Frequently asked questions about the Environmental Performance of Heat pumps
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Heat pumps
Verrekenfactor
In early 2023, it became clear that the environmental impact of a heat pump was higher than initially assumed. As a result, heat pumps were given a higher share in the result of the environmental performance calculation in new calculations. To prevent an uneven playing field for suppliers with old and new data, but also from the perspective of the importance of heat pumps in reducing CO₂ emissions, a temporary settlement factor was introduced for heat pumps. The generic settlement factor will no longer apply as of Jan. 1, 2024. For that, read the news article End of generic transfer factor for heat pumps as of January 1, 2024.
Also read the article: Environmental tax on heat pumps is higher
In recent months, the environmental declarations for heat pumps have been updated so that the settlement factor is no longer necessary for the majority of situations. Therefore, the settlement factor for the environmental performance of heat pumps will cease in its current form on December 31, 2023. To do so, read the new article Also read the article: End of generic transfer factor for heat pumps as of January 1, 2024.
Research has shown that it becomes particularly difficult for residential buildings with small apartments (such as tiny houses and chalets) to meet the environmental performance requirement when installing a heat pump. This occurs for units with small areas and in fact applies to all building materials. But for the proportion of air conditioning units, the impact is relatively greater due to the conversion to m2.
Also read the article: End of generic transfer factor for heat pumps as of January 1, 2024.
As of Jan. 1, 2024, a new limited settlement factor applies for small heat pumps with an output not exceeding 4.0 kW. This factor is only applicable for new construction projects. Read the updated news article End of generic settlement factor for heat pumps as of Jan. 1, 2024
The new limited settlement factor is temporary and will be in place through Dec. 31, 2024. For that, read the news article End of generic settlement factor for heat pumps as of Jan. 1, 2024
The limited settlement factor is only included in the environmental declarations of heat pumps with a capacity up to 4.0 kW. The scale limit for scalable environmental declarations of heat pumps to which the settlement factor applies is set at 4.0 kW. This settlement factor still applies until July 1, 2025, and only in the case of the environmental declarations that still use the (old) A1-set environmental impact categories. Thus, the settlement factor does not apply when using A2 declarations. When switching to A2-set calculations, the environmental declarations must be used without the settlement factor.
The limited settlement factor applies only to new construction projects and only in the case of calculating with the environmental declarations that still use the (old) A1 set of environmental impact categories.
We use measurement condition 1 from the NTA8800, which is in line with EN14511-2. - This equates to the following temperatures (input & output temperature, respectively):
- Air-water (L/W): 7°C/35°C
- Soil-water (B/W): 0°C/35°C
- Water-water (W/W): 10°C/35°C
Lees meer over de nieuwe categorie 3 milieuverklaringen voor warmtepompen
The limited settlement factor may only be used once per home on a heat pump up to 4.0 kW regardless of the number of heat pumps used.
Environmental data retrieved by the calculation tools include the environmental impact as of January 1, 2024 (where applicable) including the transfer factor. This applies to both in categories 1, 2 and 3.
The application of the settlement factor is clearly disclosed by NMD on the environmental statement.
Environmental Performance
Energy performance indicates how much energy a building consumes annually. From January 1, 2021, the energy performance of a building will be determined in accordance with NTA 8800 and expressed in three BENG indicators, which are linked to a minimum legal requirement in the Building Code. BENG stands for Nearly Energy Neutral Building. The three BENG indicators give an estimate of the energy performance of the building in the use phase. These are influenced by the building envelope and building-related installations.
In contrast, the environmental performance reflects the material-related environmental impact of all building elements, over the entire life cycle of the building. Energy use during the use phase is outside the scope of environmental performance.
At Stichting NMD we are working on a method for an integral calculation to include energy use in the environmental performance of a building. This is expressly intended only for calculations for and by the market and its clients; this does not replace the calculation for the test of the legal environmental performance or the energy performance in a permit application for a new home. From a European context, it is necessary to demonstrate separately that the energy performance requirement is met. Currently with the permit application; after the Quality Assurance for Construction Act (WKB) comes into force, also with the delivery of the new home. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is therefore not working on an integrated requirement for energy and environmental performance.
Stichting NMD has already prepared environmental declarations for energy carriers such as electricity, gas and heat networks and included them in the NMD. This makes it possible, on the basis of the energy consumption in the use phase of buildings, to also properly map the environmental impact of that energy use. As a result, an integral assessment of environmental and energy performance can be made as early as the design phase. This is desirable because there is an undeniable tension between energy use and material use. The necessary calculation rules have already been drawn up for this calculation and will go out for public consultation next week.
When a category 1 environmental statement of heat pumps was published in the NMD that showed a significantly higher ECI compared to the ECI used in 2019 to set the performance requirement of 0.8 for new homes and 1.0 for new office buildings, we had this analyzed and, as required by the Assessment Method, had a new category 3 environmental declaration prepared. The analysis showed that in the old category 3 environmental declaration for heat pumps, only part of the materialization was included in the calculation and thus did not reflect the full environmental impact. The new category 3 environmental declaration and the new category 1 environmental declaration of heat pumps do include the entire materialization, and are therefore more representative. In the old data, for example, electronics and refrigerants were not included in the materialization. The share of the new environmental declaration of heat pumps in the EPB calculation increased sharply, which in a number of cases, according to signals from the market, led to such a high score that the environmental performance requirement could no longer be met. Therefore, a temporary settlement factor for heat pumps was instituted in January 2023. Currently, the other climate plant data are also being updated so that a good picture is obtained of the impact of all climate plants. This study was completed in April.
