The new Buildings Energy Act (GEG) comes into force 1st November 2020. The law will replace the three previous acts, Energy Saving Act (EnEG), Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) and Renewable-Energies-Heat Act (EEWärmeG) to harmonise and update the legislation concerning energy in buildings in Germany. The new GEG contains requirements for the energy performance of buildings, the creation and use of energy performance certificates, and the use of renewable energies in buildings.
Regarding energy performance certificates (EPCs), several changes are entailed:
- The authorisation to issue EPCs will not only be standardised for new and existing buildings but for residential and non-residential buildings as well. Accordingly, graduates of commercial training in the construction sector (technicians / master craftsmen) will be able to issue EPCs for non-residential buildings in the future.
- From November on, the provision of on-site inspections or suitable visual material, for example images or models, will be mandatory.
- Compulsory is also the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions. The information is to be specified as carbon dioxide emissions of a building, resulting from the calculated primary energy demand or measured primary energy consumption, to indicate the climate impact.
The European requirements for the total energy consumption of buildings (EPBD – Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) are fully implemented and the regulation on the nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) is integrated into the unified energy saving law.
Further official information can be found here:
