1. Reason for revision

Since the Green Buildings Construction Support Act has been revised (Law No. 20337; promulgated on February 20, 2024; implemented on January 1, 2025) to integrate the building energy efficiency rating into the certification system for Zero Energy Buildings, the purpose of the proposed revision is to provide the methods regarding the composition and the operational plans of the Technical Committee, which is a subcommittee of the newly organized Certification Steering Committee, while deleting the provisions and terms related to the building energy efficiency rating system; and to revise the operating standards and forms of the related system in accordance with the revised Act.

2. Main contents

a. Integration of building energy-related certification systems (Article 1, Article 4, Article 6, and Appendices 1 to 4 of the draft)

As the building energy efficiency rating certification system has been integrated with the zero-energy building certification system, the revision aims to overhaul the relevant contents of the building energy efficiency rating certification system into the zero-energy building certification system.

b. Mandatory assessment of cooling for residential buildings (Article 4 and Appendix 2 of the draft)

The cooling sector assessment has so far been exempted when there is no cooling equipment in the design drawings of apartment buildings. However, the installation of cooling equipment has become more common as the law now requires the installation of a space for the exhaust system of cooling equipment for apartment buildings. Therefore, the revision aims to apply the standard cooling energy consumption value in cases where no cooling equipment is included in the cooling evaluation drawings of apartment buildings.

c. Specific provisions for the composition and operational plans of the annex Subcommittee (Article 8-2 and Article 9 of the draft)

The revision aims to specify the details concerning the organization and operation of the Technical Committee, which is a subcommittee of the Certification Steering Committee as delegated by Article 15 of the Zero Energy Building Certification Rules. 

d. Standards for installing building energy management systems (Appendix 2-2 of the draft)

The revision now provides the standards for installing building energy management systems as previously provided in the “Buildings Energy Conservation Design Standards” in the “Zero Energy Building Certification Standards”.