Energy Performance Certificates

Pursuant to the Act of 19 September 2007 on amending the Act on Building Law, the obligation to possess an "Energy Performance Certificate" was introduced from 1 January 2009.  This certificate specifies the annual energy demand required to meet the needs associated with the use of the building or premises, expressed in kWh/m2/year.

The energy certificate is a document that provides information on the amount of energy required to use a particular building or premises. It is a value expressed in terms of the EP indicator, which can be found on the first page of the certificate. This indicator refers to the annual non-renewable primary energy demand per square metre of usable area of the building (kWh/m2/year).

The EP indicator takes into account the amount of energy required for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, domestic hot water and, in the case of public buildings, lighting. This value is converted into primary energy and referenced with the unit area of the building.

Who is obliged to have an energy certificate?

The obligation to have an energy certificate applies to properties and premises:

• Those subject to sale or rent.
• Those being rebuilt or renovated if their energy performance changes (e.g. insulation of the building, replacement of a heating stove, windows, photovoltaic installations, air conditioning, lighting, hot water installations, etc.).
• For which the validity period of the certificate has expired (the energy performance certificate is valid for 10 years).
• Covered by an application for funding from the 'Moje Ciepło' programme.

Are all buildings required to have an energy performance certificate?

There are buildings that are exempt from energy certification, such as those subject to monument protection, places of worship and religious activities, buildings in use for less than 2 years, non-residential buildings with low energy usage, residential buildings used for no more than 4 months a year and agricultural buildings.

Who can issue an energy certificate?

A person entitled to draw up energy certificates must meet certain criteria, such as full capacity for acts-in-law, absence of a final judgment conviction for offences set out in the law, completion of higher education or postgraduate studies related to the energy performance of buildings, or possession of a relevant building licence.

The acting minister for construction maintains a central register of individuals entitled to draw up energy performance certificates.

URSAE Engineering is a company specialising in drawing up energy performance certificates of buildings. We offer short turnaround times, reliable preparation of the report, professional and friendly service, advice on energy audits and thermo-modernisation.

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