Minimum energy performance standards for existing buildings: how to design the new requirements in Hungary?

The Minimum Energy Performance Standard for Buildings sets requirements for the energy performance of buildings: their emissions, their energy performance or the minimum level of renovation. The gradual tightening of the minimum requirements is being introduced according to a pre-planned timetable, giving owners, developers and financiers time to prepare. The minimum requirements are typically not imposed on the whole building stock at once, but on a phased basis for individual building segments, depending on type, age or energy performance. The rules should be linked to intervention points such as the sale or rental of a property. The introduction of minimum energy performance requirements for existing buildings, together with the provision of appropriate financing, advice and technical support, can be an effective policy tool to encourage building renovation.

In October 2020, the European Commission published the European Renovation Wave Strategy, in which it announced that minimum energy performance requirements for existing buildings would be gradually introduced into European legislation. The requirements to implement the targets set out in the strategy are expected to result from the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which the Commission proposed in December 2021. For details on the EPBD, click here.

MEHI, in cooperation with Eastern and Central European countries, has carried out a summary study on the possibilities of introducing minimum energy performance requirements for buildings in their countries. The study is based on interviews with key stakeholders, which have been used as a basis for formulating recommendations for different building segments – residential, rental and office – and for different intervention points. The MEHI study will be available for download here soon.

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