Legislation to foment the use of renewable energies and solar thermal energy in building construction: The case of Spain - Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications - page 651

• Strengthening of the national consumption of renewable energy through mecha-

nisms to achieve a zero balance (PER).

This final item is defined as a compensatory energy system that allows consumers
who produce part of their own electricity to use the same system to store the surplus.
Such a system is especially interesting for electricity generation systems with non-
manageable energy sources, such as wind or solar power, since it avoids accumulation
of energy in the installation itself (M&I, 2011).
In the case of the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling as well as for
domestic hot water, these measures include financial support for the following:

•

The diffusion, promotion, and adaptation of solar (photovoltaic, thermal and ther-
moelectric) installations that foment the horizontal penetration of this renewable
energy in all sectors (building construction, agriculture and livestock, industry and
services);

• The development of the necessary mechanisms to foment desalination plants

based on solar technologies (i.e. low-temperature thermal, photovoltaic and
thermoelectric installations);

• The promotion of projects to optimize solar thermal installations, which include

comprehensive global solutions (domestic hot water, heating and cooling).

Other measures include awareness campaigns to change social perceptions of solar
energy. These include programmes to disseminate the benefits of solar energy as well
as the rights and obligations of its users. In addition, these measures encourage the
professionalization of the sector.

20.3.2 Basic procedure for the certification
of energy efficiency
As previously mentioned, Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament on the
energy performance of buildings establishes the obligation to provide buyers or tenants
of buildings with an energy performance certificate (EPC) in all EU countries.
In Spain, energy performance certificates were transposed into national legis-
lation in Royal Decree 47/2007 . As stated in this law, such certificates in Spain
should include objective information regarding the energy characteristics of buildings
to enable the evaluation and comparison of their energy performance. The purpose
is to favour energy-efficient buildings and encourage investments in energy economy.
In this respect, energy labels (see Figure 20.3.1) provide users with clear information
about the energy performance of buildings, which goes beyond a strict compliance
with building codes.
Moreover, a building's energy efficiency can be assessed by means of computer
programs that are capable of simulating the thermal performance of a construction 15 .

payment for the services delivered is based (either wholly or in part) on the achievement of
energy efficiency improvements and on the meeting of the other agreed performance criteria.
15 In Spain, the software program used for this purpose is CALENDER, which is available
at: http://www.minetur.gob.es/energia/desarrollo/eficienciaenergetica/certificacionenergetica/
programacalener/paginas/documentosreconocidos.aspx