ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 663

of EPCs have limited timeframe for their validity; for instance, according to EPBD, 10 years is the
maximum period of validity if no major changes happened during this period. These certifications can be obligatory, such as the EU’s EPBD. They are required for any type of building whether
newly constructed or previously existing or offered for rent or sale. Also EPCs could be voluntary,
such as the ENERGY STAR, which is an example of positive energy label, which was developed
by the Department of Energy (DOE) in the US. This labelling is provided to new buildings that
show 15% better energy performance than the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
2006. Although this scheme is not mandatory, it has been declining. For this reason, it has been
connected with tax exemptions and had played a vital role in elevating the energy market in the
US to a higher level (OECD/IEA 2010). The energy certification of building is very important for the
reasons that summarized in Figure 19.

Figure 9: The benefits of EPCs
Sometimes, financial support is required to boost any wanted action. By focusing on increasing
the impact of the building certificate, the recast of the EPBD demands the member states (EU)
to keep in mind the efficient actions and financing as well as other tools. Financial support will
encourage the market by helping building owners to go for energy efficiency refurbishment that
is recommended alongside with energy performance certificate (OECD/IEA 2010). These incentives have been noticed in some countries such as the Republic of Ireland, which has a national
grant sys tem for energy retrofit, and an extra certificate is provided after the measure is done. In
addition, some countries, in order to get tax exemption for energy saving measures, they set the
certification as a mandatory issue.

6. Financial Models
In the US markets, many new financing structures have emerged. For instance, Property Assessed
Clean Energy (PACE), Energy Service Agreements (ESAs), as well as On-Bill Finance options, all provide extra alternatives beyond ESCOs. PACE is capable as a model to suit all segments; however, it
needs the mortgage industry’s support and acceptance. On-Bill options could be used as a tool to
enhance other models for finance in the three building market sectors. Particularly, the US Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit report (The Rockefeller Foundation 2012) believe that the Energy
Service Agreement model (ESA) provides a great potential to evaluate and meet the needs for all
parties involved, without any support from regulations or subsidy (Fig.10).

Retrofitting existing buildings in UAE: barriers, opportunities, and recommendation

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