Energy Performance of Buildings (Amendment) Regulations, 2020

L.N. 134 of 2020

BUILDING REGULATION ACT

(CAP. 513)

Energy Performance of Buildings (Amendment) Regulations, 2020

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 6(1) and (2) of

the Building Regulation Act, the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure

and Capital Projects, with concurrence of the Minister for Foreign and

European Affairs, has made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Energy Performance of

Buildings (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, transposing Directive

(EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 th

May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the performance of

Buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, and these

regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Energy

Performance of Buildings Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the

principal regulations".

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a) immediately after the definition

"building" there

shall be added the following new definition

" "building automation and control system" means a

system comprising all products, software and engineering

services that can support energy efficient, economical and

safe operation of technical building systems through

automatic controls and by facilitating the manual

management of those technical building systems;";

(b) immediately before the definition "heat pump" there

shall be added the following new definition

" "heat generator" means the part of a heating system

that generates useful heat using one or more of the

following processes

(a)

the combustion of fuels in, for example, a

boiler;

(b) the Joule effect, taking place in the

heating elements of an electric resistance heating

system;

(c) capturing heat from ambient air,

ventilation exhaust air, or a water or ground heat

source using a heat pump;";

(c) immediately after the definition "heat pump" there

shall be added the following new definition

" "heating system" means a combination of the

components required to provide a form of indoor air

treatment, by which the temperature is increased;";

(d)

the definition "technical building system" shall be

substituted by the following

" "technical building system" means technical

equipment for space heating, space cooling, ventilation,

domestic hot water, built-in lighting, building automation

and control, on-site electricity generation, or a combination

thereof, including those systems using energy from

renewable sources, of a building or building unit;".

Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 8 of the principal Amends

regulation 8 of

regulations shall be substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

"(2) Such requirements shall be applied to the renovated

building or building unit as a whole. Additionally or alternatively,

requirements may be applied to the renovated building elements and,

in relation to buildings undergoing major renovation, high-efficiency

alternative systems, in so far as this is technically, functionally and

economically feasible, shall be encouraged and the issues of healthy

indoor climate conditions, fire safety and risks related to intense

seismic activity shall be addressed.".

Immediately after regulation 8 of the principal regulations, Adds new

regulation to

there shall be added the following new regulation

the principal

regulations.

(1) The Building Regulation Board shall

establish a long-term renovation strategy to support the

renovation of the national stock of residential and non-

residential buildings, both public and private, into a

highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock

by 2050, facilitating the cost-effective transformation of

existing buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings. Each

long-term renovation strategy shall be submitted in

accordance with the applicable planning and reporting

obligations and shall encompass

(a) an overview of the national building

stock, based, as appropriate, on statistical sampling

and expected share of renovated buildings in 2020;

(b) the identification of cost-effective

approaches to renovation relevant to the building

type and climatic zone, considering potential

relevant trigger points, where applicable, in the life-

cycle of the building;

(c) policies and actions to stimulate cost-

effective deep renovation of buildings, including

staged deep renovation, and to support targeted

cost-effective measures and renovation for example

by introducing an optional scheme for building

renovation passports;

(d) an overview of policies and actions to

target the worst performing segments of the

national building stock, split-incentive dilemmas

and market failures, and an outline of relevant

national actions that contribute to the alleviation of

energy poverty;

(e) policies and actions to target all public

buildings;

(f) an overview of national initiatives to

promote smart technologies and well-connected

buildings and communities, as well as skills and

education in the construction and energy efficiency

sectors; and

(g) an evidence-based estimate of expected

energy savings and wider benefits, such as those

related to health, safety and air quality

Provided that to support the mobilisation of

investments into the renovation needed to achieve

the goals referred to in this regulation, the

competent authorities or bodies to which the

competent authorities have delegated responsibility,

shall facilitate access to appropriate mechanisms

for

(i) the aggregation of projects,

including by investment platforms or groups,

and by consortia of small and medium-sized

enterprises, to enable investor access as well

as packaged solutions for potential clients;

(ii) the reduction of the perceived risk

of energy efficiency operations for investors

and the private sector;

(iii)

the use of public funding to

leverage additional private-sector investment

or address specific market failures;

(iv)

guiding investments into an

energy efficient public building stock, in line

with Eurostat guidance; and

(v)

accessible and transparent

advisory tools, such as one-stop-shops for

consumers and energy advisory services, on

relevant energy efficiency renovations and

financing instruments.

