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Glossary termPublished inEPBD IV

Building

What does "Building" mean under EPBD IV?

A roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor environment

Defined in / by

Last updated: 14 October 2026.

Roof, walls and conditioned air

The definition has three parts, and a structure needs all of them. It must have a roof, it must have walls, and energy must be used to condition its indoor environment. A heated warehouse meets all three. An open-sided canopy over petrol pumps has a roof but no walls, so it is not a building in this sense.

The third part is the one that matters most in practice. EPBD IV writes its duties around energy used for conditioning, and a structure that is not heated, cooled or ventilated falls outside the definition however solid it is. The Directive treats car parks separately for that reason: a roofed car park is defined in Article 2, point (35), as a roofed construction that does not use energy to condition the indoor environment, and Article 10(3)(e) gives it its own solar rule.

Almost every duty in the Directive is written around this term or around a narrower one built on it: zero-emission building, residential building or building unit, non-residential building. The thresholds that decide which duties apply, such as useful floor area or the effective rated output of the heating system, are measured on a building as defined here.

Questions and answers

Is a roofed car park a building under EPBD IV?

Not as a rule. Article 2, point (35), defines a roofed car park as a roofed construction that does not use energy to condition the indoor environment, which is the element that makes a structure a building under point (1). Article 10(3)(e) sets a separate solar rule for new roofed car parks physically adjacent to buildings.

Does an unheated storage hall count as a building?

Under the EPBD IV definition, no, if no energy is used to condition its indoor environment. The definition requires a roof, walls and energy used for conditioning, all three.

Regulations

  • Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD IV)

    EPBD IV is Directive (EU) 2024/1275, the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Netherlands put its first tranche into force on 29 May 2026 (Stb. 2026, 103), with duties staged to 2033: recharging points in existing car parks from 1 January 2027, solar and lighting control from 1 January 2028. Energy label D by 2030 is still a proposal.

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    Solar installations on new public and non-residential buildings above 250 m² (Article 10(3)(a))