.

(11)

Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products (6) contains general provisions on market surveillance relating to the marketing of products. In order to achieve its aims, this Directive provides for more detailed provisions in this respect. Those provisions are consistent with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

(12)

A completely voluntary scheme would lead to only some products being labelled, or supplied with standard product information, with the risk that this might result in confusion or even misinformation for some end-users. The present scheme should therefore ensure that for all the products concerned, the consumption of energy and other essential resources is indicated by labelling and standard product fiches.

(13)

Energy-related products have a direct or indirect impact on the consumption of a wide variety of forms of energy during use, electricity and gas being the most important. This Directive should therefore cover energy-related products having a direct or indirect impact on the consumption of any form of energy during use.

(14)

Energy-related products which have a significant direct or indirect impact on consumption of energy or, where relevant, of essential resources during use and which afford adequate scope for increased efficiency should be covered by a delegated act, when provision of information through labelling may stimulate end-users to purchase more efficient products.

(15)

In order to meet the Union climate change and energy security objectives, and given that the total energy consumed by products is expected to continue to rise in the longer term, the delegated acts under this Directive could, where relevant, also highlight on the label the high total energy consumption of the product.

(16)

A number of Member States have public procurement policies in place which require contracting authorities to procure energy efficient products. A number of Member States also have put in place incentives for energy efficient products. The criteria for products to be eligible for public procurement or incentives can substantially differ from one Member State to another. To refer to performance classes as levels for particular products, as set out in delegated acts under this Directive, may reduce fragmentation of public procurement and incentives and facilitate the uptake of efficient products.

(17)

Incentives which Member States may provide for the promotion of efficient products might constitute State aid. This Directive does not prejudice the outcome of any future State aid procedure that may be undertaken in accordance with Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in respect of such incentives and should not cover taxation and fiscal matters. Member States are free to decide on the nature of such incentives.

(18)

The promotion of energy efficient products through labelling, public procurement and incentives should not be to the detriment of the overall environmental performance and the functioning of such products.

(19)

The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU in respect of labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other essential resources by energy-related products during use. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(20)

The Commission should regularly submit to the European Parliament and the Council a synthesis, covering the EU and each Member State separately, of the reports on enforcement activities and the level of compliance submitted by Member States under this Directive.

(21)

The Commission should be responsible for adapting the label classifications with the aim of ensuring predictability for the industry and comprehension for consumers.

(22)

To a varying extent according to the product concerned, technological development and the potential for additional significant energy savings could make further product differentiation necessary and justify a review of the classification. Such review should include in particular the possibility of rescaling. This review should be carried out as expeditiously as possible in the case of products which, due to their very innovative characteristics, can make a significant contribution to energy efficiency.

(23)

When the Commission reviews progress and reports on the implementation of the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan in 2012, it will in particular analyse whether further action to improve the energy and environmental performance of products is needed, including, inter alia the possibility to provide consumers with information on the carbon footprint of products or the products’ environmental impact during their life cycle.

(24)

The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive change as compared with Directive 92/75/EEC. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises under the Directive 92/75/EEC.

(25)

When Member States implement the provisions of this Directive, they should endeavour to refrain from adopting measures that could impose unnecessarily bureaucratic and unwieldy obligations on the market participants concerned, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.

(26)

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of Directive 92/75/EEC.

(27)

In accordance with point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making (7), Member States are encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interest of the Union, their own tables illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public,

(a)

second-hand products;

(b)

any means of transport for persons or goods;

(c)

the rating plate or its equivalent affixed for safety purposes to products.

(a)

‘energy-related product’ or ‘product’ means any good having an impact on energy consumption during use, which is placed on the market and/or put into service in the Union, including parts intended to be incorporated into energy-related products covered by this Directive which are placed on the market and/or put into service as individual parts for end-users and of which the environmental performance can be assessed independently;

(b)

‘fiche’ means a standard table of information relating to a product;

(c)

‘other essential resources’ means water, chemicals or any other substance consumed by a product in normal use;

(d)

‘supplementary information’ means other information concerning the performance and features of a product which relate to, or are helpful in evaluating, its use of energy or other essential resources based on measurable data;

(e)

‘direct impact’ means the impact of products that actually consume energy during use;

(f)

‘indirect impact’ means the impact of products that do not consume energy, but contribute to energy conservation during use;

(g)

‘dealer’ means a retailer or other person who sells, hires, offers for hire-purchase or displays products to end-users;

(h)

‘supplier’ means the manufacturer or its authorised representative in the Union or the importer who places or puts into service the product on the Union market. In their absence, any natural or legal person who places on the market or puts into service products covered by this Directive shall be considered a supplier;

(i)

‘placing on the market’ means making a product available for the first time on the Union market with a view to its distribution or use within the Union, whether for reward or free of charge and irrespective of the selling technique;

(j)

‘putting into service’ means the first use of a product for its intended purpose in the Union;

(k)

‘unauthorised use of the label’ means the use of the label, other than by Member State authorities or EU institutions, in a manner not provided for in this Directive or a delegated act.

