Germany: impact, compliance and control of legislation

The implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) did not change the national energy performance requirements in Germany, but it has had a ground-breaking effect on energy certification. In consequence, the German building stock has not become more energy efficient, but energy efficiency has reached a higher level of visibility with certificates for new and existing buildings and especially for public buildings. The main change besides the certificates though was the development of a new holistic calculation method that includes heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water and lighting. This paper describes the way in which Germany is handling EPBD compliance and control. The overall implementation status of Germany is described in greater detail in earlier information paper P 73 (www.buildup.eu/publications/1383).