Two things the label does not include

A couple of points that I think are important to note. - The label certification is based on the projected energy consumption of buildings. There is no oversight of the actual construction and subsequent usage. The good news is that a study[1] in 2004 (see graph below, remember that 1 MJ ≡ 0.28 kWh) carried out by the University of St. Gallen of about 500 certified buildings showed that single family homes (SFH) and renovation projects typically were better than the standard prescribed. Newly constructed larger residential units (MFH) fell short, though not by much. There have been a lot of developments and many lessons learnt since the time the study was conducted, and I think things are much improved. Figure 2. Results of a survey of Minergie-certified residential units conducted by the University of St. Gallen in 2004.

- A second important point for me is that the requirements say nothing about the consumption per person. They just set a limit on the amount consumed per heated square meter of floor space. To make an extreme comparison, person A can have 300 m² to himself or herself while family B with 4 members can live in a 180 m² house and both houses can be Minergie certified. For a vision of a per person consumption limit see, for example, the 2000 Watt society project.

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[1] A copy of a presentation of the results (in German) can be downloaded here: Minergie Praxistest 2004.

Simple representation of the basic points

Figure 1. A simplified representation illustrating the main points of a Minergie house.

The current maximum for the weighted energy demand of a single family house is set at 38 kWh/m² per year in the Minergie category. The weighting involves the type of energy source that is chosen to meet the heating demands. Direct solar energy is highly preferred while electricity from the grid[1] is not. More about this later.

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[1] I make this distinction because electricity generated via a photovoltaic system is viewed favorably.

A brief history of the Minergie label

In 1994 Heinz Uebersax[1] and Ruedi Kriesi[2] put forward the idea of the Minergie label. The two of them had already been involved in several low-energy building projects for a few years. The label was registered as a protected trademark and in 1997 it was acquired by the cantons of Bern and Zürich. The Minergie Association as it currently stands was formed in 1998.

Over the last decade as more working knowledge has been gained from surveys of buildings and technology has improved, the requirements for Minergie certification have been sharpened. And that trend will naturally continue. In 2001, a Minergie-P classification was introduced. The 'P' stands for passive and it is similar to the German Passivhaus standard (link to Wikipedia in the list on the left). I don't know that I'll have the time to describe that class of building to any depth. There's also the Minergie-Eco and Minergie-P-Eco categories. Our planned house should meet the requirements of the very basic Minergie 2009 classification and I'll be focussing on that in this blog.

The oldest single family home with Minergie certification that I've found on the association database is in Bern. Information about it can be found at this link BE-001. The label was granted in January 1998. All this means is that this house was the first to be registered. There certainly exist older houses with equal or lower consumption values. Even now, not everyone registers their building. There's paperwork and a fee involved (though in many cases the cantons reimburse this expense) and for some people, the label just isn't important.

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[1] Heinz Uebersax now runs a consulting group called Uebersax Consulting.

[2]Ruedi Kriesi is vice-president of the Minergie Association and he works for Zehnder Group, a company that makes high efficiency ventilation systems.

What does it mean to be Minergie certified?

Simply stated, the Minergie label sets a limit on how much energy a building may consume for the functions of temperature regulation (typically heating) and the production of hot water. I'll get into the details in time, but for now let me say that tied into this is the very important stipulation that the building be comfortable to inhabit. No hardship here!