(a)

all suppliers and dealers established in their territory fulfil the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6;

(b)

with respect to products covered by this Directive, the display of other labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions which do not comply with the requirements of this Directive and of the relevant delegated acts is prohibited, if such display is likely to mislead or confuse end-users with respect to the consumption of energy or, where relevant, other essential resources during use;

(c)

the introduction of the system of labels and fiches concerning energy consumption or conservation is accompanied by educational and promotional information campaigns aimed at promoting energy efficiency and more responsible use of energy by end-users;

(d)

appropriate measures are taken in order to encourage the relevant national or regional authorities responsible for implementing this Directive to cooperate and provide each other and the Commission with information in order to assist the application of this Directive. The administrative cooperation and exchange of information shall take the utmost advantage of electronic means of communication, shall be cost-effective and may be supported by relevant EU programmes. Such cooperation shall guarantee the security and confidentiality of processing and the protection of sensitive information provided during that procedure, where necessary. The Commission shall take appropriate measures in order to encourage and contribute to the cooperation between Member States referred to in this point.

(a)

information relating to the consumption of electric energy, other forms of energy and where relevant other essential resources during use, and supplementary information is, in accordance with delegated acts under this Directive, brought to the attention of end-users by means of a fiche and a label related to products offered for sale, hire, hire-purchase or displayed to end-users directly or indirectly by any means of distance selling, including the Internet;

(b)

the information referred to in point (a) is provided in respect of built-in or installed products only where required by the applicable delegated act;

(c)

any advertisement for a specific model of energy-related products covered by a delegated act under this Directive includes, where energy-related or price information is disclosed, a reference to the energy efficiency class of the product;

(d)

any technical promotional material concerning energy-related products which describes the specific technical parameters of a product, namely, technical manuals and manufacturers’ brochures, whether printed or online, is provided to end-users with the necessary information regarding energy consumption or shall include a reference to the energy efficiency class of the product.

(a)

suppliers placing on the market or putting into service products covered by a delegated act supply a label and a fiche in accordance with this Directive and the delegated act;

(b)

suppliers produce technical documentation which is sufficient to enable the accuracy of the information contained in the label and the fiche to be assessed. That technical documentation shall include:

To this end suppliers may use documentation already established in accordance with requirements laid down in relevant Union legislation;

(c)

suppliers make the technical documentation available for inspection purposes for a period ending five years after the last product concerned was manufactured.

Suppliers make available an electronic version of the technical documentation on request to the market surveillance authorities of the Member States and to the Commission within 10 working days on receipt of a request by the competent authority of a Member State or the Commission;

(d)

in respect of labelling and product information, suppliers provide the necessary labels free of charge to dealers.

Without prejudice to the suppliers’ choice of system for delivery of labels, suppliers promptly deliver labels on request from dealers;

(e)

in addition to the labels, suppliers provide a product fiche;

(f)

suppliers include a product fiche in all product brochures. Where product brochures are not provided by the supplier, the supplier provides fiches with other literature provided with the product;

(g)

suppliers are responsible for the accuracy of the labels and fiches that they supply;

(h)

suppliers are considered to have given consent to the publication of the information provided on the label or in the fiche.

(a)

dealers display labels properly, in a visible and legible manner, and make the fiche available in the product brochure or other literature that accompanies products when sold to end-users;

(b)

whenever a product covered by a delegated act is displayed, dealers attach an appropriate label, in the clearly visible position specified in the applicable delegated act, and in the relevant language version.

(a)

according to most recently available figures and considering the quantities placed on the Union market, the products shall have a significant potential for saving energy and, where relevant, other essential resources;

(b)

products with equivalent functionality available on the market shall have a wide disparity in the relevant performance levels;

(c)

the Commission shall take into account relevant Union legislation and self-regulation, such as voluntary agreements, which are expected to achieve the policy objectives more quickly or at lesser expense than mandatory requirements.

