Energy certificate

In just a month Portugal will have implemented the first step of Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings. This year all new buildings with over 1000 square meters needs a certificate of their energy performance. As of 2009 all buildings irrespective of age needs such an energy certificate in order to be sold or rented.

Just reading the Portuguese news paper it only seems to be energy rating just as dish washer and similar already have (the A-E rating system). Hopefully this will encourage improved energy performance, ie better and more intelligent use of energy. It might even lead to more spread use of self sufficient houses. But as noted earlier such an transition might take up to 100 years. At least very old houses are with stones. But newer houses are based on a concrete skeleton with hollow tiles as walls. The life of those might only be 20 years so the turnover to efficient houses might be lower than 100 years?

And here is the Portuguese law. Both it and the EC regulation above mentions a minimum energy efficiency but no numbers are mentioned in either text?!

We shall see.

Even better, this legislation accompanied by a few other laws Decreto-Lei 79/2006 in its article 32 par 2 basically says that renewable energy such as solar panels on the buildings itself is mandatory unless the owner can show that it is not economically viable. What a shocker! I am stunned. This is absolutely amazing? Perhaps not the best way to get understanding for renewable energy, but still!!!