Key Indicators & Decisions (KI&Ds) – The Netherlands – 2020

01.01

Definition of public buildings (according to article 9 b)

In the application of the guidelines relating to nearly zero-energy new buildings, a public building is defined as a building owned by the state, province, municipality, or water management board and that is used by the state, province, municipality, water management board, or independent administrative authority or advisory council established by law.

The amendment to the Building Decree 2012, Government Gazette 2015, 425 states that new buildings owned by the government and which house government agencies shall be nearly zero-energy after 31 December 2018. A building is a public building in the sense of nearly zero-energy new buildings if it meets the following two requirements:

1. Ownership:
   The building is owned by the government, e.g., owned by the state, a province, a municipality or a water management board
2. Purpose:
   The building is used by a public authority or government agency.

This is self-evident in the case of the state, a municipality or water management board. This shall extend to public administrative authorities; these organisations typically have been established by law and the bulk of their budget typically is dependent on tax revenue.

01.02

Definition of public buildings used by the public (according to article 13)

Definition:

a)    A building of which a floor area of more than 250 m² is used by a public authority or government agency and that is frequently visited by the general public, or

b)    A building that has a floor area of more than 250 m² and that is frequently visited by the general public.

Regulations: Article 4 of the Regulation on Energy Performance of Buildings (visible energy labelling) and Article 2.4 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Decree (definition of public buildings to which the requirement applies.)

01.03

Number of residential buildings

7,891,561 (as of January 2020)

Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.04

Number of non-residential buildings

1,147,500 (as of January 2020)

Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.05

If possible, share of public buildings included in the number given in 01.04

Approximately 35,000 non-residential municipal buildings (including schools).

(sources: RVO, Kadaster)

01.06

If possible, share of commercial buildings included in the number given in 01.04

(Total) Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.07

Number of buildings constructed per year (estimate)

70,700 residential buildings in 2019; approximately 61,000 residential buildings per year over the last five years.

10,400 non-residential buildings in 2019; approximately 8,000 non-residential buildings per year over the last five years.

Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.08

If possible, share of residential buildings constructed per year (estimate, included in the number given in 01.07)

87%

In 2015, there were 55,600 applications for permits for new residential buildings; approximately 48,400 were completed.

In 2016, there were 53,600 applications for permits and 54,800 residential buildings completed.

In 2017:  69,700 applications, 63,000 completed.

In 2018: 70,000 applications, 66,600 completed.

In 2019, there were 57,400 applications for permits and 70,700 residential buildings completed.

Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.09

If possible, share of non-residential buildings constructed per year (estimate, included in the number given in 01.07)

13%

In 2015, there were 2,700 applications for permits for new non-residential buildings, approximately 6,300 were completed. A permit may apply to multiple buildings. 

In 2016, there were 2,700 applications for permits and 6,900 non-residential buildings completed.

In 2017: 3,200 applications, 7,400 completed.

In 2018: 3,400 applications, 9,500 completed.

In 2019, there were 3,100 applications for permits and 10,400 non-residential buildings completed.

Statistics Netherlands (www.cbs.nl)

01.10

Useful floor area of buildings constructed per year in million square meters (estimate)

Residential buildings: 8.2 million m²

Non-residential buildings: not available

02.01

Are building codes set as overall value, primary energy, environment (CO₂), reference building or other

Other: energy performance coefficient

Included in the Building Decree as of 1 January 2015

02.02

Requirements for energy performance of residential buildings in current building code500px600

Included in the Buildings Decree as of 1 January 2015

As of 1 January 2021, the following three requirements will be applicable:

1. maximum energy need (kWh/m².year)
2. maximum primary energy use (kWh/m².year)
3. minimum share of renewable energy [%]

Values for primary energy & share of renewables can be found in Table 4.

02.03

Requirements for energy performance of non-residential commercial buildings in current building code

Certain components of the Buildings Decree 2012 (Bb) were amended on 24 November 2015. The following amendments were made to the Building Decree. 

The following definition was added to Article 1.1:

“Nearly zero energy building: building with a very high energy performance, where the very low or near zero energy consumption required is delivered from renewable sources to a very significant extent and which is produced on site or close by”

The following new paragraphs were added to Article 5.2:

“Article 5.2, paragraph five stipulates that new buildings owned by the government and which house government agencies shall be nearly zero energy. This paragraph shall enter into force on 1 January 2019.”

“Article 5.2, paragraph six stipulates that new buildings different from the buildings referred to in paragraph five shall be nearly zero energy. This paragraph shall enter into force on 31 December 2020.”

Values for primary energy & share of renewables can be found in Table 4.

02.04

Requirements for energy performance of non-residential public buildings in current building code

Requirements in the intermediate period 1 January 2019 until 1 January 2021:

For public buildings of the following 3 types: Office buildings > 100 m², Prison buildings, Meeting buildings, Levels see under ‘comments’

Requirements as of 1 January 2021: See Table 4

02.05

Is the performance level of nearly zero energy (NZEB) for new buildings defined in national legislation?

Yes (as of 1 January 2021)

Amendment to the Building Decree 2012, which was published on 24 December 2019 and will become effective as of 1 January 2021.