(a)

take into account those environmental parameters set out in Annex I, Part 1, to Directive 2009/125/EC which are identified as significant in the relevant implementing measure adopted under Directive 2009/125/EC and which are relevant for the end-user during use;

(b)

assess the impact of the act on the environment, end-users and manufacturers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in terms of competitiveness including on markets outside the Union, innovation, market access and costs and benefits;

(c)

carry out appropriate consultation with stakeholders;

(d)

set implementing date(s), any staged or transitional measures or periods, taking into account in particular possible impacts on SMEs or on specific product groups manufactured primarily by SMEs.

(a)

the exact definition of the type of products to be included;

(b)

the measurement standards and methods to be used in obtaining the information referred to in Article 1(1);

(c)

the details of the technical documentation required pursuant to Article 5;

(d)

the design and content of the label referred to in Article 4, which as far as possible shall have uniform design characteristics across product groups and shall in all cases be clearly visible and legible. The format of the label shall retain as a basis the classification using letters from A to G; the steps of the classification shall correspond to significant energy and cost savings from the end-user perspective.

Three additional classes may be added to the classification if required by technological progress. Those additional classes will be A+, A++, and A+++ for the most efficient class. In principle the total number of classes will be limited to seven, unless more classes are still populated.

The colour scale shall consist of no more than seven different colours from dark green to red. The colour code of only the highest class shall always be dark green. If there are more than seven classes, only the red colour can be duplicated.

The classification shall be reviewed in particular when a significant proportion of products on the internal market achieves the two highest energy efficiency classes and when additional savings may be achieved by further differentiating products.

Detailed criteria for a possible reclassification of products are, where appropriate, to be determined on a case-by-case basis in the relevant delegated act;

(e)

the location where the label shall be fixed to the product displayed and the manner in which the label and/or information are to be provided in the case of offers for sale as covered by Article 7. Where appropriate, the delegated acts may provide for the label to be attached to the product or printed on the packaging, or for the details of the labelling requirements for printing in catalogues, for distance selling and Internet sales;

(f)

the content and, where appropriate, the format and other details concerning the fiche or further information specified in Article 4 and Article 5(c). The information on the label shall also be included on the fiche;

(g)

the specific content of the label for advertising, including, as appropriate, the energy class and other relevant performance level(s) of the given product in a legible and visible form;

(h)

the duration of label classification(s), where appropriate, in accordance with point (d);

(i)

the level of accuracy in the declarations on the label and fiches;

(j)

the date for the evaluation and possible revision of the delegated act, taking into account the speed of technological progress.

(a)

the contribution of Article 4(c) to the aim of this Directive;

(b)

the effectiveness of Article 9(1);

(c)

in the light of technical evolution and the understanding by consumers of the label layout, the need for amending Article 10(4)(d).

18.6.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 153/13

(1)

Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings (4) has been amended (5). Since further substantive amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity.

(2)

An efficient, prudent, rational and sustainable utilisation of energy applies, inter alia, to oil products, natural gas and solid fuels, which are essential sources of energy, but also the leading sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

(3)

Buildings account for 40 % of total energy consumption in the Union. The sector is expanding, which is bound to increase its energy consumption. Therefore, reduction of energy consumption and the use of energy from renewable sources in the buildings sector constitute important measures needed to reduce the Union’s energy dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. Together with an increased use of energy from renewable sources, measures taken to reduce energy consumption in the Union would allow the Union to comply with the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and to honour both its long term commitment to maintain the global temperature rise below 2 °C, and its commitment to reduce, by 2020, overall greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 % below 1990 levels, and by 30 % in the event of an international agreement being reached. Reduced energy consumption and an increased use of energy from renewable sources also have an important part to play in promoting security of energy supply, technological developments and in creating opportunities for employment and regional development, in particular in rural areas.

(4)

Management of energy demand is an important tool enabling the Union to influence the global energy market and hence the security of energy supply in the medium and long term.

