Energy Conservation Ordinance

The Energy Conservation Ordinance, which came into force on 1 February 2002 and has been updated in 2004 and 2007, aims at reducing the amount of energy consumed in heating, climate control, and hot-water provision in new buildings by roughly 25 to 30%. It unifies the previously separate thermal insulation and the heating installation ordinances. Another new provision of the Ordinance is that new buildings must have an energy-profile certificate showing information on its energy demand. The Energy Conservation Ordinance also encourages energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings. The Ordinance requires that all boilers installed before October 1978 must be replaced. There were some 2 million such boilers in 2001. The ordinance sets stricter energy requirements when modernisation or retrofitting measures are undertaken than did the 1995 Thermal Insulation Ordinance. In some specific cases the ordinance requires retroactive improvement of insulation of floors, ceilings and piping. By virtue of Germanys Integrated Energy and Climate Programme, adopted on 23 August 2007, these standards are to be raised by an average of 30% by 2008/2009 and will be raised once again by up to the same percentage in a second stage.(See separate entry on 2007 Energy Conservation Regulations)

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