BACS Requirements in Austria

Article 13 of Directive (EU) 2024/1275 mandates BACS in non-residential buildings where technically and economically feasible.

In Austria, energy performance is governed by the OIB-Richtlinie 6 (Energieeinsparung und Wärmeschutz), harmonised across all nine Bundesländer. The Energieausweis-Vorlage-Gesetz (EAVG) and state building codes transpose EU requirements into national law.

The technical standard is EN ISO 52120-1 (formerly EN 15232). Class C is the minimum acceptable BACS level.

The mandate targets non-residential buildings — offices, retail, hotels, hospitals, schools, and logistics or industrial sites with significant HVAC load. Scope is set by the effective rated output of the technical systems: the combined capacity of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and hot-water plant. A building with a 110 kW heating system and a 40 kW cooling system reaches 150 kW, well inside the 70 kW threshold and therefore in scope for 2029.

Residential buildings are excluded, and mixed-use buildings are assessed on their non-residential portion. In the Austrian stock this captures a large share of the commercial offices and retail built or refurbished since the 1990s, much of which runs on controls below EN ISO 52120-1 Class C.

Reaching Class C is about capability, not just hardware. A compliant system must continuously monitor energy use, benchmark it against expected performance, detect faults and efficiency drift, give operators actionable information, and control HVAC to actual demand rather than fixed schedules. A timer-based heating circuit or a standalone room thermostat does not qualify.

Austrian Standards (ÖNORM) publishes national annexes to EN ISO 52120-1, so the practical reference for classification is the harmonised European standard as adopted in Austria. For owners, the useful first question is whether the existing Gebäudeleittechnik can already monitor, report, and optimise — or whether it only switches plant on and off.

• OIB-Richtlinie 6 harmonises energy performance requirements across all nine Bundesländer. BACS obligations will be integrated into future revisions.
• Bundesländer building codes (Bauordnungen) transpose EU requirements. Implementation timelines may vary slightly between states.
• Umweltförderung (UFI) through Kommunalkredit Public Consulting offers grants for energy efficiency measures including building automation upgrades.
• Sanierungsoffensive provides federal funding for thermal renovation and system upgrades in commercial buildings.
• Austrian Standards (ÖNORM) publishes national annexes to EN ISO 52120-1 relevant to BACS classification.