(5)

The European Council of March 2007 emphasised the need to increase energy efficiency in the Union so as to achieve the objective of reducing by 20 % the Union’s energy consumption by 2020 and called for a thorough and rapid implementation of the priorities established in the Commission Communication entitled ‘Action plan for energy efficiency: realising the potential’. That action plan identified the significant potential for cost-effective energy savings in the buildings sector. The European Parliament, in its resolution of 31 January 2008, called for the strengthening of the provisions of Directive 2002/91/EC, and has called at various times, on the latest occasion in its resolution of 3 February 2009 on the Second Strategic Energy Review, for the 20 % energy efficiency target in 2020 to be made binding. Moreover, Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020 (6), sets national binding targets for CO2 reduction for which energy efficiency in the building sector will be crucial, and Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (7) provides for the promotion of energy efficiency in the context of a binding target for energy from renewable sources accounting for 20 % of total Union energy consumption by 2020.

(6)

The European Council of March 2007 reaffirmed the Union’s commitment to the Union-wide development of energy from renewable sources by endorsing a mandatory target of a 20 % share of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Directive 2009/28/EC establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources.

(7)

It is necessary to lay down more concrete actions with a view to achieving the great unrealised potential for energy savings in buildings and reducing the large differences between Member States’ results in this sector.

(8)

Measures to improve further the energy performance of buildings should take into account climatic and local conditions as well as indoor climate environment and cost-effectiveness. These measures should not affect other requirements concerning buildings such as accessibility, safety and the intended use of the building.

(9)

The energy performance of buildings should be calculated on the basis of a methodology, which may be differentiated at national and regional level. That includes, in addition to thermal characteristics, other factors that play an increasingly important role such as heating and air-conditioning installations, application of energy from renewable sources, passive heating and cooling elements, shading, indoor air-quality, adequate natural light and design of the building. The methodology for calculating energy performance should be based not only on the season in which heating is required, but should cover the annual energy performance of a building. That methodology should take into account existing European standards.

(10)

It is the sole responsibility of Member States to set minimum requirements for the energy performance of buildings and building elements. Those requirements should be set with a view to achieving the cost-optimal balance between the investments involved and the energy costs saved throughout the lifecycle of the building, without prejudice to the right of Member States to set minimum requirements which are more energy efficient than cost-optimal energy efficiency levels. Provision should be made for the possibility for Member States to review regularly their minimum energy performance requirements for buildings in the light of technical progress.

(11)

The objective of cost-effective or cost-optimal energy efficiency levels may, in certain circumstances, for example in the light of climatic differences, justify the setting by Member States of cost-effective or cost-optimal requirements for building elements that would in practice limit the installation of building products that comply with standards set by Union legislation, provided that such requirements do not constitute an unjustifiable market barrier.

(12)

When setting energy performance requirements for technical building systems, Member States should use, where available and appropriate, harmonised instruments, in particular testing and calculation methods and energy efficiency classes developed under measures implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (8) and Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products (9), with a view to ensuring coherence with related initiatives and minimise, to the extent possible, potential fragmentation of the market.

(13)

This Directive is without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The term ‘incentive’ used in this Directive should not therefore be interpreted as constituting State aid.

(14)

The Commission should lay down a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements. Member States should use this framework to compare the results with the minimum energy performance requirements which they have adopted. Should significant discrepancies, i.e. exceeding 15 %, exist between the calculated cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements and the minimum energy performance requirements in force, Member States should justify the difference or plan appropriate steps to reduce the discrepancy. The estimated economic lifecycle of a building or building element should be determined by Member States, taking into account current practices and experience in defining typical economic lifecycles. The results of this comparison and the data used to reach these results should be regularly reported to the Commission. These reports should enable the Commission to assess and report on the progress of Member States in reaching cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements.

(15)

Buildings have an impact on long-term energy consumption. Given the long renovation cycle for existing buildings, new, and existing buildings that are subject to major renovation, should therefore meet minimum energy performance requirements adapted to the local climate. As the application of alternative energy supply systems is not generally explored to its full potential, alternative energy supply systems should be considered for new buildings, regardless of their size, pursuant to the principle of first ensuring that energy needs for heating and cooling are reduced to cost-optimal levels.

(16)

Major renovations of existing buildings, regardless of their size, provide an opportunity to take cost-effective measures to enhance energy performance. For reasons of cost-effectiveness, it should be possible to limit the minimum energy performance requirements to the renovated parts that are most relevant for the energy performance of the building. Member States should be able to choose to define a ‘major renovation’ either in terms of a percentage of the surface of the building envelope or in terms of the value of the building. If a Member State decides to define a major renovation in terms of the value of the building, values such as the actuarial value, or the current value based on the cost of reconstruction, excluding the value of the land upon which the building is situated, could be used.

