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.