The Passive House Standard referred to is a standard developed and controlled by the Passive House Institute in Germany. It would not therefore be appropriate to adopt it as a mandatory standard having regard to the principles of fair competition enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings requires EU Member States to ensure that all new buildings (including dwellings) will be nearly zero-energy buildings by 31 December 2020. The Directive broadly defines a ‘nearly zero-energy building’ as a building with a high energy performance where the very low amount of energy required should, to a very significant extent, be met by energy from renewable sources, including renewable energy produced onsite or nearby. The Directive also requires each Member State in setting its energy performance standards to undertake a study every five years on the lifecycle cost of the representative energy performance solutions available within its economy and to ensure that the regulated requirements are set within the range of most cost optimal solutions. In this context, Ireland has been making significant progress in terms of improving the energy performance of dwellings. Ireland’s arrangements for meeting its nearly zero energy buildings obligations are set out in the plan Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Ireland – Planning for 2020 and Beyond (November 2012) which is available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,42487,en.pdf.
The required cost optimal studies, including the lifecycle costing calculations which take account of energy savings for a period of 30 years, for nearly zero energy dwellings, were commissioned by my Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in 2013 and are available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: ttp://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/EPBDReports/.
In the case of dwellings, the specified Nearly Zero Energy obligation is such that the regulated energy load (i.e. energy used for space heating, water heating, fixed lighting and ventilation) in a typical dwelling will be 45 kWh/m2/annum, a very significant proportion of which will come from renewable energy sources. Currently, a typical dwelling built to comply with the Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011 will have a regulated energy load which should not exceed 59 kWh/m2/annum. Clearly, therefore, one further upgrade of Part L of the Building Regulations will be necessary in advance of 2020 in order to ensure that Ireland meets its nearly zero energy obligation for dwellings by 2020.
In relation to international best practice, it is worth noting that Ireland’s energy performance standard for dwellings under Building Regulations (Part L Amendment) Regulations 2011 is recognised by the Global Building Performance Network as being among the leading statutory standards in the world, as may be seen from the comparison published on the Network’s website at the following weblink: http://www.gbpn.org/databases-tools/purpose-policy-tool-new-buildings.
All changes to building regulations are preceded by a comprehensive public consultation process which includes the publication of a rigorous regulatory impact assessment outlining the significant implications, including the cost implications of the proposed changes.
