The original Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) was adopted in 2002 & required national governments to adopt mandatory minimum energy performance standards & energy performance certification for buildings. The Directive aimed to create a tool for communicating a building's energy performance & to drive the sector towards more efficient buildings. The legislation allowed national governments a considerable degree of flexibility in how the rules were implemented in national law. This led to different levels of standards in each country & to a variety of different national systems of energy performance certificates. Another limitation of the original Directive was that its major provisions applied only to buildings greater than 1000m2. With the growing focus on energy efficiency & the need to meet the EU's climate & energy targets, many felt that the 2002 Directive was not achieving its objectives & a revised Directive was adopted in May 2010. The new Directive requires a more robust & ambitious framework to be put in place at national level including; All new buildings to be 'nearly zero energy' by 2020; Minimum energy performance requirements for all building elements which are retrofitted or replaced; Minimum energy performance requirements for buildings undergoing "major" renovation. Member States encouraged to put in place fiscal incentives; Information on improvement options to be provided on Energy Performance Certificates; 1000m2 threshold removed to extend the Directive to almost all of the housing stock. Member States now have until July 2012 to put the requirements into national law. As the Directive leaves a lot of flexibility to the Member States, implementation at national level will be key in determining how effective the rules will be in encouraging energy efficiency in buildings & thus in promoting energy efficient glazing. Given the vital role of glazing in determining the energy performance of a building, an ambitious application of the rules can generate increased sales & offers the opportunity to drive the market toward more high performance glazing products. This document highlights the key business opportunities for the glazing sector stemming from the EPBD.
