The EU, EC or EP indicators sound mysterious to most, but it is they who decide whether a building is a modern asset or an energy open-air museum. Understanding these metrics isn't just a formal matter — it's knowing how much it actually costs to maintain your property.
IN certificates of energy performance of buildings and in Energy audits of buildings parameters describing the energy demand of buildings are: usable energy (EU), final energy (EK), primary energy (EP). They determine Energetic characteristics Building and allows you to compare energy efficiency objects between themselves and legal requirements. The above concepts are defined in the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development of 27 February 2015 on the methodology for determining the energy characteristics of a building or part of a building and energy performance certificates. It is an implementing act of the Act of 29 August 2014 on energy performance of buildings.
Usable energy (EU) is used for the current needs of the building. It is delivered to the boundaries of the premises in order to:
- maintaining the required internal temperature (both heating and cooling),
- heating of ventilation air,
- preparation of domestic hot water.
The amount of usable energy consumption is affected by:
- average annual outdoor temperature,
- thermal insulation of external partitions of the building (external walls, floors on the ground, roofs/ceilings, windows and exterior doors),
- the number of ventilation air changes (both for natural ventilation and for mechanical ventilation),
- heat gains from the sun penetrating into the rooms through transparent partitions,
- other heat gains, from people and equipment located indoors and from operating indoor installations.
If the usable energy is low, your building is a great “thermos”, this means that heat and cold do not penetrate through the external partitions, and the temperature conditions in the building are more stable, which increases the comfort of use. In the case of a high EU index — consider thermo-modernization of the building in the area of external partitions.
Our services in the field of energy audit of the building
Based on advanced research, we will develop a path to improve the energy efficiency of your facility. We will identify key areas for modernization and propose the most cost-effective solutions.
Final energy (EK) is the actual amount of energy or fuel consumed that you can observe on the invoice.
The final energy is affected by:
- utility energy,
- efficiency of heating, mechanical ventilation, domestic hot water and cooling systems,
- energy consumption of built-in lighting.
If the (EK) value is too high, look at the energy consumption value, review the efficiency of the building's systems and consider replacing the lighting with more energy-efficient ones.
Primary energy (EP), Also called ecological footprint, is contained in the fuel used in the building or the energy supplied to it. Its magnitude is calculated as follows: we multiply the value of the final energy by input factor of non-renewable primary energy (yes) for a given fuel or type of energy. The value of this coefficient for technical systems shall be taken on the basis of the data made available by the energy supplier or its carrier.
The parameter (EK) determines how much non-renewable primary energy needs to be consumed throughout the supply chain to deliver energy to the final customer. The more final energy from renewable sources (sun, water, wind, biomass), the lower the value of primary energy will be. To reduce the value (EP), electricity from the power grid should be abandoned in favor of energy from renewable sources.
At VIVERNO we will help you determine the energy consumption of your property by conducting an energy audit of the building or creating an energy performance certificate. We will identify the areas of greatest energy consumption, recommend solutions and estimate the costs of possible upgrades. In addition, we will indicate the subsidies that will help to fully or partially cover the costs of the investment.
