Low Carbon Buildings
Approved proxies for “top 15%”

Switzerland

Building Performance in Switzerland (13 April 2021)
Building Code- State (canton) dependent- SIA (Swiss Engineer and Architects) standards based on the EU building standards are what the statesbase their building codes on- MoPEC 2014 (energy efficiency code), which aims to- Include only requirement that have a significant effect on energy use- Prescribe targets rather than procedures- Develop on requirements that are applicable- Define measurable legal requirements- Allow for states some room to tailor the code to suit from the federal government towards near zeroenergy buildings by 2050 has been created to be consistent with the SIA standards with cantons
expected to start integrating it in their building code from 2018 and fully implemented by 2020
MoPEC 2014 final energy index limit (heating, hot water and ventilation):- 35 kWh/m2/y (new)- 60 kWh/m2/y (reno)
From the study “energy certificate for Buildings methods and applications”1 ,the primary energy index forreference building based on the standards SIA 380/1(2007) and SIA 380/4(2006) is as presented in thetable below
Standard forheatingStandard forotherpresentations1

GlobalStandard

Building typeMulti-residential
Single dwelling
Administrative
Schools
Commercial
Restaurants
Assembly Halls
Hospitals
IndustrialStorage
Sport facilities
Covered pools
Other prestations include hot water, ventilation, cooling, lighting except for heating
1

Le certificat énergétique des bâtiments, méthodes et applications

primary energy index based on SIA 380/1(2007) and SIA 380/4 (2006)2
The MoPEC final energy index is lower than that for just heating based on SIA standards (44kWh/m2/y),so it is safe to assume that the MoPEC limits are lower than that of the SIA standards.

Minergie- 3 standards: Minergie A, Minergie P and Minergie- There is a minimum threshold that must be met for all requirements- All certified buildings are to meet a minimum index ((total weighted final energy index taking intoaccount:! Heating, ventilation, air conditioning! Hot water.
! Lighting.
! Appliances.
! Technical systems.

- 2 additional standards can be added to any of the 3 Minergie standards:- Eco (health and sustainable construction)- SQM construction (additional demand on construction quality)- Issued based on design data
- The standards were all updated to be inline with MoPEC from Jan 2018
- an independent study showed that a new MoPEC building performed about the same or better than aMinergie certified building

Energy performance gap per building standard in new buildings 3(Study does not specify version of certification buildings selected are rated under, however states that thebuildings selected were recently built or renovated so the 2017 version is assumed)

Le certificat énergétique des bâtiments, méthodes et applications
Cozza, Stefano & Chambers, Jonathan & Gambato, Carlo & Branca, Giovanni & Geissler, Achim &Patel, Martin. (2019). Energy consumption of high-performance buildings: Design vs. Reality. Journal ofPhysics: Conference Series. 1343. 012169. 10.1088/1742-6596/1343/1/012169.
23

Comparison of the 3 Minergie standards
Minergie

Minergie -P

Minergie -A

PV

At least 10W/m2 SRE with
the increase of energy
efficiency

At least 10W/m2 SRE with
the increase of energy
efficiency

Covers all energy requirementwith the increase of energy
efficiency

Thermalinsulationaccording to MoPEC 2014

30% more than MoPEC 2014

MoPEC 2014 or better

EnergyMetering

Compulsory for all large
buildings (>2000m2)

Compulsory for all large
buildings (>2000m2)

For all buildings

Outdoor air
intakeAutomatic

Automatic

Automatic

Air tightness

controlled infiltration

controlled infiltration

controlled infiltration

Fossil fuelno fossil fuel use for heating
and cooling except for offsite
heating and cooling sources
and peak load

no fossil fuel use for heating andcooling except for offsite heating
and cooling sources and peakload

no fossil fuel use for heating
and cooling except for offsite
heating and cooling sources
and peak loadHot water

Reduce energy demand forwater heating

Reduce energy demand forwater heating

Reduce energy demand forwater heating

Lighting

Lighting efficiency according tocodeLighting efficiency according tocodeLighting efficiency according
to codeMinergie
index (totalweighted
final energyrequirement)- 55 kWh/m2/y (new)- 90 kWh/m2/y (reno)- 50 kWh/m2/y (new)- 80 kWh/m2/y (reno)- 35 kWh/m2/y (new)- 35 kWh/m2/y (reno)

and conform with theheating requirements fromMoPEC 2014

and conform with the heating and conform with therequirements from MoPECheating requirements from2014
MoPEC 2014

Final energy
index (as perMoPEC)- 38 kWh/m2/y (new)- 55 kWh/m2/y (reno)- 30 kWh/m2/y (new)- 50 kWh/m2/y (reno)

35 kWh/m2/yMinergie

Minergie -P

Minergie -A- The -P standard aims for a- Positive energy balance

optimum insulation with anenergy demand as low as
possible by using passiveheating(self-generated electricity
can be deducted fromconsumption, electricity
fed back into the grid ispartially deducted)- Building envelope
performance to be at least
30% better than MoPEC
2014 with special attention tothermal insulation in summer- No restriction on design aslong as energy use index ismet- Lower energy index,
electricity should be selfgenerated though exceptions
are allowed. Consumed selfgenerated electricity can bededucted from consumption,
electricity fed back into thegrid is partially deducted.

- The -P standard aims for a
2000W society

The information provided by Minergie shows that the heating demand limit for Minergie and Minergie -P
are both are under the SIA standard (90% and 60% respectively). From the 2017, Minergie was alignedwith MoPEC and Minergie -P 70% of the MoPEC requirement.
According to the email from Minergie, about 8% of buildings built since 1998 was certified underMinergie. According to the government website
https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/construction-housing/buildings.html, the Swiss
residential building stock was at 1,756,927, while the Minergie website states that there are 44,247
certified residential buildings showing a 2.5% certification rate.