Spain: the energy certificate, where to start

What the energy certificate is

The energy efficiency certificate is a document, issued by a competent technician, that rates a building or a home with a letter: from A, the most efficient, to G, the least. It includes the energy efficiency label, a report in electronic format and recommendations for improvements, which may include changing the envelope, upgrading the installations or replacing fossil-fuel equipment (Royal Decree 390/2021, art. 8).

The technician has to visit the home and take the data. The owner orders it and keeps the documentation, and there is no need to order a new one if you already have another in force (art. 6).

When you need it

You need it in these cases, with some exceptions, such as certain protected buildings (Royal Decree 390/2021, art. 3). If you are unsure about your case, ask a technician or your autonomous community:

• When selling a home or letting it to a new tenant.
• In newly built buildings.
• In renovations that replace the thermal installations with a project, that affect more than 25% of the thermal envelope or that extend the built area by more than 10% (if the extension exceeds 50 m²).

How long it lasts and who registers it

The certificate is valid for ten years at most, and five if the rating is G (art. 13). The owner is in charge of renewing or updating it under the conditions of their autonomous community, and may update it earlier if there are important changes to the home.

The certificate is submitted, with its electronic report, to the competent body of the autonomous community, which registers it and checks by sampling the certificates that are issued (arts. 6 and 11). The price is not set by the royal decree: ask more than one technician for a quote.

The label, in the ad

Whoever advertises a home for sale or rent has to include the energy efficiency label in every offer, promotion and advertisement, and it must clearly state whether it is for a project, a finished building or an existing building (art. 15). It is one of the easy checks when you look at homes: if the ad does not have it, ask for it.

How to improve the letter

• What costs little: the heating temperature (the IDAE recommends 21 °C with suitable clothing, and one degree of difference means savings of around 7%), thermostats and thermostatic valves (between 8 and 13%) and LED bulbs (savings of over 80%).
• Windows and insulation: double glazing and frames with a thermal break; in a building, the façade is decided in the owners’ community.
• Heating and hot water: before replacing the boiler, compare the cost with a heat pump, using your prices.
• Grants: the IRPF deduction for energy efficiency works (20% up to €5,000 or 40% up to €7,500, for works up to December 31, 2026) requires a certificate from before and another from after the works.

Before spending on works

The certificate’s recommendations are a starting point, not a quote. Before the expensive works, ask a technician for a study and compare several quotes: that way you will know what pays off most in your home and how long it will take to recoup what you spend. The administrations link their incentives to the savings achieved, comparing the certificate from before with the one from after (art. 14), so it pays to have the first one before you start.