The EU has set ambitious targets to ensure that from 2020 all new buildings consume very little energy and it has created the term “nearly Zero-Energy Building” or nZEB. But acknowledging the variations in building culture and climate throughout Europe, European building legislation (EPBD) does not prescribe a uniform approach to nZEBs.

By the end of next year, Member States must provide a definition for nearly Zero-Energy Buildings adapted to their national conditions and submit plans for increasing the number of nZEBs including specific targets per building category.

Concepts and concrete examples for low-energy or climate-neutral buildings already exist in many European countries and come from different sources. But the views on how such buildings should be defined, and the means and techniques to achieve almost ‘zero’ energy consumption levels show considerable differences. As a logical consequence, there is an urgent need for a common understanding of the principles for nZEBs.

To support the effective implementation of European buildings regulation, BPIE has therefore developed a tangible approach towards a sustainable definition for nearly Zero-Energy Buildings. The report contains an analysis of existing concepts related to low-energy buildings, outlines the key challenges and potential solutions for an nZEB definition, identifies a set of principles for nZEBs and finally applies these principles to reference buildings to assess the effects.

The objective is to guide policy makers as well as the key stakeholders, such as the building industry and building professionals, who will be involved in making low-energy buildings become a reality across Europe in less than a decade.

Read the report: here