1.Member States shall lay down the necessary measures to establish a system of certification of the energy performance of buildings. The energy performance certificate shall include the energy performance of a building and reference values such as minimum energy performance requirements in order to make it possible for owners or tenants of the building or building unit to compare and assess its energy performance.
The energy performance certificate may include additional information such as the annual energy consumption for non-residential buildings and the percentage of energy from renewable sources in the total energy consumption.
2.The energy performance certificate shall include recommendations for the cost-optimal or cost-effective improvement of the energy performance of a building or building unit, unless there is no reasonable potential for such improvement compared to the energy performance requirements in force.
The recommendations included in the energy performance certificate shall cover:
(a)measures carried out in connection with a major renovation of the building envelope or technical building system(s); and
(b)measures for individual building elements independent of a major renovation of the building envelope or technical building system(s).
3.The recommendations included in the energy performance certificate shall be technically feasible for the specific building and may provide an estimate for the range of payback periods or cost-benefits over its economic lifecycle.
4.The energy performance certificate shall provide an indication as to where the owner or tenant can receive more detailed information, including as regards the cost-effectiveness of the recommendations made in the energy performance certificate. The evaluation of cost effectiveness shall be based on a set of standard conditions, such as the assessment of energy savings and underlying energy prices and a preliminary cost forecast. In addition, it shall contain information on the steps to be taken to implement the recommendations. Other information on related topics, such as energy audits or incentives of a financial or other nature and financing possibilities may also be provided to the owner or tenant.
5.Subject to national rules, Member States shall encourage public authorities to take into account the leading role which they should play in the field of energy performance of buildings, inter alia, by implementing the recommendations included in the energy performance certificate issued for buildings owned by them within its validity period.
6.Certification for building units may be based:
(a)on a common certification of the whole building; or
(b)on the assessment of another representative building unit with the same energy-relevant characteristics in the same building.
7.Certification for single-family houses may be based on the assessment of another representative building of similar design and size with a similar actual energy performance quality if such correspondence can be guaranteed by the expert issuing the energy performance certificate.
8.The validity of the energy performance certificate shall not exceed 10 years.
9.The Commission shall, by 2011, in consultation with the relevant sectors, adopt a voluntary common European Union certification scheme for the energy performance of non-residential buildings. That measure shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 26(2). Member States are encouraged to recognise or use the scheme, or use part thereof by adapting it to national circumstances.