(2) In its long-term renovation strategy, the

Building Regulation Board shall set out a roadmap with

measures and domestically established measurable

progress indicators, with a view to the long-term 2050

goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Union

by 80-95% compared to 1990, in order to ensure a highly

energy efficient and decarbonised national building stock

and in order to facilitate the cost-effective transformation

of existing buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings.

The roadmap shall include indicative milestones for

2030, 2040 and 2050, and specify how they contribute to

achieving the Union’s energy efficiency targets in

accordance with Directive 2012/27/EU.

(3) To support the development of the long-term

renovation strategy, the Building Regulation Board shall

carry out a public consultation on its long-term

renovation strategy prior to submitting it to the

Commission. A summary of the results of the public

consultation to the long-term renovation strategy shall be

annexed to the document intended to be submitted the

Commission

Provided that the modalities for consultation

shall be established in an inclusive way during the

implementation of its long-term renovation strategy

Provided further that the details of the

implementation of its most recent long-term renovation

strategy shall be annexed to the long-term renovation

strategy, including on the planned policies and actions

Provided further that the long-term renovation

strategy to address fire safety and risks related to intense

seismic activity affecting energy efficiency renovations

and the lifetime of buildings may be made use of.".

5. Immediately after sub-regulation (6) of regulation 9 of the

principal regulations, there shall be added the following new sub-

regulations

"(7) Where technically and economically feasible, new

buildings shall be equipped with self-regulating devices for the

separate regulation of the temperature in each room or, where justified,

in a designated heated zone of the building unit. In existing buildings,

the installation of such self-regulating devices shall be required when

heat generators are replaced, where technically and economically

feasible.

(8) New non-residential buildings and non-residential

buildings undergoing major renovation, with more than ten parking

spaces, shall be installed with at least one recharging point within the

meaning of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of

the Council and ducting infrastructure, namely conduits for electric

cables, for at least one in every five parking spaces to enable the

installation at a later stage of recharging points for electric vehicles

where

(a) the car park is located inside the building, and, for

major renovations, renovation measures include the car park or

the electrical infrastructure of the building; or

(b) the car park is physically adjacent to the building,

and, for major renovations, renovation measures include the car

park or the electrical infrastructure of the car park.

(9) The Minister shall lay down requirements for the

installation of a minimum number of recharging points for all non-

residential buildings with more than twenty parking spaces, by 1

January 2025

Provided that the Minister may decide not to lay down or

apply the requirements described in sub-regulations (8) and (9) of this

regulation to buildings owned and occupied by small and medium-

sized enterprises as defined in Title I of the Annex to Commission

Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

(10) New residential buildings and residential buildings

undergoing major renovation, with more than ten parking spaces, shall

be installed with ducting infrastructure, namely conduits for electric

cables, for every parking space to enable the installation, at a later

stage, of recharging points for electric vehicles, where

(a)

the car park is located inside the building, and, for

major renovations, renovation measures include the car park or

the electric infrastructure of the building; or

(b) the car park is physically adjacent to the building,

and, for major renovations, renovation measures include the car

park or the electrical infrastructure of the car park

Provided that the Minister may decide not to apply

sub-regulations (8), (9) and (10) to specific categories of

buildings where

(i) with regard to sub-regulations (8) and (10),

building permit applications or equivalent applications

have been submitted by 10 March 2021;

(ii) the cost of the recharging and ducting

installations exceeds 7% of the total cost of the major

renovation of the building;

(iii) a public building is already covered by

comparable requirements according to the transposition of

Directive 2014/94/EU.

(11) The Minister shall

(a) provide for measures in order to simplify the

deployment of recharging points in new and existing residential

and non-residential buildings and address possible regulatory

barriers, including permitting and approval procedures, without

prejudice to the property and tenancy law.

(b) consider the need for coherent policies for buildings,

soft and green mobility and urban planning.

(c) ensure that, when a technical building system is

installed, replaced or upgraded, the overall energy performance

of the altered part, and where relevant, of the complete altered

system, is assessed. The results shall be documented and passed

on to the building owner, so that they remain available and can

be used for the verification of compliance with the minimum

requirements laid down pursuant to sub-regulation (1) of this

Regulation and the issue of energy performance certificates.