(17)

Measures are needed to increase the number of buildings which not only fulfil current minimum energy performance requirements, but are also more energy efficient, thereby reducing both energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. For this purpose Member States should draw up national plans for increasing the number of nearly zero-energy buildings and regularly report such plans to the Commission.

(18)

Union financial instruments and other measures are being put into place or adapted with the aim of stimulating energy efficiency-related measures. Such financial instruments at Union level include, inter alia, Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development Fund (10), amended to allow increased investments in energy efficiency in housing; the public-private partnership on a ‘European energy-efficient buildings’ initiative to promote green technologies and the development of energy-efficient systems and materials in new and renovated buildings; the EC-European Investment Bank (EIB) initiative ‘EU sustainable energy financing initiative’ which aims to enable, inter alia, investments for energy efficiency and the EIB-led ‘Marguerite Fund’: the 2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure; Council Directive 2009/47/EC of 5 May 2009 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards reduced rates of value added tax (11), structural and cohesion funds instrument Jeremie (Joint European Resources for micro to medium enterprises); the Energy Efficiency Finance Facility; the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme including the Intelligent Energy Europe II Programme focused specifically on removing market barriers related to energy efficiency and energy from renewable sources through for example the technical assistance facility ELENA (European Local Energy Assistance); the Covenant of Mayors; the Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme; the ICT Policy Support Programme 2010, and the Seventh Research Framework Programme. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also provides funding with the aim of stimulating energy-efficiency-related measures.

(19)

Union financial instruments should be used to give practical effect to the objectives of this Directive, without however substituting national measures. In particular, they should be used for providing appropriate and innovative means of financing to catalyse investment in energy efficiency measures. They could play an important role in the development of national, regional and local energy efficiency funds, instruments, or mechanisms, which deliver such financing possibilities to private property owners, to small and medium-sized enterprises and to energy efficiency service companies.

(20)

In order to provide the Commission with adequate information, Member States should draw up lists of existing and proposed measures, including those of a financial nature, other than those required by this Directive, which promote the objectives of this Directive. The existing and proposed measures listed by Member States may include, in particular, measures that aim to reduce existing legal and market barriers and encourage investments and/or other activities to increase the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings, thus potentially contributing to reducing energy poverty. Such measures could include, but should not be limited to, free or subsidised technical assistance and advice, direct subsidies, subsidised loan schemes or low interest loans, grant schemes and loan guarantee schemes. The public authorities and other institutions which provide those measures of a financial nature could link the application of such measures to the indicated energy performance and the recommendations from energy performance certificates.

(21)

In order to limit the reporting burden on Member States it should be possible to integrate the reports required by this Directive into the Energy Efficiency Action Plans referred to in Article 14(2) of Directive 2006/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services (12). The public sector in each Member State should lead the way in the field of energy performance of buildings, and therefore the national plans should set more ambitious targets for the buildings occupied by public authorities.

(22)

The prospective buyer and tenant of a building or building unit should, in the energy performance certificate, be given correct information about the energy performance of the building and practical advice on improving such performance. Information campaigns may serve to further encourage owners and tenants to improve the energy performance of their building or building unit. Owners and tenants of commercial buildings should also be encouraged to exchange information regarding actual energy consumption, in order to ensure that all the data are available to make informed decisions about necessary improvements. The energy performance certificate should also provide information about the actual impact of heating and cooling on the energy needs of the building, on its primary energy consumption and on its carbon dioxide emissions.

(23)

Public authorities should lead by example and should endeavour to implement the recommendations included in the energy performance certificate. Member States should include within their national plans measures to support public authorities to become early adopters of energy efficiency improvements and to implement the recommendations included in the energy performance certificate as soon as feasible.

(24)

Buildings occupied by public authorities and buildings frequently visited by the public should set an example by showing that environmental and energy considerations are being taken into account and therefore those buildings should be subject to energy certification on a regular basis. The dissemination to the public of information on energy performance should be enhanced by clearly displaying these energy performance certificates, in particular in buildings of a certain size which are occupied by public authorities or which are frequently visited by the public, such as shops and shopping centres, supermarkets, restaurants, theatres, banks and hotels.

(25)

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of air-conditioning systems in European countries. This creates considerable problems at peak load times, increasing the cost of electricity and disrupting the energy balance. Priority should be given to strategies which enhance the thermal performance of buildings during the summer period. To that end, there should be focus on measures which avoid overheating, such as shading and sufficient thermal capacity in the building construction, and further development and application of passive cooling techniques, primarily those that improve indoor climatic conditions and the micro-climate around buildings.

