Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 1.4
Label for the energy certification of a building in Spain. In Spanish (
left
) and in English
(
right
)
RD 238/2013 13th of April which updates the
Thermal Building Regulations
(RD 235/2013
2013b
), which was approved by RD 1027/2007, 20th of July
(RD 1027/2007
2007
).
Furthermore, a revision process of the actual regulations is currently ongoing,
which also comprises the TBC. The revised regulations were published by the end of
2013 (EPBD
2013
). At the same time, several courses of action have been developed
in terms of all new buildings becoming Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) from
the year 2020 onwards. These actions are being performed in two steps (EPBD
2013
). The first step makes reference to the update of the building energy efficiency
part inside the TBC (TBC DB HE) that was performed through 2013. It represents
a great change in the building energy efficiency requirements, and a substantial
reduction in the energy demand and maximum consumption values in comparison to
the ones that appear in the current TBC. On the other hand, the second step will be
accomplished in 2016-2017 when a regulatory definition of NZEB and the respective
requirements will be established in accordance with the Directive 2010/31/UE on
the energy performance of buildings; this will become mandatory after December
2018 for new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities, while it will be
for all new buildings by 2020.
However, it has been taken into account that people carry out most of their daily
activities inside buildings. For this reason, the compliance of the saving of energy
requirements defined by the regulations mentioned previously must not put users'
