RE2020 tertiary
13 building types in scope since 2026
Since 2026, RE2020 extends to 13 tertiary building types (offices, education, retail, hospitality, healthcare and more), applying the Bbio, Cep, DH and carbon indicators.
RE2020 for tertiary buildings
Since 2026, RE2020 extends to 13 tertiary building types (offices, education, retail, hospitality, healthcare and more), applying the Bbio, Cep, DH and carbon indicators. ARKEMEP runs the thermal and LCA studies for these buildings.
Scope
A carbon budget, not an energy standard.
RE2020 differs from the thermal regulations that preceded it on a point of principle: it sets a limit on the carbon emitted over the building's entire life, construction included, not only on the energy it consumes in use. That makes the choice of structural material and envelope a regulatory subject rather than a purely architectural one.
The thresholds tighten on a published schedule, which means a project is judged against the threshold in force at its permit application, not at its conception. On a long programme, that gap alone can change the compliance outcome.
Summer comfort
The indicator that fails buildings that pass on energy.
Alongside energy and carbon, RE2020 introduces a summer discomfort indicator expressed in degree-hours. It is the requirement most frequently missed, because it penalises exactly what recent architecture favours: large glazed areas, light structures, compact volumes.
Correcting it late means mechanical cooling, which worsens the energy and carbon results and adds operating cost. Correcting it early means orientation, shading and thermal mass — decisions available only while the design is open.
Verification
The calculation is checked, and by whom matters.
RE2020 compliance is attested at completion, and the attestation rests on a calculation someone has to stand behind. Where the same party designs, calculates and attests, the result carries less weight than where the steps are separated — a principle French practice applies unevenly and international clients often ask about.
Summer comfort in particular deserves an independent read. It is the indicator where modelling assumptions move the result most, and where the difference between a compliant calculation and a comfortable building is widest.
Going further
Related pages.
RE2020 applies differently by building type.
- RE2020 for offices — the largest affected category
- RE2020 for schools — summer occupancy, unfavourable profile
- RE2020 for retail and restaurants — high internal gains
- Life-cycle carbon assessment — the calculation behind the carbon budget
- Tertiary decree — the obligation on existing buildings
- ARKEMEP: MEP and thermal engineering — who runs the studies
- Working with property developers — where the thresholds bite
- Offices under the tertiary decree — the existing-stock counterpart
- Measurements and diagnostics — verifying the delivered building
- Engineering — how the studies are run
- Certification — held in a separate accredited entity
Discuss your project
Engineering, environmental advisory and independent certification under one group, with a strict separation of roles.
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