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In Spain, the regulation of energy savings in buildings has evolved in parallel with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). With the upcoming Basic Document on Energy Saving of the Technical Building Code (CTE-DB-HE 2018), nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) are addressed for the first time, including both new buildings and renovated buildings. The goal of the present work is to present the innovations of the forthcoming modifications introduced by the implementation of the EPBD 2010 in Spain, highlighting the energy rehabilitation possibilities offered, with a goal of achieving the classification of all buildings as NZEBs by 2020. To illustrate these modifications, a complete case study is analyzed, in which the improvements introduced with respect to the previous regulation are checked against the new renewable energy contribution requirements for the production of domestic hot water, energy demand limits and energy consumption limits of the upcoming CTE-DB-HE 2018. In this way, we clarify how the energy consumption of the residential building stock is expected to be reduced and how policies that favor building energy rehabilitation can be encouraged to achieve the European goals for 2020 and 2030. • The new energy saving requirements of building are analyzed. • The main changes introduced are illustrated using a case study. • Indicators to evaluate the residential sector buildings are compared. • This work is useful for drafting energy rehabilitation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential sector in the European Union accounts for 27% of final energy consumption and 23% of CO 2 emissions. Due to this situation, the European Union, in order to strive for greater energy efficiency and savings, has established the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which, in the case of Spain, takes the form of a Basic Document outlining Energy Saving in the Technical Building Code (CTE-DB-HE). The aim is to perform an energy and environmental analysis in a multi-family housing block, evaluating improvements that are the result of the implementation of the CTE-DB-HE and comparing them with the previous situation. For this purpose, five representative cases for 26 Spanish cities located in cold climate zones are analyzed. The results reveal that with the current rules, an energy demand reduction of over 60% is achieved. In addition, 65% higher reductions are obtained both in the non-renewable primary energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, thereby achieving class B building status. These remarkable savings show that the right direction is being taken toward nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The main requirements of European Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD) are the application of minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings and certification of the energy performance of buildings. Its transposition into the national law of member states of the European Union has signified the appearance of new and more onerous requirements in terms of construction quality from the point of view of energy performance, and in terms of the procedure for certification of the energy performance of buildings. In both cases, the levels required tend to be based on climatic conditions, fundamentally in countries such as Spain, where the climatic variability is very pronounced. This paper presents a methodology developed for the climatic zoning of the localities not included in the above-mentioned regulations in order to facilitate their application. By way of example, the method is shown which was used to generate the climatic files and carry out the subsequent climatic zoning of all the municipalities of the region of Andalusia in southern Spain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Europe, buildings are responsible for more than one third of the total final energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions. In the last twenty years, the European Union has published a succession of energy performance of building directives to define and ensure the fulfilment of a series of objectives regarding greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, energy efficiency and energy generation from renewable sources in buildings. For its part, Spain is adapting its legal framework, transposing these directives with the aim of achieving greater energy efficiency and sustainability for buildings. Under this context, an energy, economic and environmental assessment is performed to analyze the impact of these regulatory changes on a single-family home including a photovoltaic installation for self-consumption with surpluses and/or a solar thermal installation for domestic hot water supply, located in each one of the eight thousand one hundred thirty-one municipalities that make up Spain. The energy behavior of the original house is compared with that obtained after it is updated with these new facilities. The transient system simulation tool is used for the energy study. The results show that the European objectives are far exceeded. The energy savings achieved range from 67% to 126%, carbon dioxide emissions decrease by 42% to 100% and energy bills are reduced in cost by 32% to 81%. The findings of this work can be used by policymakers as guidelines for the development of national strategic plans and financial incentives for the promotion of small-scale residential photovoltaic and solar thermal applications, as well as by designers, supervisors, managers and developers to include them in their projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]