New buildings, those undergoing renovation, as well as those that are to be sold or rented will necessarily go through the energy certification procedure. The Cabinet approved the regulations on the energy performance certification procedure, worked out by the Ministry of Energy. The document also provides for the establishment of an electronic register of energy certificates, which will facilitate public access to information on the energy performance of buildings, IPN reports.

According to the draft, certification is also required for public buildings that have a usable area of more than 250 square meters, as well as for public buildings that hold an energy certificate, but have undergone significant changes, such as reconstructions, extensions or modernizations that influence energy performance.

On the other hand, certain buildings are exempted from this procedure. These include buildings protected as historical monuments, places of worship and buildings intended for religious activities, as well as temporary, industrial and agricultural buildings that are not intended for habitation. Buildings with a usable area of less than 50 square meters are also exempted from this obligation.

The certification will be carried out by qualified energy assessors, and the certification process will include data collection, building inspection and energy consumption analysis.

According to the regulations, buildings will be added to an energy performance category on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient), and this information will be visibly displayed in the case of public buildings. In addition, the certificate will also include the numerical value of the building’s annual energy consumption, expressed in kWh/m²/year.