Energy Performance Certification

The responsibility for implementing the Energy Performance Certification (EPC) lies with the Danish Energy Agency (DEA), including the daily operations, supervision, quality assurance and future development of the scheme. Energy performance requirements for new residential and non-residential buildings are found in the Danish Building Regulation from 2006. All EPCs are registered in a central database administered by the DEA and are displayed on its public website. The EPC documents rate buildings on an energy efficiency scale ranging from A (high energy efficiency) to G (poor energy efficiency). The EPC assigns an energy rating and lists cost-effective measures for improving the buildings’ energyperformance.

How the Energy Performance Certificate is done

Energy certification (EC) of single-family houses constructed less than 25 years prior to the certification can take place without an on-site visit to the building. EC of selected rental buildings can be based on the calculated or measured energy consumption. Buildings that can be certified by measured energy consumption include non-residential buildings, as well as multifamily buildings with a detailed and updated operational log. However, for office buildings and buildings used for administration, the EPC has to be based on the calculated energy consumption if the rental represents more than 25 per cent of the total heated area of the building. An EPC based on measured energy consumption is not valid for sales. The validity of the EPC is 10 years.

Public Buildings and central webbased information

All public buildings with more than 250 m2 of useable floor area are required to have and display a valid EPC. Since July 2012 this affects all buildings owned or used by the public. As of 1 January 2013, all other buildings which consist of an area spanning more than 600 m2 is frequently visited by the public are required to display their EPC in a place visible to the public. Only the actual rating of the EPC is required on physical display. All other key information of the certificate is publicly available on the central web-based information server www.boligejer.dk. It is possible to view the EPC report on the website, description of the buildings, calculated consumption, as well as the name of the energy expert and the certified company who issued the certificate.

Improving EPCs of public buildings

In 2017, the Danish Energy Agency, in cooperation with a network of property managers of larger public buildings, took the initiative to improve the EPC of public buildings. The impetus behind the initiative was a number of municipalities and regions providing feedback that the statutory energy labelling of public buildings today could be more effectively utilised as a tool for making public buildings more energy efficient. Based on the initiative, a number of specific barriers were identified as initial measures to overcome in order to ensure the Energy Label Certification more effectively supports efforts with the energy efficiency of public buildings.

Average pricing of energy standards

In 2013, the consultancy Copenhagen Economics was commissioned by the Danish Energy Agency to examine the relationship between house prices and energy standards. One of the key results that emerged was that the energy standard has a clear and significant influence on the house price and the purchaser’s willingness to pay a premium for a higher energy rating. For example, in the case of a 100 m2 house with a C-label rating compared to a D-label rating house it was found, that it capitalised into a willingness for the house-owner to pay a premium price of DKK 44,000 for the higher rated house, a figure which is equivalent to EUR 6,000.

Read the full publication by State of Green with support from experts of the Danish Energy Agency by clicking this link.