Energy performance of a building

Typical use, not actual use

Two words in the definition decide how it works. The amount can be calculated or metered, so the Directive allows both a modelled figure and a measured one. And it is the energy for a typical use of the building, which is why two identical offices get the same energy performance even if one is used twice as long as the other. The five uses named are heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water and lighting; equipment such as computers or machinery is not part of it.

The energy performance is what the energy performance certificate reports. Article 19(2) requires the certificate to state the building's class on a closed scale from A to G, and the certificate must express the energy performance as a numeric indicator of primary energy use in kWh/(m².y). The calculation method itself comes from Article 4 and Annex I.

Most of the Directive's thresholds are set against this figure. Minimum energy performance requirements under Article 5, the thresholds for minimum energy performance standards under Article 9 and the maximum energy demand of a zero-emission building under Article 11 all compare a building's energy performance with a national limit.

The definition of reference floor area in point (52) ties the figure to floor space: it is the sum of the useful floor areas used for the energy performance assessment, which is how a total turns into a value per square metre.