Filenews 21 April 2025 - by Christos Maxoulis
On March 24, 2025, the Ministry of Energy announced that the bill entitled "The 2025 Law on the Regulation of the Energy Performance of Buildings" is being put to Public Consultation until April 25.
The issue of energy efficiency in buildings is not new. The regulation of the energy efficiency of buildings has existed as legislation since 2006, when Law 142(I)/2006 was published, which was based on the famous European Directive 91 of 2002.
The implementation of mandatory energy efficiency measures began in 2009, with the obligation to thermally insulate the structural elements of new buildings. Since then, a lot of water has flowed in the groove. The European Union has followed a steady course of increasingly stringent requirements, with a horizon of 2050, where the goal is to have a zero-emission building stock.
We, as a Member State, followed. Compared to 2009, when mandatory energy efficiency measures began to be implemented, many steps forward have been taken, especially for newly constructed buildings. Of course, there are also weaknesses...
And that's how we arrive at today. On 24 April 2024, the European Directive (EU) 2024/1275 on the energy performance of buildings was published. The new Directive is very ambitious and goes one step further towards the net-zero economy of 2050.
One of the new provisions of the new Directive is the introduction of the concept of a zero-emission building, which becomes the new norm and "replaces" the building with almost zero energy consumption. The Directive contains new provisions for the phasing out of fossil fuels for heating buildings. The take-up of sustainable mobility is also being strengthened, thanks to provisions on pre-cabling, electric vehicle recharging points and bicycle parking.
Not to mention, because I have been following the issue of energy efficiency since its inception, I will dare to say that this bill brings about changes of similar intensity and extent as the original and novel legislative regulation in 2006. It should be recalled here that before 2006 at the level of law and 2009 at the level of practice, we had no requirement on the issue of the energy efficiency of buildings.
Over-tuning
Some general comment. Seven pages the first Directive 2002/91 on the Energy Performance of Buildings. Sixty-eight pages (!) DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1275. By analogy, the first law 142(I)/2006 is 18 pages. 147 (!) pages of the bill. Reflexively this reminds me of Mario Draghi's famous, relatively recent, speech on EU competitiveness, in which he spoke of over-regulation or excessive or chatty and ineffective legislation.
To some extent, these increased new regulations are also reflected in the fact that the ministry chose to publish a new bill from the beginning, rather than amend the existing law, which is the usual practice.
If I had to keep one thing from the new Directive and therefore from the bill, which I consider to be a radical change, it is the requirements imposed on existing commercial buildings, that is, on buildings that are not residential. In particular, the bill says that new minimum levels of energy efficiency for non-residential buildings (such as offices, schools, hospitals, shopping malls, etc.) should be determined based on a specific methodology. These levels are determined on the basis of a statistical analysis of the energy performance of the existing building stock.
To open a parenthesis here. This will be a difficult and arduous exercise that the competent authority will have to undertake.
The essential difference, as far as the new approach is concerned, is that the owners of the worst commercial buildings in terms of energy efficiency now have to take measures to improve their energy efficiency, even if they had no intention of proceeding with construction work or renovation of their buildings. And this is something that probably happens for the first time in history. As important milestones in the bill, the dates 2030 and 2033 are introduced. They seem distant but they are not...
With regard to housing, the bill provides that by 2026, a national course must be set for the progressive renovation of the potential of residential buildings.
Many and important challenges
One last comment. During the initial discussion at the European level, the treatment of housing and non-housing was uniform. But soon - and fortunately - it was understood that, in the midst of a pan-European housing crisis, this might not be a very good idea. Also, how to do it? From a political point of view, it is much more difficult to impose the approach that will be imposed on commercial buildings, on residences.
Let's not forget that in such a case, those who would have to take measures to improve the energy efficiency of their homes would usually be the poorest households.
In conclusion, the draft law under consultation is an important milestone for the energy upgrade of the building stock. The challenges are many and important. We will see the next steps on the ground.
*Mechanical Engineering, Dipl Eng, MBA
*The opinions expressed are personal.
