Nearly-zero energy buildings
is a requirement introduced by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive EU/31/2010 (revised in 2018). It means that all new buildings – as of 2020 - must have a high energy performance and very low-energy needs, covered largely by onsite and nearby renewable energy sources.
Zero-emission buildings
As for nearly-zero energy buildings, the very small amount of energy still required for zero-emission buildings is covered by energy from on-site and nearby renewable energy sources, including from renewable energy communities and efficient district heating and cooling
Nearly-zero energy and zero-emission buildings
From 2030, the standard for new buildings will be raised from ‘nearly-zero energy buildings’ to ‘zero-emission buildings'.
As Europe’s largest energy consumer - buildings have a critical role to play in achieving the EU’s ambition of becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Since 2020, all new buildings in the EU are required to be ‘nearly-zero energy buildings’. This will be replaced by a further enhanced ‘zero-emission buildings’ requirement, starting from 2028 for new buildings owned by public bodies and 2030 for all other new buildings.
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