Read the latest state of affairs in the news release End of generic settlement factor for heat pumps on January 1, 2024.
Also read the article: Environmental tax on heat pumps is higher
The old data were compiled in the past; at that time there was less environmental data available. Additionally, there were no producer- or industry-related data in the NMD (category 1 and 2 data) against which the category 3 data could be calibrated.
Initial analyses with three reference buildings, comparing the impact on EPB of the old (reference) heat pump environmental declarations with the new environmental declarations, showed that the share of the old category 3 heat pump environmental declarations is between 1.2% and 4.8%, depending on the type of heat pump and type of reference building. The new environmental declarations have a substantially larger share in the EPB score; between 15.8% and 37%, depending on the type of heat pump and type of reference building.
The material-specific ECI (the environmental cost indicator, a 1-point score expressed in Euro) of the old category 3 heat pump data is up to a factor of 11 lower than the new heat pump data - comparing the ECI of the new environmental declarations with the ECI of comparative old environmental declarations. The ECI represents the total environmental impact over the life cycle of a product. However, the ECI does not include the energy performance of the heat pump during the use phase.
Heat pumps can continue to be used in new construction under current rules; existing construction is not affected.
The NMD Foundation has investigated the environmental impact of the materials in the heat pump. That environmental impact turns out to be higher than previously assumed, because not all components of the heat pump (such as refrigerants and electronics) were included in the old data. Currently, the environmental score in the environmental database includes only the material-related environmental impact; it does not include the gain in energy use during operation. With heat pumps, homes no longer consume natural gas at all and CO2 emissions decrease during the use phase. So heat pumps contribute to achieving climate goals. However, it is important to make the environmental impact of appliances ever smaller. For example, by reusing or recycling materials, making devices last longer and using refrigerants with a much lower climate impact.
Are you a manufacturer and curious about how you can have environmental data from your product included in the environmental database? Then check out our page on submitting environmental data.
No, the energy label of houses is not affected by this environmental score. The data from the Environmental Database is used to calculate the material-specific environmental performance of new homes and new office buildings.
Some features of environmental statements:
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The lifetime of a heat pump in the environmental declaration is 15 years. Therefore, with a building life of 75 years, the environmental impact of a heat pump contributes 5 times to the MPG score of the building.
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The contribution of the refrigerant in the environmental declaration is over 30% of the environmental impact of this heat pump
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The heat pump boiler is not part of the environmental declaration, as is the delivery system (such as underfloor heating). These components must therefore be chosen separately in an MPG calculation. For these environmental declarations, therefore, the lifetime of the chosen product card also applies.
The category 3 environmental declarations in the NMD are based on this article
For producer and industry-related data (category 1 and 2 data), we depend on the market. We are currently working on a project to update category 3 data on air conditioning systems; this will include data for several types of heat pumps with different capacities, as well as more sustainable refrigerants.
Are you a manufacturer and curious how you can have data from your product included in the environmental database? Then check out our page on submitting environmental data.
Nationale Mileudatabase and MPG
The National Environmental Database was created to provide an unambiguous calculation of the environmental performance of structures in the Dutch context. This database is managed by Stichting Nationale Milieudatabase (NMD Foundation). The National Environmental Database contains data (in the form of 'nevironmnetal statements') of building products, building installations and processes with information on the environmental impact obtained from a life cycle analysis - LCA for short. An LCA looks at all stages in the life cycle of products such as production, construction and end-of-life. The data are used in validated calculation tools to calculate the environmental performance of structures. The NMD Foundation is an independent organization that manages and maintains the Assessment Methodin addition to the National Environmental Database. The basis for the Assessment Method is the European standard EN 15804. The Assessment Method is a uniform measurement method for calculating the environmental performance of buildings in an unambiguous, verifiable and reproducible manner. It thus creates a level playing field for all parties involved. The environmental performance of various building designs can be compared, with the goal of reducing the ultimate environmental impact of a structure.
The environmental performance of structures is an important measure of the sustainability of a structure. The lower the environmental impact of a structure, the better the environmental performance of the structure is. The environmental performance of a structure is expressed in a 1-point score. For GWW this is the Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) score expressed in Euro, and for B&U the Environmental Performance of Buildings (EPB Dutch: MPG)) score expressed in Euro/m2/year. The Building Code makes an MPG calculation mandatory. The environmental performance calculation is performed according to the Assessment Method Environmental Performance of Buildings. By expressing the environmental performance in a 1-point score, it becomes comparable to the environmental performance of other structures, the environmental impact can be better communicated and a standard can be set. Determining the environmental performance of a structure can be done with calculation tools that have been validated in advance by the NMD Foundation. The calculation tools draw from the National Environmental Database, which contains environmental declarations of building products, building installations and processes with information on the environmental impact obtained from a life cycle analysis. For more information see: Environmental Performance Calculation (MPG).
The MPG score indicates the material-related environmental impact of a structure. The Building Code includes an environmental performance requirement for new homes and new offices larger than 100m2. On Jan. 1, 2018, the environmental performance requirement for both new homes and new offices was 1.0. Since July 1, 2021, the environmental performance requirement for new homes (not offices) has been tightened from 1.0 to 0.8. The goal is to gradually tighten the requirement and halve it by 2030 at the latest. An exploratory study is currently being conducted to accelerate this tightening of the requirement.
There is no statutory environmental performance requirement for existing buildings, nor for renovations.
For more information on the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations' plans for the environmental performance requirement, see the letter from the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning dated December 23, 2022 (in Dutch).
The data in the NMD can be viewed and used through the validated calculation tools.
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