Directive 2002/91 - Energy performance of buildings - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 2002/91
Original proposal	COM(2001)226
CELEX number i	32002L0091

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Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings

Official Journal L 001 , 04/01/2003 P. 0065 - 0071

Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 16 December 2002

on the energy performance of buildings

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4),

Whereas:

• (1) 

  Article 6 of the Treaty requires environmental protection requirements to be integrated into the definition and implementation of Community policies and actions.

• (2) 

  The natural resources, to the prudent and rational utilisation of which Article 174 of the Treaty refers, include oil products, natural gas and solid fuels, which are essential sources of energy but also the leading sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

• (3) 

  Increased energy efficiency constitutes an important part of the package of policies and measures needed to comply with the Kyoto Protocol and should appear in any policy package to meet further commitments.

• (4) 

  Demand management of energy is an important tool enabling the Community to influence the global energy market and hence the security of energy supply in the medium and long term.

• (5) 

  In its conclusions of 30 May 2000 and of 5 December 2000, the Council endorsed the Commission's action plan on energy efficiency and requested specific measures in the building sector.

• (6) 

  The residential and tertiary sector, the major part of which is buildings, accounts for more than 40 % of final energy consumption in the Community and is expanding, a trend which is bound to increase its energy consumption and hence also its carbon dioxide emissions.

• (7) 

  Council Directive 93/76/EEC of 13 September 1993 to limit carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy efficiency (SAVE)(5), which requires Member States to develop, implement and report on programmes in the field of energy efficiency in the building sector, is now starting to show some important benefits. However, a complementary legal instrument is needed to lay down more concrete actions with a view to achieving the great unrealised potential for energy savings and reducing the large differences between Member States' results in this sector.

• (8) 

  Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products(6) requires construction works and their heating, cooling and ventilation installations to be designed and built in such a way that the amount of energy required in use will be low, having regard to the climatic conditions of the location and the occupants.

• (9) 

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

• (10) 

  The energy performance of buildings should be calculated on the basis of a methodology, which may be differentiated at regional level, that includes, in addition to thermal insulation other factors that play an increasingly important role such as heating and air-conditioning installations, application of renewable energy sources and design of the building. A common approach to this process, carried out by...

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