New Royal Decree amending the CTE
The Council of Ministers approved, at its meeting on December 20, the Royal Decree of Modification of the Technical Building Code, which will serve to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and that includes, among other issues, the new "Basic Energy Saving Document" and the new section of the "Basic Health Document" dedicated to the protection of buildings against exposure to radon gas.
With regard to the new "Basic Energy Saving Document (DBHE)", this document is aligned with the recent national and European legislative initiatives aimed at saving energy in different sectors and promoting energy from renewable sources.
The modification comes to adapt the Code to new requirements that will improve the performance of buildings both in relation to their energy efficiency and in relation to the health, comfort and safety of users. The Royal Decree has been approved after being subjected to an intense audience and public information process, with an important participation of the affected sectors. New buildings that are made after the new regulation comes into force will have high energy efficiency, which added to the greater contribution of energy from renewable sources, will mean a reduction in the consumption of non-renewable primary energy, compared to current, about 40% on average.
With the new DB-HE document, the quality of the thermal envelopes of the buildings will be improved and the use of the most efficient and sustainable technologies for their conditioning will be promoted, which will allow to achieve adequate comfort conditions with the minimum energy expenditure.
The Document reviews and updates the regulatory energy efficiency requirements of buildings in compliance with the provisions of Directive 2010/31 / EU, which establishes the obligation to carry out this review periodically. The revision of the requirements regarding energy saving and the incorporation of energy from renewable sources in the building sector is also essential for the progressive progress towards a competitive low carbon economy in 2050, an objective that Spain has committed to through international agreements in the latest Climate summits.
The new section of the "Basic Health Document", section HS6 "Protection against exposure to radon" is a partial transposition of the Council Directive 2013/59 / EURATOM of 5 December 2013, which establishes standards Basic safety measures for protection against hazards arising from exposure to ionizing radiation. In this new section of the Code, the national reference level is established for radon concentrations in enclosures and regulatory measures are included to limit radon penetration in buildings depending on the municipality in which they are located. With all this, people's exposure to radon gas is limited, thus reducing the risks associated with it, since prolonged exposure to high concentrations of radon is a risk factor for lung cancer.
The approved Royal Decree also includes changes in the "Basic Fire Safety Document", where a modification has been made in the "External Propagation" section to adapt the regulatory requirements to the transformation that is being experienced in the composition of the external enclosures of buildings in recent times, both due to the technological innovation of the sector itself, as well as the growing demands of the energy efficiency regulations.
Finally, the approved Royal Decree makes an update of the technical standards mentioned in the different Basic Documents that make up the Technical Building Code.
