Energy efficient buildings - International Law Office

Introduction
Requirements for energy usage in buildings
Using energy efficiently
Implications for property developers


Introduction

Although South Africa does not have mandatory targets on greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol,(1) the government has made a concerted effort to play its part and meet the country's obligations to the international community in the climate change arena.(2)

Consequently, as of May 2012, all new buildings and extensions must comply with the buildings energy usage provisions laid out in the amended National Building Regulations.(3) These amendments introduce mandatory specifications for energy usage in buildings by setting minimum standards for energy efficiency with which all new builds and extensions must comply.

These regulations have been driven by the Department of Trade and Industry with a view to reducing the country's current energy consumption levels and achieving greater energy efficiency by changing energy usage patterns. This is critical given the state of energy generation in South Africa, especially the country's heavy reliance on coal.

The objective of the regulations is to conserve energy. As buildings use a lot of energy, one of the best ways to save energy is to construct buildings that are:

• more energy efficient;
• better insulated;
• less vulnerable to air leaks through poorly sealed windows, doors and ceilings; and
• less reliant on electrical energy for heating and cooling.

In seeking to align South Africa with countries that have longstanding building energy usage legislation, these regulations have transformed the property development landscape. They also implement new and stringent requirements with which property developers must comply.

Requirements for energy usage in buildings

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the regulations require that new buildings and extensions be designed and constructed in such a way that they are capable of using energy efficiently without compromising user needs.(4) They also require that a minimum of 50% of a building's annual domestic hot water supply be provided by sustainable, energy-efficient means, instead of traditional electrical resistance (element) heating.(5)

This reflects a desire to achieve the environmental standards set out in schemes such as the Global Reporting Initiative. For property developers, it means that energy efficiency must be taken into account from the initial design stage right through to completion.

Using energy efficiently

There are three ways in which new buildings can comply with requirements to use energy efficiently.

First, new buildings and extensions can be designed and constructed in accordance with SANS 10400 Part XA: Energy Usage in Buildings.(6) This standard is similar to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers Standard 90.1,(7) but is informed by and aimed at achieving the energy efficiency targets set in the national energy efficiency strategy.(8)

The amendments incorporate SANS 10400 XA into legally binding building regulations and establishes it as the benchmark for the environmental sustainability of buildings.

SANS 10400 XA is extensive and encompasses:

• energy usage and building envelope;
• R-values (measures of thermal resistance);
• design assumptions;
• requirements for floors, walls and windows;
• roofing; and
• mandatory ceiling insulation.

The standard addresses the design elements of a building by observing the building's positioning, the use of natural light and insulation. These measures allow for buildings to be kept naturally cool in summer and warm in winter, which will reduce the amount of energy consumed for such activities.

There are a number of references to an earlier standard – SANS 204: Energy Efficiency in Buildings – contained in SANS 10400 XA in establishing many of its requirements. This renders SANS 204 indispensable for proper compliance, therefore, it has also been incorporated into building regulations.

Second, a building can be designed and constructed in accordance with a rational design by a competent person (usually an engineer), which demonstrates that the building's energy usage is equal to or better than that which would have been achieved by compliance with SANS 10400 XA.

Third, a building can be designed and constructed to have a theoretical energy usage performance that is less than or equal to that of a reference building in accordance with SANS 10400 XA. This performance must be determined by using certified thermal calculation software.

Implications for property developers

Although this move by the department has been largely applauded(9) as a significant and positive step, it has serious implications for property developers.

Much effort that will be required on the part of developers, engineers, architects and others to understand and get to grips with the new requirements. Compliance will mean additional expenditure which will result in increased building costs; non compliance poses the risk of penalties under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act.(10)

Furthermore, it is expected that the standards will become more stringent in the future once the initial introductory phase has stabilised. Next steps might include the extension of these standards to existing buildings which are not yet covered by the regulations and an increase of the values, as some have been set low in comparison with other countries.

Property developers must be aware of all of these factors when making decisions about property development.

For further information on this topic please contact Claire Tucker at Bowman Gilfillan Inc by telephone (+27 11 669 9000), fax (+27 11 669 9001) or email (c.tucker@bowman.co.za).

Endnotes

(1) unfccc.int/parties_and_observers/parties/non_annex_i/items/2833.php, accessed July 9 2012.

(2) One of the national climate change response objectives contained in the National Climate Change Response White Paper, published in Government Gazette 34695 of October 19 2011, is to make a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that avoids dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system within a time frame that is compatible with sustainable development.

(3) Made in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977, published in Government Gazette 34586 of September 9 2011.

(4) Regulation XA1.

(5) Regulation XA2.

(6) In terms of Regulation XA3.

(7) Standard 90.1 is the energy standard for buildings.

(8) Department of Minerals and Energy, 2005, Energy Efficiency Strategy for the Republic of South Africa. SANS 10400 XA and 204 follow the Australian performance system and are designed with the aim of achieving the 10% target set in the energy efficiency strategy. A shift in the targets will mean adjustments to these standards.

(9) Examples include the Green Building Council of South Africa and the Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa.

(10) A party which erects any building without prior approval shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R100 for each day on which it was so engaged in terms of Section 4(4) of the National Building Regulations. Section 24 provides that if a party fails to comply with the provisions of the regulations, where penalties have not been stipulated, that party may be may be convicted of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding R100,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding 12 months. Furthermore, Section 21 permits the local authority to apply to the magistrate's court for an order prohibiting a party from commencing or proceeding with erection of any building or an order authorising the local authority to demolish the building if the magistrate is satisfied that the erection is contrary to or does not comply with the regulations.