Enigin Update - Swiss Energy Act Targets Buildings
SWITZERLAND’S revised Energy Act came into force this year focussing on improved energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources.
The revision look particularly at energy efficiency measures for buildings, as buildings offer high energy-saving potential, using about 45 percent of Switzerland’s energy and producing about 50 percent of the nation's CO2 emissions. Hence, the revised targets look to save energy while also making buildings environmentally friendly as possible.
The Energy Act revision aims to improve energy efficiency in buildings:
introducing a new energy performance certificate for buildings;
improving public information, consultancy and education; and
introducing a new method to calculate public subsidies of energy efficient technology.
The act also obliges the Swiss regions, or cantons, to create an energy performance certificate, based on a national standard. The certificate will contain specific information about a buildings overall energy performance, the properties equipment and electrical facilities, plus its insulation properties.
The cantons are to decided on the precise content of the certificates, and they can decide whether the issuing of energy performance certificates is mandatory for every building. Some cantons are considering mandatory issue of certificates when a building changes ownership.
The purpose of the building certification is to provide energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction performance and also reveal the potential for further savings. This will also provide an incentive to property owners to upgrade the energy efficiency of a building, using energy-efficient technology.
One concern is that because the act does not requires the cantons to declare energy certificates mandatory, not all will do so leaving Switzerland without a nationwide standard. With some cantons making energy certificate mandatory, others have shown some opposition to this, with the main argument against mandatory certificates being increased bureaucracy and costs.
Enigin have the perfect solution for most non-residential buildings with Eniscope Real-time and Analytics, available exclusively through their Enigin Distributor network. Eniscope reports graphically and in real-time on the energy use in a whole building, a series of floors, an office or even the energy used by a single piece of equipment - this allow for publication of energy use and energy saving for a facility.
Picture of Switzerland by travellingtamas
