THE ENERGY FUTURE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS IN BRUSSELS: BETWEEN PRESERVATION AND PERFORMANCE

THE SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE “EPBWORKS” REGULATION

As a first step, it is important to high-Light that the EPB does not apply to all buildings and to all occupancies. The European Directive specifies exceptions, including places of worship, industrial or craft workshops, and temporary structures, among others. Only buildings occupied on a continuous basis and in which energy is used for people's comfort come within the scope of the EPB. What's more, the “EPB Works” regulation only applies within the context of an application for planning permission. It does not therefore apply to works that involve only renovations that are identical to the original building. It concerns all new buildings and, in buildings undergoing renovation, only buildings on which works are being carried out on the envelope and that may potentially influence the energy efficiency of the building. It does not therefore concern maintenance, painting or application of rendering without insulation.

THE EPB UNIT, NATURE OF WORKS AND OCCUPANCIES

It is the nature of the works and the occupancy that determines the EPB requirements applicable to a project. In order to find out what these requirements are, the project is split into buildings and EPB units. While the meaning of building is clear to everyone, that of unit needs to be explained as it is specific to the EPB. An EPB unit is a part of a building or a building complex. It is formed by a group of adjoining premises which are used for a single occupancy and which could be sold or rented separately. It typically concerns an apartment, a house, an office building or a school. It is on the basis of the unit that the nature of the works and the occupancy are determined.

The EPB Regulation defines four distinct categories of work (table 1):

1° New units (NU) which correspond to new-build projects, e.g. a house constructed on a greenfield site.

2° Units considered as new (UCN). These have caused the most ink to be spilled. This category is the result of an amalgamation between units that have been extensively renovated and units considered as new. Units considered as new are defined as units where works are carried out on at least 75% of their heat loss surface and by the replacement of all the technical installations. This category is only encountered very rarely: it concerns, for the most part, buildings that are completely stripped and of which only the structure is retained. It should be specified that the heat loss surface corresponds to all of the thermal envelope, that is to say the façades, roof, floor slab, etc.

3° Extensively renovated units (ERU] which are defined as units where works are carried out on at least 50% of their heat loss surface and on at least one or two technical installations, depending on the occupancy.

4° Finally, simply renovated units (SRU) which are defined as units where works are carried out on the heat loss surface and on technical installations that are not covered under the other definitions.

Extensively renovated units and simply renovated units can be distinguished from each other by different procedures. However, currently, the requirements are strictly the same.

Table 1

Summary of nature of works. The EPB requirements for high energy efficiency inspired by the passive standard only apply to new units and units considered as new, and only for three types of occupancy: housing, offices and schools (source: BE).

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