This article is a translation of the original Finnish article: E-luvun raja-arvot ja E-lukutaulukko
E-value limits and the E-value table
· updated
Limit values have been set for the E-values (E-luku) of new buildings as a condition for obtaining a building permit. The E-value requirement differs for buildings in different building categories (käyttötarkoitusluokka). For example, blocks of flats must reach an E-value of 90, which results in energy class B in the block-of-flats category. For hospitals the E-value limit is 320, and for small houses the limits vary according to floor area. The limit values therefore vary greatly depending on the building type. Our energy consulting services include energy performance certificates, energy reports and more extensive energy efficiency studies, in which we identify financially viable energy efficiency solutions for the client (e.g. a housing company). A good E-value is the result of good energy efficiency solutions.
E-value table
Below is the E-value table showing the E-value limits by building category, which must not be exceeded in new construction. In the section following the E-value table you will find more detailed information on which building types each category includes and what relaxations apply to the limit values. The energy class tables can be found in their own article, and E-value calculation examples have been collected in another.
| Building category | E-value limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Category | kWhE/(m² year) |
| Small residential buildings 50–150 m² | 1a | 200 – 0,6 × Anetto |
| Small residential buildings over 150, 600 m² or less | 1b | 116 – 0,04 × Anetto |
| Small residential buildings over 600 m² | 1c | 92 |
| Terraced houses and blocks of flats, 2 storeys | 1d | 105 |
| Blocks of flats over 2 storeys | 2 | 90 |
| Office buildings and health centres | 3 | 100 |
| Commercial buildings, e.g. department stores | 4 | 135 |
| Accommodation buildings, e.g. hotels | 5 | 160 |
| Educational buildings and day care centres | 6 | 100 |
| Sports halls, excluding e.g. ice rinks | 7 | 100 |
| Hospitals | 8 | 320 |
| Other buildings, e.g. warehouses | 9 | No limit value |
E-value table, E-value limits for new construction
E-value limits
Category 1) Small residential buildings a) Detached small house and building forming part of a linked house (ketjutalo), with a heated net floor area (Anetto) of 50–150 m2.
- E-value limit: By formula: 200–0,6 Anetto. For example, the maximum permitted E-value of a 50 m2 small house is 170 (200 – 0,6 x 50). The maximum permitted E-value of a 100 m2 small house is 140 (200 – 0,6 x 100), and so on.
Category 1) Small residential buildings b) Detached small house and building forming part of a linked house, with a heated net floor area (Anetto) of more than 150 m2 but no more than 600 m2.
- E-value limit: By formula: 116–0,04 Anetto. For example, the maximum permitted E-value of a 200 m2 small house is 108 (116 – 0,04 x 200), and so on.
Category 1) Small residential buildings c) Detached small house and building forming part of a linked house, with a heated net floor area (Anetto.) of more than 600 m2.
- E-value limit: 92.
Category 1) Small residential buildings d) Terraced house and block of flats with residential floors on no more than two storeys.
- E-value limit: 105.
Category 2) Block of flats with residential floors on at least three storeys.
- E-value limit: 90.
Category 3) Office building, health centre.
- E-value limit: 100.
Category 4) Commercial building, department store, shopping centre, retail building excluding grocery units under 2000 m2, retail hall, theatre, opera, concert and congress hall, cinema, library, archive, museum, art gallery, exhibition hall.
- E-value limit: 135.
Category 5) Accommodation building, hotel, dormitory, service house, home for the elderly, care institution.
- E-value limit: 160.
Category 6) Educational building and day care centre.
- E-value limit: 100.
Category 7) Sports hall, excluding swimming halls and ice rinks.
- E-value limit: 100.
Category 8) Hospital.
- E-value limit: 320.
Category 9) Other building, storage building, transport building, swimming hall, ice rink, grocery unit under 2000 m2, relocatable building.
- E-value limit: No limit value.
Relaxations to the limit values
“In a building of category 6 with a heated net floor area of no more than 1 000 square metres, the E-value limit laid down in subsection 1 above may be exceeded by 5 kWhE/(m2 a).
In a solid timber building, the E-value limits laid down in subsections 1 and 2 above may be exceeded by 20 per cent in a category 1a building, by 15 per cent in a category 1b–c building and by 10 per cent in other buildings of categories 1d–8.
In a building of category 1d, the E-value limit laid down in subsections 1 and 3 may be exceeded by 5 kWhE/(m2 a) when the building is connected to a heating system in which heat is conducted through heat pipes outside the building from a shared heat exchanger or heat generator to three or more buildings.“ Read more (in Finnish): https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2017/20171010