Without prejudice to Regulation 13, the Building Regulation

Office shall decide whether to require the issuing of a new

energy performance certificate.".

6. Sub-regulation (3) of regulation 11 of the principal

regulations shall be substituted by the following

"(3) The Building Regulation Office shall link its financial

measures for energy efficiency improvements in the renovation of

buildings to the targeted or achieved energy savings, as determined by

one or more of the following criteria

(a) the energy performance of the equipment or material

used for the renovation; in which case, the equipment or material

used for the renovation is to be installed by an installer with the

relevant level of certification or qualification;

(b) standard values for calculation of energy savings in

buildings;

(c) the improvement achieved due to such renovation by

comparing energy performance certificates issued before and

after renovation;

(d)

the results of an energy audit;

(e) the results of another relevant, transparent and

proportionate method that shows the improvement in energy

performance

Provided that databases for energy performance certificates

shall allow data to be gathered on the measured or calculated energy

consumption of the buildings covered, including at least public

buildings for which an energy performance certificate, as referred to

and have been issued in accordance with regulation 12 and regulation

Provided further that at least aggregated anonymised data

compliant with Union and national data protection requirements shall

be made available on request for statistical and research purposes and

to the building owner.".

7. Regulation 17 shall be substituted by the following

(1) The Building Regulation Office shall

"Inspection of

provide all the necessary measures to establish regular

inspections of the accessible parts of heating systems or of

systems for combined space heating and ventilation, with

an effective rated output of over 70kW, such as the heat

generator, control system and circulation pump(s) used for

heating buildings. The inspection shall include an

assessment of the efficiency and sizing of the heat

generator compared with the heating requirements of the

building and, where relevant, consider the capabilities of

the heating system or of the system for combined space

heating and ventilation to optimise its performance under

typical or average operating conditions

Provided that where no changes have been

made to the heating system or to the system for combined

space heating and ventilation or to the heating

requirements of the building following an inspection

carried out pursuant to this regulation, the Building

Regulation Office may choose not to require the

assessment of the heat generator sizing to be repeated.

(2) Technical building systems that are explicitly

covered by an agreed energy performance criterion or a

contractual arrangement specifying an agreed level of

energy efficiency improvement, such as energy

performance contracting, or that are operated by a utility

or network operator and therefore subject to performance

monitoring measures on the system side, shall be exempt

from the requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1),

provided that the overall impact of such an approach is

equivalent to that resulting from sub-regulation (1).

(3) As an alternative to sub-regulation (1) and

provided that the overall impact is equivalent to that

resulting from sub-regulation (1), the Building

Regulations Office may opt to take measures to ensure the

provision of advice to users concerning the replacement of

heat generators, other modifications to the heating system

or to the system for combined space heating and

ventilation and alternative solutions to assess the

efficiency and appropriate size of those systems. Before

applying these alternative measures, the Building

Regulation Office shall, by means of submitting a report

to the Commission, document the equivalence of the

impact of those measures to the impact of the measures

referred to in sub-regulation (1). Such a report shall be

submitted in accordance with the applicable planning and

reporting obligations.

(4) The Building Regulation Office shall lay down

requirements to ensure that, where technically and

economically feasible, non-residential buildings with an

effective rated output for heating systems or systems for

combined space heating and ventilation of over 290kW

are equipped with building automation and control

systems by 2025. The building automation and control

systems shall be capable of

(a) continuously

monitoring,

logging,

analysing and allowing for adjusting energy use;

(b) benchmarking the building’s energy

efficiency, detecting losses in efficiency of technical

building systems, and informing the person

responsible for the facilities or technical building

management about opportunities for energy

efficiency improvement; and

(c) allowing communication with connected

technical building systems and other appliances

inside the building, and being interoperable with

technical building systems across different types of

proprietary

technologies,

devices

and

manufacturers.

(5) the Building Regulation Office may lay down

requirements to ensure that residential buildings are

equipped with

(a) the functionality of continuous electronic

monitoring that measures systems’ efficiency and

informs building owners or managers when it has

fallen significantly and when system servicing is

necessary; and

(b) effective control functionalities to ensure

optimum generation, distribution, storage and use of

energy.

(6) Buildings that comply with sub-regulation (4)

or sub-regulation (5) shall be exempt from the

requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1).".

8. Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

substituted by the following

(1) The Building Regulation Office shall

"Inspection of

provide the necessary measures to establish regular

inspections of the accessible parts of air-conditioning

systems or of systems for combined air-conditioning and

ventilation, with an effective rated output of over 70kW.

The inspection shall include an assessment of the

efficiency and sizing of the air-conditioning system

compared with the cooling requirements of the building

and, where relevant, consider the capabilities of the air-

conditioning system or of the system for combined air-

conditioning and ventilation to optimise its performance

under typical or average operating conditions

Provided that where no changes have been

made to the air-conditioning system or to the system for

combined air-conditioning and ventilation or to the

cooling requirements of the building following an

inspection carried out pursuant to this paragraph, the

Building Regulation Office may choose not to require the

assessment of the sizing of the air-conditioning system to

be repeated

Provided further that in the event that the

Building Regulation Office maintains more stringent

requirements pursuant to Article 1(3) of Directive 2010/

31/EU these shall be exempt from the obligation to notify

them to the Commission.

(2) Technical building systems that are explicitly

covered by an agreed energy performance criterion or a

contractual arrangement specifying an agreed level of

energy efficiency improvement, such as energy

performance contracting, or that are operated by a utility

or network operator and therefore subject to performance

monitoring measures on the system side, shall be exempt

from the requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1),

provided that the overall impact of such an approach is

equivalent to that resulting from sub-regulation (1).

(3) As an alternative to sub-regulation (1) and

provided that the overall impact is equivalent to that

resulting from sub-regulation (1), the Building

Regulation Office may opt to take measures to ensure the

provision of advice to users concerning the replacement

of air-conditioning systems or systems for combined air-

conditioning and ventilation, other modifications to the

air-conditioning system or system for combined air-

conditioning and ventilation and alternative solutions to

assess the efficiency and appropriate size of those

systems

Provided that before applying these

alternative measures, the Building Regulation Office

shall, by means of submitting a report to the

Commission, document the equivalence of the impact of

those measures to the impact of the measures referred to

in sub-regulation (1). Such a report shall be submitted in

accordance with the applicable planning and reporting

obligations.

(4) The Building Regulation Office shall provide

requirements to ensure that, where technically and

economically feasible, non-residential buildings with an

effective rated output for systems for air-conditioning or

systems for combined air-conditioning and ventilation of

over 290kW are equipped with building automation and

control systems by 2025. The building automation and

control systems shall be capable of

(a) continuously

monitoring,

logging,

analysing and allowing for adjusting energy use;

(b) benchmarking the building’s energy

efficiency, detecting losses in efficiency of

technical building systems, and informing the

person responsible for the facilities or technical

building management about opportunities for

energy efficiency improvement; and

(c) allowing

communication

with

connected technical building systems and other

appliances inside the building, and being

interoperable with technical building systems

across different types of proprietary technologies,

devices and manufacturers.

(5) The Building Regulation Office may lay

down requirements to ensure that residential buildings

are equipped with

(a) the

functionality

of

continuous

electronic monitoring that measures systems’

efficiency and informs building owners or

managers when it has fallen significantly and when

system servicing is necessary, and

(b) effective control functionalities to

ensure optimum generation, distribution, storage

and use of energy.

(6) Buildings that comply with sub-regulation (4)

or sub-regulation (5) shall be exempt from the

requirements laid down in sub-regulation (1).

(7) The owner of an air-conditioning system shall

obtain an inspection report by commissioning an

independent air-conditioning systems inspector, from the

list of registered air-conditioning system inspectors as

published and updated by the Building Regulation Office

at the time of inspection.

(8) The Building Regulation Office shall

establish the methodology for the inspection of air-

conditioning systems. The Building Regulation Office

shall also set-up and approve training courses for air-

conditioning systems inspectors.".

9. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 33 of the principal Amends

regulations shall be substituted by the following

"(2) The EPC assessor and the registered inspectors,

respectively, shall in particular provide information to the owners or

tenants of buildings on energy performance certificates, including their

purpose and objectives, on cost-effective measures and, where

appropriate, financial instruments, to improve the energy performance

of the building, and on replacing fossil fuel boilers with more

sustainable alternatives. Building Regulation Office shall provide the

information through accessible and transparent advisory tools such as

renovation advice and one-stop-shops.".

€1.17