The Environmental Regulation - RE 2020 - entered into force for new housing on January 1, 2022. It will apply to office and educational buildings on July 1, 2022 and to other tertiary buildings a little later. More demanding for new buildings to combat climate change, it places particular emphasis on the thermal insulation of housing, reinforcing the Bbio indicator and introducing the concept of life cycle analysis.
Energy sobriety
Energy requirements (Bbio indicator) are still calculated using an hourly calculation method, but the occupancy scenarios have been adjusted and the weather files updated. The Bbio depends on the orientation of the building (solar gain), its shape (compactness), the airtightness of its envelope and the level of insulation. As a benchmark, the brochure legally specifies in a table, the evolution of thermal resistance in m², K/W to be implemented, between the two regulations.
Energy consumption
To properly understand the significant changes in energy consumption, the brochure reviews the factors for calculating Cep max. The FILMM recalls that in RT 2012, the calculation of building consumption includes heating, cooling, domestic hot water, lighting and auxiliaries (pumps, fans, etc.). Whereas now, the RE 2020 adds to it the lighting of the common areas, the consumption of the car parks (lighting and ventilation) as well as the consumption linked to movement in the building (elevators, escalators).
RE 2020 also added a threshold for non-renewable energy consumption (Cep nr max) in KWhep/(m².year) and the calculation of a new indicator on the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the energy consumed in kg CO² eq/(m².year).
Summer comfort
This is the 3rd aspect of the brochure which explains that RE 2020 has completely revised the indicator, which has become the number of degree hours of discomfort (DH), expressed in hours. It is now necessary to identify the number of hours during which the maximum comfort temperature is exceeded, multiplied by the temperature difference (between the measured temperature and the maximum so-called comfort temperature). This therefore takes into account the duration of the discomfort and the intensity of the discomfort throughout the year.
Climate change
This last part explains the calculation of the "IC Construction" indicator, a new concept integrated into the RE 2020 even if, as the FILMM reminds us, the best way to fight against climate change is to consume less energy.
The carbon impact of construction products and equipment, "IC Construction", takes into account all the construction products and equipment constituting the building as well as the layout of the plot on which it is built. To this are added the consumption related to the construction site (energy and water).
This calculation is made from the quantities of product used and the environmental declarations of these products (FDES) that the members of the FILMM make widely available in the INIES database. The ER 2020 has set thresholds not to be exceeded for these 2 indicators and has already provided for their reinforcement every 3 years (2025, 2028 and 2031).