New Buildings to Be "Nearly Zero-Energy"

New Buildings Will Be "Nearly Zero-Energy" Following amendments to the Energy Performance Regulation for Buildings, as of 1 January 2023, all buildings with a total construction area exceeding 5,000 square metres on a single parcel must be constructed with an energy performance class of at least B, and at least 5 per cent of the energy used in these buildings must be supplied from renewable sources. Zeki Poyraz, Chairman of the TOBB Turkey Air Conditioning Sector Council, assessed the issue and stated that this regulation represents a beneficial step in line with Turkey's goals to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency, though more effective and comprehensive requirements exist.

"Very high efficiency potential exists"

Pointing out that the building sector, which accounts for 32.7 per cent of energy consumption in Turkey, is a critically important area from both economic and greenhouse gas reduction policy perspectives, Zeki Poyraz noted that it is also one of the areas with the highest efficiency and emission reduction potential. Providing information that under current Turkish legislation, permitted energy consumption for buildings is in the order of 120-150 kilowatt-hours per square metre annually, Zeki Poyraz stated: "In our current building stock of 22-23 million residential units and approximately 11 million buildings, we are wasting energy every year that costs billions of dollars to import. In fact, over 213 billion dollars in resources have been allocated to energy imports over the past five years. In the European Union, new public buildings have been constructed as nearly zero-energy since 2019, and all new buildings since the beginning of 2020 are built as nearly zero-energy. From this perspective, when looking at developed countries, buildings today are manufactured to consume energy in the order of 30-50 kilowatt-hours per square metre per year."

"More effective and comprehensive steps must be taken"

Zeki Poyraz noted that the concept of "Nearly Zero-Energy Building" (NZEB) was incorporated into Turkish legislation through the "Regulation on Amendment to the Energy Performance Regulation for Buildings" published in the Official Gazette on 19 February 2022, and made the following assessment: "In this regulation, with a 20 per cent improvement achieved by bringing the energy class from C to B, the energy limit for Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings was set at 100-120 kilowatt-hours per square metre annually. This quite limited improvement was defined only for all buildings with a total construction area exceeding 5,000 square metres. Considering that only 2-3 per cent of buildings by annual construction permits are over 5,000 square metres, more effective and comprehensive steps must be taken to combat climate change and increase energy efficiency."

"Legal framework for Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings should be improved"

Zeki Poyraz noted that limiting the obligation in the current Energy Identity Certificate classification from C to B only to buildings exceeding 5,000 square metres would have very limited effect, and recorded the following as similar priority solution proposals raised at the recent Climate Council: "Without area restrictions, energy requirements of all licensed buildings should be limited; and the legal framework for green building/settlement green certificates and Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB) should be improved to ensure that this limited requirement is met from renewable energy sources to the extent possible after efficiency applications. We believe this limitation could be incorporated into the TS825 Building Thermal Insulation Rules Standard, which is referenced in the aforementioned Buildings Energy Performance Regulation and is currently undergoing updates. Additionally, to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy use in buildings, carbon pricing-based incentive/support mechanisms for existing buildings, credit/tax support mechanisms for new buildings and necessary financial infrastructure should be established. On the other hand, an autonomous upper-level structure comprising the public sector, relevant private sector representatives and universities should be established for incentive, finance, support and awareness-raising activities aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions in existing buildings."