Barcode Project, Oslo, Norway

NORWAY’S NEW REGULATIONS COMPLIANCE: TEK17 

TEK17 is the latest Technical Building Works Regulations in Norway. The Technical Building Works Regulations governs the properties and qualities that are mandatory for building works to be erected legally in Norway. Additionally, the Technical Building Works Regulations sets out requirements concerning the energy efficiency levels that must be met in the finished building works.

Norway’s TEK17 addresses energy efficiency in building both through requirements on building’s total net energy consumption as well as the requirements on the elements’ minimum U-values.

According to TEK17, the general energy efficiency requirements are set according to the following principles: 

• Buildings shall be designed and constructed such that satisfactory energy performance is facilitated. 
• The energy requirements apply to the building’s heated gross internal area (BRA). 
• U-values shall be calculated as the mean for the various elements of the building. 

Jump to: Energy Efficiency | Thermal Performance | Natural Daylight | Solar Heat Gain

How to account for energy efficiency in the design process?

While Norway’s TEK17 requires detailed whole-building energy calculations to demonstrate compliance with maximum total net energy requirements, complementary and alternative prescriptive guidance is also provided. This means that considerations can be addressed from the earliest point in the design process and the building can be optimized.

Requirements to establish and calculate end energy are such that it often happens late in the design process.  In order to minimize late stage redesign to address issues highlighted when the whole building energy analysis is carried out, it is appropriate to consider the design of the façade in conjunction with other prescriptive guidelines provided by TEK17 on thermal performance and daylight factors.

These two performance characteristics need to be considered in conjunction with understanding passive solar heat gain to maximize heat gains to reduce heating loads, while also ensuring that the building doesn’t overheat to minimize cooling loads. 

How to manage thermal performance for energy efficiency in FenestraPro?

TEK17 provides a prescriptive guidance to demonstrate compliance with the Energy requirements. These requirements include energy saving measures such as thermal performance standards for building elements for different building categories (Section 14-2 (2), 14-3 & 14-5) and in some cases includes limitations on the proportion of windows and doors to be used.

FenestraPro for Revit facilitates compliance checking with regards to these thermal performance requirements. It can also be used to establish the maximum percentage glazing from the earliest stages in the design process through to later stage detail design.

Image 1 below shows how the required standards can be set for conceptual models within FenestraPro for Revit, and shows where values that “non-compliant” with the selected standard are highlighted as red.