(26)

Regular maintenance and inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems by qualified personnel contributes to maintaining their correct adjustment in accordance with the product specification and in that way ensures optimal performance from an environmental, safety and energy point of view. An independent assessment of the entire heating and air-conditioning system should occur at regular intervals during its lifecycle in particular before its replacement or upgrading. In order to minimise the administrative burden on building owners and tenants, Member States should endeavour to combine inspections and certifications as far as possible.

(27)

A common approach to the energy performance certification of buildings and to the inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems, carried out by qualified and/or accredited experts, whose independence is to be guaranteed on the basis of objective criteria, will contribute to a level playing field as regards efforts made in Member States to energy saving in the buildings sector and will introduce transparency for prospective owners or users with regard to energy performance in the Union property market. In order to ensure the quality of energy performance certificates and of the inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems throughout the Union, an independent control mechanism should be established in each Member State.

(28)

Since local and regional authorities are critical for the successful implementation of this Directive, they should be consulted and involved, as and when appropriate in accordance with applicable national legislation, on planning issues, the development of programmes to provide information, training and awareness-raising, and on the implementation of this Directive at national or regional level. Such consultations may also serve to promote the provision of adequate guidance to local planners and building inspectors to carry out the necessary tasks. Furthermore, Member States should enable and encourage architects and planners to properly consider the optimal combination of improvements in energy efficiency, use of energy from renewable sources and use of district heating and cooling when planning, designing, building and renovating industrial or residential areas.

(29)

Installers and builders are critical for the successful implementation of this Directive. Therefore, an adequate number of installers and builders should, through training and other measures, have the appropriate level of competence for the installation and integration of the energy efficient and renewable energy technology required.

(30)

Member States should take account of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (13) with regard to the mutual recognition of professional experts which are addressed by this Directive, and the Commission should continue its activities under the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme on guidelines and recommendations for standards for the training of such professional experts.

(31)

In order to enhance the transparency of energy performance in the Union’s non-residential property market, uniform conditions for a voluntary common certification scheme for the energy performance of non-residential buildings should be established. In accordance with Article 291 TFEU, rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers shall be laid down in advance by a regulation adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. Pending the adoption of that new regulation, Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (14) continues to apply, with the exception of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, which is not applicable.

(32)

The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU in respect of the adaptation to technical progress of certain parts of the general framework set out in Annex I, and in respect of the establishment of a methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(33)

Since the objective of this Directive, namely of enhancing the energy performance of buildings, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, due to the complexity of the buildings sector and the inability of the national housing markets to adequately address the challenges of energy efficiency, and can by the reason of the scale and the effects of the action be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principles of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(34)

The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive change as compared with Directive 2002/91/EC. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises under that Directive.

(35)

This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directive 2002/91/EC.

(36)

In accordance with point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making (15), Member States are encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interest of the Union, their own tables, illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public,

(a)

the common general framework for a methodology for calculating the integrated energy performance of buildings and building units;

(b)

the application of minimum requirements to the energy performance of new buildings and new building units;

(c)

the application of minimum requirements to the energy performance of:

(d)

national plans for increasing the number of nearly zero-energy buildings;

(e)

energy certification of buildings or building units;

(f)

regular inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems in buildings; and

(g)

independent control systems for energy performance certificates and inspection reports.

1.

‘building’ means a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate;

2.

‘nearly zero-energy building’ means a building that has a very high energy performance, as determined in accordance with Annex I. The nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should be covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby;

3.

‘technical building system’ means technical equipment for the heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, lighting or for a combination thereof, of a building or building unit;

4.

‘energy performance of a building’ means the calculated or measured amount of energy needed to meet the energy demand associated with a typical use of the building, which includes, inter alia, energy used for heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water and lighting;

5.

‘primary energy’ means energy from renewable and non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process;

6.

‘energy from renewable sources’ means energy from renewable non-fossil sources, namely wind, solar, aerothermal, geothermal, hydrothermal and ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases;

7.

‘building envelope’ means the integrated elements of a building which separate its interior from the outdoor environment;

8.

‘building unit’ means a section, floor or apartment within a building which is designed or altered to be used separately;

9.

‘building element’ means a technical building system or an element of the building envelope;

10.

