From the end of next month, private apartments will be required to apply the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) grade 5. When designing apartments, the building insulation performance must be improved compared to now, and energy must be saved as much as possible by utilizing renewable energy sources such as Taeyang.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 7th, the government is undergoing regulatory reviews to mandate ZEB grade 5 level designs for private buildings larger than 1,000 square meters and private multi-family dwellings with more than 30 households. The target implementation date is June 30.
A Zero Energy Building refers to a building whose energy consumption combined with the energy produced amounts to 'zero (0)'. The grading of this building is divided from grade 1 (100% or more) to grade 5 (less than 20-40%) according to energy self-sufficiency.
For public housing being constructed by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and others, ZEB grade 5 certification has been mandatory since 2023. For private apartments, a less stringent standard is applied at 80-90% of grade 5, with energy self-sufficiency at a level of 13-17%.
The government initially planned to implement this system at the beginning of last year. However, with the construction industry expressing concerns that the price of construction would inevitably rise due to increases in raw material prices and labor costs when adding the Zero Energy Building certification, the implementation of the system was deferred by 1 year and 6 months.
The construction industry is concerned about the rising costs of housing construction due to the implementation of this system. This is because building eco-friendly compliant structures requires high-performance insulation materials, high-efficiency windows, and Taeyang equipment, leading to an expected increase in construction expenses.
The government also estimated that when constructing buildings that meet grade 5, the construction expense per dwelling would increase by about 1.3 million won (based on an 84 square meter unit). However, annual energy costs are expected to decrease by about 220,000 won, suggesting that the additional construction costs could be recovered in approximately six years.
In order to reduce the burden on the industry arising from the strengthening of energy performance standards, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to establish alternative recognition measures for renewable energy sources such as Taeyang. Options being considered include installing solar power equipment on other sites or purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) to make up for deficiencies.