Frankfurt am Main, November 9th, 2018. EuroWindoor AISBL as a strong supporter of the EPBD welcomes a more holistic approach recognizing the complementary potential of Energy efficiency, healthy indoor comfort and positive impacts on the environment. Of absolute importance is now implementation of the 2018-amended EPBD Directive into national legislation.
EuroWindoor participated as a stakeholder in the political process in the revision of the EPBD. After publishing the Directive (EU) 2018/844 amending the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive it is key now to highlight the benefits of daylight, solar gains, solar protection and natural ventilation. Following points should be considered in the implementation into the national legislation:
- Increasing the replacement rate of windows as part of the long-term renovation strategy
The renovation rate needs to grow to 3%/year adding 1 million more jobs. Triggering renovations in Europe is key in obtaining large energy use reductions in our buildings, and the replacement of windows plays a crucial role in achieving to reduce CO2 emissions. A new study from Ingenieurbüro Hauser (IBH) on “Pan-European results on energy savings due to window replacement (2018) shows that window replacement policies based on energy balance approach can result in huge energy savings. - Focus on daylight, indoor climate aspects and a dynamic building envelope to ensure that European citizens live and work in healthier buildings
We spend 90% our time indoors, while studies indicate that more than 30% of all building stock in Europe is poorly ventilated, often humid, lacking daylight and are often the cause for chronical diseases (Fraunhofer, 2016). Therefore, policies must improve indoor comfort conditions. - The energy balance principle shall be defined in the specific heating and cooling climatic conditions to assess the energy performance of windows
Currently, Member States have regulated windows mainly by UW-values (heat-loss). However, when the effect of solar gain is left out, the real performance is not reflected and this is not in line with the objectives of sustainable development or giving the right assessment of a window’s real contribution to the performance of a building envelope.
Download of the EuroWindoor position on “Benefits of windows and glazed areas (September 2018)”