‘major renovation’ means the renovation of a building where:

Member States may choose to apply option (a) or (b).

11.

‘European standard’ means a standard adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute and made available for public use;

12.

‘energy performance certificate’ means a certificate recognised by a Member State or by a legal person designated by it, which indicates the energy performance of a building or building unit, calculated according to a methodology adopted in accordance with Article 3;

13.

‘cogeneration’ means simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and electrical and/or mechanical energy;

14.

‘cost-optimal level’ means the energy performance level which leads to the lowest cost during the estimated economic lifecycle, where:

The cost-optimal level shall lie within the range of performance levels where the cost benefit analysis calculated over the estimated economic lifecycle is positive;

15.

‘air-conditioning system’ means a combination of the components required to provide a form of indoor air treatment, by which temperature is controlled or can be lowered;

16.

‘boiler’ means the combined boiler body-burner unit, designed to transmit to fluids the heat released from burning;

17.

‘effective rated output’ means the maximum calorific output, expressed in kW, specified and guaranteed by the manufacturer as being deliverable during continuous operation while complying with the useful efficiency indicated by the manufacturer;

18.

‘heat pump’ means a machine, a device or installation that transfers heat from natural surroundings such as air, water or ground to buildings or industrial applications by reversing the natural flow of heat such that it flows from a lower to a higher temperature. For reversible heat pumps, it may also move heat from the building to the natural surroundings;

19.

‘district heating’ or ‘district cooling’ means the distribution of thermal energy in the form of steam, hot water or chilled liquids, from a central source of production through a network to multiple buildings or sites, for the use of space or process heating or cooling.

(a)

buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historical merit, in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance;

(b)

buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities;

(c)

temporary buildings with a time of use of two years or less, industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand and non-residential agricultural buildings which are in use by a sector covered by a national sectoral agreement on energy performance;

(d)

residential buildings which are used or intended to be used for either less than four months of the year or, alternatively, for a limited annual time of use and with an expected energy consumption of less than 25 % of what would be the result of all-year use;

(e)

stand-alone buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50 m2.

(a)

decentralised energy supply systems based on energy from renewable sources;

(b)

cogeneration;

(c)

district or block heating or cooling, particularly where it is based entirely or partially on energy from renewable sources;

(d)

heat pumps.

(a)

heating systems;

(b)

hot water systems;

(c)

air-conditioning systems;

(d)

large ventilation systems;

(a)

by 31 December 2020, all new buildings are nearly zero-energy buildings; and

(b)

after 31 December 2018, new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities are nearly zero-energy buildings.

(a)

the Member State’s detailed application in practice of the definition of nearly zero-energy buildings, reflecting their national, regional or local conditions, and including a numerical indicator of primary energy use expressed in kWh/m2 per year. Primary energy factors used for the determination of the primary energy use may be based on national or regional yearly average values and may take into account relevant European standards;

(b)

intermediate targets for improving the energy performance of new buildings, by 2015, with a view to preparing the implementation of paragraph 1;

(c)

information on the policies and financial or other measures adopted in the context of paragraphs 1 and 2 for the promotion of nearly zero-energy buildings, including details of national requirements and measures concerning the use of energy from renewable sources in new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovation in the context of Article 13(4) of Directive 2009/28/EC and Articles 6 and 7 of this Directive.

(a)

the effectiveness, the appropriateness of the level, and the actual amount used, of structural funds and framework programmes that were used for increasing energy efficiency in buildings, especially in housing;

(b)

the effectiveness of the use of funds from the EIB and other public finance institutions;

(c)

the coordination of Union and national funding and other forms of support that can act as a leverage for stimulating investments in energy efficiency and the adequacy of such funds for achieving Union objectives.

(a)

measures carried out in connection with a major renovation of the building envelope or technical building system(s); and

(b)

measures for individual building elements independent of a major renovation of the building envelope or technical building system(s).

(a)

on a common certification of the whole building; or

(b)

on the assessment of another representative building unit with the same energy-relevant characteristics in the same building.

(a)

buildings or building units which are constructed, sold or rented out to a new tenant; and

(b)

buildings where a total useful floor area over 500 m2 is occupied by a public authority and frequently visited by the public. On 9 July 2015, this threshold of 500 m2 shall be lowered to 250 m2.

—

buildings having an energy performance certificate,

—

building units in a building having an energy performance certificate, and

—

building units having an energy performance certificate,