According to the Energy Rating Label or a energy efficiency report, a low-consumption house would be rated between A and B. Its conventional consumption of primary energy (CEP) is less than or equal to a value comprised between 40 and 75 kWh of primary energy/m2/year depending on the climate zone and the altitude.
While houses built according to the regulation in force, enforceable for planning permission submitted after 1st September 2006, need on average 150 to 270 kWh/m2 of net floor area / year (heating, hot water, lighting, ventilation, air cooling). Those houses are rated between C and E.
The construction of a low-consumption house results of a combination of a set of parameters that we master:
— Bioclimatic design
— Frame reinforcement for a highly efficient insulation.
— Choice of the right technical fittings for ventilation, heating, hot water, renewable energy production.
It takes more than simply following an only recipe to build a low-consumption house. The market offers a wide range of choices. Wooden frame, distributed insulation materials, combination of materials… A low-consumption house is not automatically an eco house! You can build an eco low-consumption house but the two are not linked.
