LoginThe 2024 EPBD recast formally introduces Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) as a defined concept in EU law for the first time, embedding IEQ within the core objectives of the directive rather than treating it as a supplementary consideration. IEQ covers parameters that influence occupant health and comfort — such as temperature, humidity, ventilation rates and indoor air contaminants — and must be factored into national building standards and energy performance assessments. Member States are required to establish requirements to maintain a healthy indoor climate, and in non-residential zero-emission buildings, appropriate monitoring and control devices for IEQ must be installed. This ensures that energy efficiency improvements do not compromise the indoor environment and occupant wellbeing.
The EPBD recast broadens inspection obligations to stand alone ventilation systems if the total of heating and cooling power is at least 70 kW. Inspections are now expected to assess performance under typical operating conditions and explicitly identify issues affecting IEQ, such as inadequate ventilation rates. Such inspections are not mandatory in case there is a BACS system in combination with IEQ monitoring which complies with the national requirements.
As the transposition of the directive has to be done by the EU member states with a relatively large freedom in implementation, a wide variation in potential impact of these new requirements is possible.