Energy conservation, confirmed by the use of energy audits, is on the minds of standards developers these days, which means that regulators and industry are ready to take action. Now there’s 3 new European standards directly addressing the topic. They are part of the EN 16247 series and have just been released. Each complements the EN 16247-1, “Energy audits. General requirements,” from 2012. Let’s review the new editions:
EN 16247-2, Energy audits. Buildings
This European Standard is applicable to specific energy audit requirements in buildings. It specifies the requirements, methodology and deliverables of an energy audit in a building or group of buildings. It does not include individual private homes. But it may cover multi-dwelling apartment blocks where communal services are supplied from a landlord. You’ll use it in conjunction with EN 16247-1, as with all the documents we’re reviewing today.
EN 16247-3, Energy audits. Processes
You’ll be using this part of the EN 16247 series when energy is used for industrial processes. The standard provides you with a way of organizing and conducting the audit, analyzing the data, and reporting and documenting the audit findings.
EN 16247-4, Energy audits. Transport
Again, the new standard is to be used in conjunction with EN 16247-1. It applies to all modes of transportation, like road, rail, sea and aviation. Range (distance) and cargo (goods and/or people) do not affect the audit.
Part 4 again provides the requirements, methodology and deliverables for energy auditing. It addresses optimization of energy for each mode of transport and the selection of the best method for transportation in general. It is strictly used for the mode of transport itself — there’s no upstream requirements regarding how the energy for the transport is generated, etc.
You should note that the energy audit for components of a specific form of transport may end up being covered by one of the other parts. For example, an airport would also be covered by both part 2 (buildings) and part 3 (processes like the elevators, escalators, and baggage movers).
If you’re looking for guidance or for compliance through certification, you’ll need copies of the applicable documents. You can get them at the Document Center Inc. webstore, www.document-center.com. Or you can contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7600), or email (info@document-center.com). Make Document Center your Standards Experts!
