Mexico. The federal government has established NOM-008-ENER-2001 and NOM-020-ENER-2011, to govern the gain or loss of heat in construction. These standards are mandatory for new buildings and favor good energy performance in constructions, benefiting both users and owners.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and as highlighted in a text recently published by César Ulises Treviño Treviño and Rafael Olvera, who are part of Bioconstrucción y Energía Alternativa, S.A. de C.V., the increase in real estate developments in Mexico and Latin America, associated with the growth of the regional economy, sustains an upward trend for the sector. This condition will prevail for at least the next 30 years until it reaches a stabilization.
Addressing urban growth and energy demand together, and in a timely manner, is a strategic line of action that provides long-term benefits, such as slowing the negative effects of climate change or even as an energy security task at the national level.
In this sense, the federal government has established Official Mexican Standards (NOM). Among these, NOM-008-ENER-2001 and NOM-020-ENER-2011 stand out, which govern the gain or loss of heat from buildings. These standards are mandatory for new buildings, and favor good energy performance in constructions while benefiting both users and owners of the properties.
In particular, NOM-008-ENER established the first official regulation on energy efficiency for the envelope of commercial buildings, such as offices, restaurants, airports, hotels, hospitals, etc. The "envelope" of a building is constituted by the constructive elements that separate the interior spaces from the exterior, and through them heat is exchanged, such as walls, doors, windows, ceilings and floors; in such a way that, to a large extent, the energy consumption required for artificial air conditioning of a building is significantly affected by the type of the envelope.
The NOM-008-ENER proposes the basic requirements that an evaluation instrument must have: application throughout the national territory, consider the variation in climatic conditions throughout the country, and also define a simple and consistent calculation method that serves to evaluate any type of project.
On the other hand, there is the NOM-020-ENER, a standard that fulfills the same purpose as the previous one, but applicable exclusively to residential constructions; that is, houses and apartments. This regulation is of more recent creation, in force since 2011, and is based on the same methodology as NOM-008-ENER.
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