See 2.I.iii

02.06

Nearly zero energy (NZEB) level for residential buildings (level for building code)

See Table 4

02.07

Year / date for nearly zero energy (NZEB) as level for residential buildings (as indicated in 02.04)

1 January 2021

02.08

Nearly zero energy (NZEB) level for all non-residential buildings (level for building code)

See Table 4

02.09

Year / date for nearly zero energy (NZEB) as level for non-residential buildings (as indicated in 02.06)

1 January 2021 for commercial buildings (2019 for public buildings)

02.10

Are nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) defined using a carbon or environment indicator?

There is and will be no carbon or environment indicator.

02.11

Is renewable energy a part of the overall or an additional requirement?

As of 1 January 2021, renewable energy is an additional requirement. Renewables are also included in the requirement for primary fossil energy use.

02.12

If renewable energy is an additional requirement to NZEB, please indicate level

Levels depend on the type of building, see Table 4.

02.13

Specific comfort criteria for new buildings, provide specific parameters for instance for airtightness, minimum ventilation rates

As of 1 January 2021, there will be an overheating indicator (TO_juli) for newly built residential buildings.

There will be no overheating indicator for newly built non-residential buildings as it is assumed that most of these buildings will have a climate control system.

03.01

Is the level of nearly zero energy (NZEB) for existing buildings set in national legislation?

No

03.02

Is the level of nearly zero energy (NZEB) for existing buildings similar to the level for new buildings?

No requirement

03.03

Definition of nearly zero energy (NZEB) for existing residential buildings (if different from new buildings)

03.04

Definition of nearly zero energy (NZEB) for existing non-residential buildings (if different from new buildings)

Study ongoing, see 3.2 and 3.3

03.05

Overall minimum requirements in case of major-renovation

Yes

03.06

Minimum requirements for individual building parts in case of renovation

Yes

See 03.05

03.07

National targets for renovation in connection to Long Term Renovation Strategy (number or percentage of buildings)

The built environment accounts for more than 30% of total energy consumption in the Netherlands. In order to achieve the long-term goals for energy and climate, it is therefore essential to make the national building stock more sustainable in the run-up to 2050. In line with the broader energy and climate policy of the Netherlands, the government will focus primarily on CO₂ reduction in making the built environment more sustainable. This means that CO₂ emission ceilings have been chosen and that progress will be measured in Mton CO₂.

For the built environment, this is 3.4 Mton of additional CO₂ reduction in 2030 compared to existing and planned policy. According to this indicative allocation, the maximum CO₂ emissions for the built environment in 2030 will be 15.3 Mton.

The Netherlands has no indicative allocation of CO₂ targets to sectors by 2050. That is why the indicative milestone was used for the built environment for 2050 as a direct translation of the general 95% CO₂ reduction target. A CO₂ reduction of 95% in the built environment in 2050 compared to 1990 is equivalent to a maximum emission of 1.5 Mton CO₂ equivalents. This is the indicative milestone that the Netherlands will use for 2050.

To determine the indicative milestone for the built environment for 2040, a linear decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is assumed between the indicative milestones for 2030 and 2050. The indicative milestone then amounts to a maximum emission of 8.4 Mton CO₂ equivalents.

The Netherlands emphasises that these are indicative objectives. In a next version of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), these objectives can be adjusted downwards or upwards if developments (for example around the cost-effectiveness of the energy transition or innovation) give cause to do so.

03.08

National targets for renovation in connection to Long Term Renovation Strategy (expected reductions and relevant years)

See 03.07

05.01

Is there a national definition of smart buildings?

No

05.02

Are there current support systems for smart buildings?

No

05.03

Are there currently specific requirements for technical building systems (for instance in building codes)?

Yes

05.04

Are there current requirements for automatics (for instance in building codes)?

No

05.05

Chosen option A or B for heating systems (inspection or other measures)

Option A + B

Inspections and other measures (energy saving advice), thus A + B.

05.06

Number of heating inspections; reports per year (if option A)

Estimated maximum 54,500 inspections

05.07

Chosen option A or B for cooling systems (inspection or other measures)

Option A

Estimated maximum 7,200 inspections

05.08

Number of air-conditioning / cooling system inspections; reports per year (if option A)

Not available

See 05.07

05.09

Is there a national database for heating inspections?

Yes

Inspections carried out are registered by the inspection companies in the “SCIOS” registration system. The supervising authority (i.e., municipalities or regional environmental services) has access to the inspection register for the area under its jurisdiction. Thus, the supervising authority can check whether the companies, that are subject to the requirement of having a certified inspection of their heating system, do meet this requirement. https://ok-cv.nl/

For non-gas-fired heating systems and gas-fired heating systems above 100 kW there is a mandatory inspection according to the Environmental law. Here the SCIOS is the executor / administrator who maintains a database. 

05.10

Is there a national database for cooling / air-conditioning inspections?

No

The industry associations collect the data of the inspections they have carried out themselves. http://www.rvo.nl/onderwerpen/duurzaam-ondernemen/gebouwen/wetten-en-regels-gebouwen/installatiekeuringen

A new version of the inspection register is being developed by SCIOS.

05.11

Are inspection databases combined with EPC databases for registration of EPCs and inspection reports?

No

The databases that are maintained by the market parties are not linked to the EPC database.

05.12

Link to national information on Inspection / Database

https://www.scios.nl/Certificeren

https://www.rvo.nl/onderwerpen/duurzaam-ondernemen/gebouwen/wetten-en-regels/bestaande-bouw/installatiekeuringen/installateur-kiezen