Energy ratings for apartments in France compared with Israel

France versus Israel
Different approaches to reducing national electricity consumption
By Adv. Uri Shiloh* and Nitzan Gapso**
(*Partner at E. Shiloh & Co.; **lawyer and specialist in business development and strategy in the energy sector)
Energy consumption in buildings—including cooling and heating, electrical appliances, lighting and other installed equipment—accounts for approximately 40% of total global energy consumption. Reducing energy use in buildings is therefore expected to contribute significantly to reducing consumption worldwide. A national initiative to reduce energy consumption in buildings has far-reaching implications: building energy efficiency can significantly affect many economic fields, notably climate, public health and employment, as well as reducing government deficits, both nationally and globally.
The first condition for success is public cooperation. This can be achieved, on the one hand, by raising awareness and providing active tools that show consumers how much energy and money they waste at any given moment; and, on the other, through legislation and regulations whose message is: if you do not save, you pay dearly.
Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced in many ways. Standards and legislation are central tools, alongside greater awareness of the environmental impact of construction methods and building use. Potential household savings through energy efficiency help keep green building in public discussion and sustain the interest of builders and homebuyers. Indeed, a new consideration is joining home-purchase decisions: the apartment’s active and passive energy consumption. Countries around the world have begun to recognise the situation, and some have already set national goals and are advancing progressive legislation. France, the focus of this article, is one example.
France is moving towards a new model of “thermal regulation”, RT2012
In 2007, France launched the “Environment Grenelle”, a round-table forum for citizens and public-service representatives to discuss environmental issues and identify the key government-policy priorities in ecology and sustainable development for the coming years.
Buildings, responsible for 42.5% of France’s total energy consumption, were discussed extensively. This forum led to the enactment of Réglementation Thermique 2012—the thermal regulations 2012 RT—providing advanced thermal regulation for new residential buildings. Until they entered into force on 1 January 2013, new French homes were subject to the 2005 thermal regulations, known as RT2005. The adoption of 2012 RT marked a turning point in government policy on energy consumption in buildings, and a first step towards a new standard requiring new residential buildings to produce more energy than they consume! What is the difference between 2005 RT and 2012 RT?
According to the French minister responsible for ecology, energy, sustainable development and the sea, the state’s role is to define goals. Both regulations embody a forward-looking approach to planning residential energy consumption, and the French government seeks an immediate reduction of approximately 15% in thermal energy consumption in buildings.
From January 2013, all residential buildings in France must be constructed so that their energy consumption is below 50 kWh per square metre per year. Compared with the previous RT2005 target of 150 kWh per square metre per year, this is highly ambitious.
The target is not uniform: it varies across the eight climate zones into which France has been divided. In the northeast, for example, the permitted ceiling is 65 kWh per square metre per year, although insulation standards are higher there. In Mediterranean areas and the southwest, consumption is limited to 45 kWh per square metre per year.

Source: website
https://www.lithouse.lt

Every improved apartment will receive a new “energy certificate”
Alongside the new energy standards, the French government established two energy-certification levels for improved apartments: HPE, “high energy performance”, for apartments 10% more energy-efficient than RT2012 requires, and THPE, “very high energy performance”, for apartments 20% more efficient.

RT2012 sets an ambitious goal, while allowing several exceptions and leaving room for future decisions about how to achieve it. The innovation lies in the direction of the legislation: buildings constructed after January 2013, including home extensions, will have energy-efficiency performance three times better than the previous standard.
The maximum energy-consumption target for a building is based on measuring consumption across all systems needed to meet its energy requirements, such as thermal insulation, heating, air conditioning, water heating, lighting and pumps. It is also adjusted for factors including geographic location, site elevation, building type and overall size, and the fuel used for heating, such as diesel, oil, gas or electricity.
Beyond the consumption target, RT2012 establishes new architectural-design standards. The building envelope must be designed to minimise energy consumption, and architects must consider factors affecting heating, cooling and lighting needs, such as the building’s orientation to the sun. Another innovation compared with RT2005, beyond the lower consumption target, is the introduction of new requirements, including mandatory use of renewable energy in every new building. Implementing the new regulations is expected to increase new-construction costs in France by approximately 20%
Implementation is not straightforward for designers: the rules run to more than 2,000 pages and require complex calculations. When submitting building plans, designers will have to demonstrate through detailed reports that their proposed buildings meet the required efficiency targets. The necessary energy-performance calculations will be carried out by specialist consultants using purpose-designed software. The new requirements are inevitably expected to affect the construction market and increase new-construction costs, with estimates putting the increase at approximately 20%. The next step: “positive energy”. From 2020, buildings will be designed to produce more energy than they consume.
RT2012 will lead to advanced regulation expected to take effect in 2020, known as RT2020, requiring all new buildings to achieve a positive energy balance—in other words, produce more energy than they consume!
This anticipated regulation has not yet been finalised, but work on defining the path and energy-efficiency metrics will begin in the coming months. Israel
In Israel, where electricity prices continue to rise, fear of shortages persists and emissions harmful to health and the environment continue, legislation applying to both builders and consumers should be introduced to reduce electricity consumption in buildings. Achieving a 15% reduction in thermal energy consumption could postpone construction of a new power station by many years. Such savings would be enormously significant and could bring numerous immediate benefits to the economy and individual households alike.

Israeli Standard 5281 was published in 2006. This voluntary standard aims to reduce the harmful environmental impact of new and renovated buildings, covering both residential and commercial buildings. An improved green-building standard was launched in early July 2011. It covers a wide range of buildings, addresses new construction and upgrades to existing buildings, and includes a new testing and certification system. Under current conditions, however, the construction industry lacks sufficient incentives to adopt green-building principles voluntarily.

The “National Energy Efficiency Programme—Reducing Electricity Consumption 2010–2020”, published by the Ministry of National Infrastructures in 2010, forecasts that efficiency in new “energy-conscious” construction will account for 38% of the overall improvement in the energy sector by 2030.

Israel, an OECD member committed to the organisation’s policy of reducing air-pollutant emissions, enjoys long sunny periods and enormous growth in clean-tech patent applications. It pioneered encouragement of solar water heating and faces no objective obstacle to adopting the French model and introducing construction regulations requiring advanced design standards, renewable energy, advanced building, insulation and sealing materials, and devices measuring and displaying household energy consumption. These measures would serve one clear objective: immediately reducing national energy consumption, cutting air-pollutant emissions and encouraging conscious household energy savings.

Moreover, if every apartment had to obtain a certificate showing its energy-consumption level, comparable to Israel’s green vehicle-tax reform, Israeli consumers would likely change their economic preferences and choose an energy-efficient apartment, even paying slightly more for it!

A final note: as a first step towards mandatory energy-conscious construction, we believe the government should require TAMA 38 developers to apply green and energy-saving building principles as a condition for receiving the full package of incentives under the law and plan. This would balance citizens’ need to protect their homes and safety with the national need to reduce air-pollutant emissions.

The need is known, the means and knowledge exist, and all that remains is to await a creative legislator willing to take up the challenge.