Simplifying Administrative Procedures for Zero-Energy Buildings... Promoting Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Amend 'Energy Saving Design Standards for Buildings' on the 28th

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 27th that it will promulgate a partial amendment to the "Energy-saving Design Standards for Buildings," which simplifies the administrative procedures for permits related to Zero Energy Building (ZEB) certification, reorganizes energy performance indicators (EPI) for the building, mechanical, and electrical sectors, and improves measures to prevent heat loss in buildings to promote carbon neutrality in the building sector.

This standard aims to encourage the construction of fundamentally low-energy buildings by applying energy reduction technologies from the design stage to expand green buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 80% of the annual total floor area of building permits is subject to this standard.

With this amendment, administrative procedures will be simplified when obtaining ZEB certification.

ZEB certification is a system to promote buildings with high energy performance. Buildings certified under this system have superior energy performance compared to those meeting existing design standards. Currently, even ZEB-certified buildings must submit an "Energy-saving Plan Design Review Report" during building permit applications. However, in the future, ZEB-certified buildings will have their energy performance recognized, and administrative procedures will be rationally improved. Therefore, when submitting a ZEB preliminary certification to the permitting authority, the previously required duplicate administrative procedures?submitting the review report along with the EPI and energy demand assessment?will be simplified, granting benefits upon ZEB certification.

Measures to prevent heat loss in buildings will also be rationalized. Since it is necessary to continuously monitor structural safety such as exterior walls according to structural characteristics and related laws, heat loss prevention (such as insulation) measures will be improved for "nuclear-related facilities" that cannot meet design standards. Additionally, for "greenhouses and crop cultivation facilities," where floor insulation interferes with plant growth and thus loses its intended purpose, and for certain building materials that cannot meet insulation standards to maintain fire-related performance (such as "firefighter access windows" and "fire doors"), insulation standards will be reasonably improved.

The EPI evaluation items will be reorganized to allow selective application of energy-saving technologies in the electrical sector, which are currently mandatory for all buildings (such as "non-residential centralized lighting switches" and "standby power automatic cutoff devices"). This measure considers the varying effectiveness depending on the building's use and characteristics and the trend of enhanced standby power cutoff functions in the products (devices) themselves. EPI is an energy performance indicator, and among the recommended (optional) items in the building, mechanical, electrical, and renewable energy sectors on the review report, building owners must select indicators they desire and achieve a minimum score (74 points for public buildings, 65 points for private buildings).

Furthermore, EPI items with low adoption rates over the past three years will be deleted, some similar items will be consolidated or merged, and new items that need to be recommended to induce improvements in building energy efficiency will be added to enhance the effectiveness of energy savings.

This amendment will take effect on July 29.

Um Jeong-hee, Director of Building Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This amendment was promoted to secure institutional acceptance by reorganizing energy-related regulations for buildings ahead of the mandatory implementation of Zero Energy Buildings in the private sector in 2025," adding, "We will continue to promote the expansion of convenience in complying with building energy-related systems for the public to achieve carbon neutrality in the building sector."