Technical building management systems (GTB)

Verified 26 April 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Technical building systems (or technical building management, GTB) are technical equipment for heating, ventilation, lighting, etc. 2 types of technical systems can be obligatory in buildings for use tertiary : the building automation and control systems and automatic temperature control systems. Explanation of the buildings concerned and the application of these obligations.

The technical building systems are the technical equipment of:

  • Space heating
  • Room Cooling
  • Ventilation
  • Production of domestic hot water
  • Integrated lighting
  • Building automation and control
  • On-site generation of electricity in a building or building unit, or a combination thereof, including renewable energy systems

2 types of technical systems may be mandatory in buildings for tertiary use. These are systems:

  • D'automation and control of building
  • From automatic temperature control

Certain buildings for use tertiary shall be equipped with a automatic temperature control system per room or, if justified, per heated area of the building.

The obligation is applicable to all buildings for tertiary use :

  • either during their construction, if building permit has been filed since july 21, 2021 included
  • Either whenever work on the installation or replacement of heat generators is undertaken since july 21, 2021 inclusive

Buildings for tertiary use are exempted if at least one the following conditions are met:

  • The owners produce a study establishing that the installation of an automatic room or zone temperature control system is not not achievable with a return on investment of less than 6 years
  • The heat generator of the heating system is a independent wood-burning appliance

FYI  

The owners transmitters connected to the settled or replaced generator are subject to this obligation.

The buildings for use tertiary, new or existing, must be equipped, where technically and economically feasible, Building automation and control systems.

This concerns buildings that fill the 2 the following conditions:

  • In which tertiary activities merchants or non-merchants, including those belonging to legal persons in the sector primal or secondary
  • Equipped with heating or air conditioning, whether or not combined with ventilation, including rated effective power is more than 70 kW

This responsibility applies to owners of heating or air conditioning systems in buildings.

The application of this obligation may be immediate or deferred depending on the power of the heating/air-conditioning system and the date of the building permit.

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Heating/air-conditioning system with a rated effective power greater than 290 kW

Building permit issued since July 21, 2021

All technical systems of the building must be linked to the building automation and control system.

Building permit issued before July 21, 2021

No later than 1er january 2025, the building automation and control system shall be linked:

  • To heating or air-conditioning systems with an effective rated output exceeding 290 kW
  • And to technical systems with which the connection can be made with a return on investment of less than 10 years (less public financial aid)

Heating/air conditioning system with effective rated output of 70 to 290 kW

Building permit issued since April 8, 2024

All technical systems of the building must be linked to the building automation and control system.

Building permit issued before April 8, 2024

Where the heating or air-conditioning system is subject to renewal and by 1er january 2027, the building automation and control system shall be linked:

  • To heating or air-conditioning systems with an effective rated output exceeding 70 kW
  • And to technical systems with which the connection can be made with a return on investment of less than 10 years (less public financial aid)

Please note

Vessels subject to the obligation may be exempted if they have a study establishing that the installation of an automation and control system is not achievable with a return on investment of less than 10 years. How ROI is calculated is detailed in a decree.

How It Works

Building automation and control systems shall:

  • Continuously track, record, and analyze, by functional area and at one hourly step, production and energy consumption data technical building systems to which they are connected
  • Adjust the technical systems as a result of the data analyzed
  • To situate the energy efficiency of the building in relation to reference values, corresponding to the data of energy studies or characteristics of each of the technical systems to which they are connected. They must detecting inefficiencies technical systems and to inform the operator of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Opportunities Building.
  • Be interoperable with the various technical systems of the building to which they are connected
  • Allow a manual shutdown and the autonomous management one or more technical building systems to which they are connected

The data produced and archived must be accessible to the owner of the automation and control system, who owns it. These data, broken down by month, must be stored for 5 years.

Please note

The owner of the automation and control system shall make this data available to the building manager on request. It must also transmit to each of the operators of the various technical systems connected the data which concern them.

Periodic checks

Building automation and control systems shall be subject to periodic checks by an external contractor or competent internal staff, in order to ensure that they remain in good working order.

These checks are accompanied by written instructions data to the manager of the building automation and control system. These instructions must:

  • Specify the periodicity of interventions
  • Specify the points to check
  • Provide for the prompt repair or replacement of defective components of these automation and control systems

Please note

Certain controls and inspections of technical systems are not not required for those connected to an automation and control system. These are the controls and inspections planned for:

  • Boilers
  • Thermodynamic systems
  • Ventilation systems combined with joule heating of a rated output exceeding 70 kW

The proprietor of the automation and control system must ensure that its operator is trained its operation, in particular as regards its parameterization.

Periodic inspections

At the initiative of their owner, building automation and control systems shall be subject to periodic inspection.

L'inspection includes:

  • If it is 1re system inspection, a review of the system functional analysis
  • Verification of the proper functioning of the system
  • An assessment of compliance with the requirements of the automation and control systems
  • Unless the inspected system, related technical systems and vessel requirements have not changed since the last inspection, an assessment of the system's settings in relation to the vessel's usage
  • Providing the necessary recommendations on the proper use of the existing system
  • The possible improvements to the whole installation, the possible value of replacing it and the other possible solutions

The periodic inspection of an automation and control system comprises a on-site visit which must take place on an installation which is running, partial or total. This visit focuses on the accessible parts of the elements of the automation and control system of buildings and technical systems present in the building.

Within one month, the person who carried out the inspection shall submit a relationship the owner of the automation and control system, who shall store for 10 years.

The inspection report includes:

  • Results of the document audit and evaluation of the requirements for the automation and control system
  • The necessary recommendations on the proper use of the system in place
  • Possible improvements to the whole facility
  • The possible need to replace the automation and control system or the whole installation
  • Other possible solutions

The frequency periodic inspections must be carried out less than 5 years.

This frequency is reduced to 2 years after installation or replacement:

  • Building automation and control system
  • One of the technical systems connected to the building automation and control system

FYI  

The 1re inspection of the automation and control system for existing buildings as of April 7, 2023 must be completed no later than 1er january 2025.

Of closure systems manual or automatic limiting thermal losses must be settled on the openings of any building, or part of a building, in which tertiary activities are carried out. This applies to any room heated or cooled using one or more heating or air conditioning systems, opening onto outdoor spaces or a part of a building that is not heated or cooled.

Under normal operating conditions, when one or more of these heating or air-conditioning systems are operating, these closing systems must be kept closed by the operator, including during hours of operation for users.

This provision does not apply when:

  • Indoor air renewal requirements require it (indoor air pollution prevention)
  • The recommendations of the health authorities call for this

Warning  

Of controls may be carried out, under the authority of the mayor or the president of theEPCI: titleContent. The latter shall send the operator a formal notice comply with its obligations and invite it to submit its observations within a maximum of three weeks. In the event of persistent non-compliance with this obligation, the operator may be administrative fine of €750.

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