Statutory energy efficiency inspections of air-conditioning and heating systems in Poland

A periodic energy efficiency assessment is a statutory obligation of the building owner or manager, arising from art. 23 of the Polish Act of 29 August 2014 on the Energy Performance of Buildings. For air-conditioning systems with a cooling capacity above 12 kW, and combined air-conditioning and ventilation systems above 70 kW, the inspection must be carried out at least once every 5 years. Failure to comply is punishable by a fine — and, importantly for companies, the person acting on behalf of the business is liable as well.

We carry out inspections and issue protocols for industrial facilities, cold stores and production plants across Poland — including foreign-owned plants whose head offices need the compliance documented in English.

Who is affected and how often

The thresholds follow directly from art. 23(1) of the Act. What matters is the nominal capacity of the equipment — not floor area or headcount.

• Air-conditioning system (accessible parts) — above 12 kW cooling capacity — at least once every 5 years,
• combined air-conditioning and ventilation system — above 70 kW total cooling capacity — at least once every 5 years,
• heating systems — boilers 20–100 kW every 5 years; liquid or solid fuel boilers above 100 kW every 2 years; gas boilers above 100 kW every 4 years; other heat sources and combined heating-and-ventilation systems above 70 kW every 3 years.

A 12 kW threshold is low: it covers even a single unit serving a mid-size server room or office building. In practice, nearly every production plant in Poland is affected.

What the inspection covers

The scope is defined by art. 23(2) and 23(4). An air-conditioning system inspection assesses three things:

• system efficiency — whether the equipment still performs close to design parameters or has drifted,
• sizing against the building’s actual cooling demand — whether capacity is over- or under-dimensioned relative to the real load,
• ability to optimise operation under typical operating conditions — whether the system can modulate output or only runs on/off.

The Act provides a simplification: the sizing assessment is not repeated if neither the system nor the building’s energy performance has changed since the previous inspection (art. 23(3) and 23(5)). Subsequent inspections are therefore narrower and cheaper.

Who may carry out the inspection

This is not a service any contractor can provide. The protocol may only be issued by a person listed in the central register of energy performance of buildings — a document signed by anyone else is worthless during an audit. Our engineers hold the required entries, and the inspection can be combined with a regular service visit under one contract.

When building automation exempts you from inspections

Art. 23(6)(2) provides an exemption for non-residential buildings equipped with automation and control systems which jointly provide: continuous monitoring, recording, analysis and adjustment of energy consumption; benchmarking of the building’s energy efficiency with detection of efficiency losses across heating, ventilation, air conditioning, hot water, lighting and controls, plus reporting improvement options to the owner; and communication and interoperability with the connected systems.

This is a genuine economic alternative. A BMS meeting these requirements not only removes the obligation of cyclical inspections, but continuously optimises operation and lowers the energy bill — doing permanently what the inspection only diagnoses. The exemption also covers buildings under an energy performance contract within the meaning of art. 7 of the Energy Efficiency Act.

Frequently asked questions

Who is responsible — the owner or the tenant?

The Act points to the building owner or manager. In leased industrial halls, check how the lease allocates the duty — in practice it is often passed to the tenant, which does not change who is liable towards the authority.

How much does the assessment cost?

It depends on the number and capacity of units, and on whether a full sizing assessment is required or only the narrower inspection. We prepare a quotation free of charge on receiving the equipment list with capacities.

Does the protocol have to be filed anywhere?

Inspection protocols are entered into the Polish central register of energy performance of buildings, as required by art. 28 of the Act.

We have a BMS — are we automatically exempt?

Not automatically. The exemption applies only when the system performs all functions listed in art. 23(6)(2), including efficiency benchmarking and loss detection. We can verify whether your existing installation qualifies — and what would need to be added if it does not.

Need an inspection or a compliance check?

Send us the list of your cooling and heating equipment with nominal capacities. We will confirm which obligations apply and quote the inspection. Call +48 32 450 56 66 or write to biuro@clima-line.pl.