Market & data
Where Europe steers buildings: a direction worth knowing
Decisions about buildings in Europe are long-term: the energy performance directive sets the course the building stock must follow. Whoever looks at an older house today looks at it in that context.
What the directive sets
The European directive on the energy performance of buildings is the framework that gives member states goals for the performance of new and existing buildings.1
In Croatia the visible part of that framework is the energy certificate, mandatory at sale and advertising, with classes from best to weakest.2
What this means for older buildings
The direction is clear: the energy performance of buildings gains weight year by year, so the class on the certificate stops being a formality and becomes a property of the building itself.1,2
For a buyer this means the certificate of an older house is worth reading as a condition report: it says what the envelope, the joinery and the heating are today.2