LIVING IN CLASS A - TEN-YEAR GUARANTEE

LIVING IN CLASS A

Residential Buildings in Energy Efficiency Class A

Saving energy is the best way to ensure a secure and sustainable energy supply in the medium and long term. Promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy is therefore crucial to any sustainable development strategy and plays a pivotal role in the sustainability challenges of the 21st century. Energy saving activities can result in a huge range of environmental, social and economic benefits. Over the past few decades, the European Union has enacted legislation in the area of energy policy, proposing several measures to increase efficiency throughout the whole energy chain – from its generation and transformation, to its distribution and final consumption – within the most diverse domains, such as industrial production, transportation, consumer goods, and construction. In order to promote energy efficiency and encourage energy saving behaviour, the European legislative framework also provides an energy consumption scheme, where goods and buildings are rated in terms of a set of energy efficiency classes from A to G, A being the most energy efficient, and G the least efficient. In the real estate field, the energy efficiency class of a building is mainly determined on the basis of the annual fuel consumption per square metre of the heated area.

Main Charateristics of Class A Residential Buildings

As the environmental impact of the building sector has become more and more apparent, a new field often referred to as green building or high performance building is gaining increasing relevance, expanding the concept of traditional building. Green building is the practice of creating and implementing environmentally responsible and resource-efficient models throughout a building's life-cycle – from the choice of the site and the design, to construction, renovation, maintenance and demolition. It aims at reducing the overall impact of the building on human health and the natural environment through the efficient use of energy, water and other natural resources, thus reducing waste, pollutant emissions and environmental degradation. A residential building in the energy efficiency class A must meet the principles of energy saving from the very first phases of the project. Therefore, the structure of the building will have to take into account – and even be adapted to – the main environmental features of the site, such as landform, orientation, exposure, access to natural resources, etc. An efficient heating system is the heart of a class A house. On the one hand, the heat dispersion of a Class A house is minimized thanks to the maximum exploitation of heat sources, be they the sun or other electric devices within the lining/structure of the building. On the other hand, the creation of green belts creating natural shields around the building will help to prevent the structure from overheating during mild months, thus reducing cooling costs as well. It has become possible to have Class A houses with an annual consumption lower than 30 KWh/mq. This not only results in lower energy bills and fewer pollutant emissions, but also in a higher quality of life. As shown, the energy performance certificate of a building is one of the most effective measures for evidencing both energy sustainability and economic objectives. In a not so distant future non-certified buildings will in fact suffer a strong devaluation. This valuable energy efficiency can only be achieved through professional competence and expertise, capable of making a rational choice of all the components of the building structure, implementing the most appropriate building techniques, employing high-quality materials and plant design systems as well as the most advanced equipment and technology. Since we are committed to playing our part in fostering energy conservation through energy efficiency, we offer residential buildings only in class A, B and C. This means they meet the highest energy efficiency requirements in terms of insulation and other energy saving measures, thus allowing a highly sustainable way of life.