LBN 002-19 — What Every Building Owner in Latvia Should Know

April 2, 2026 · 5 min read

If you own or manage a building in Latvia, there is one standard you need to know: LBN 002-19 “Ēku norobežojošo konstrukciju siltumtehnika” (Thermotechnics of Building Envelopes). It defines the maximum amount of heat your building is allowed to lose through walls, roof, floor, and windows.

What is LBN 002-19?

LBN 002-19 is a Latvian national building standard adopted by Cabinet Regulation No. 280 on June 25, 2019, and in force since January 1, 2020. It replaced the previous LBN 002-15.

The standard applies to the design of new buildings, as well as renovation and reconstruction of existing heated buildings. It sets maximum permissible heat transmittance coefficients (U-values) for each type of building element.

Source: likumi.lv — Cabinet Regulation No. 280

Maximum U-values (Table 3)

The standard defines maximum heat transmittance coefficients (U_RM) in Table 3. Here are the requirements for the two most common building categories:

Building element	Residential U_RM [W/(m²·K)]	Non-residential U_RM [W/(m²·K)]
External walls	0.23	0.25
Roof / ceiling	0.20	0.23
Floor (ground contact)	0.20	0.25
Windows / balcony doors	1.10	1.10
External doors	1.80	2.00

A lower U-value means better insulation. For example, external walls in a residential building must have U ≤ 0.23 W/(m²·K), which corresponds to a thermal resistance R ≥ 4.35 m²·K/W.

What does this mean in practice?

A typical uninsulated brick wall (250mm solid brick) has a U-value of approximately 1.5 W/(m²·K) — that is 6.5 times higher than the standard allows. This means the wall loses 6.5 times more heat than it should.

To meet the standard, such a wall would typically need:

~160mm of mineral wool (λ = 0.038 W/(m·K)), or
~120mm of EPS insulation (λ = 0.032 W/(m·K)), or
~85mm of PUR/PIR foam (λ = 0.020 W/(m·K))

How to check your building

The thermal performance of a building depends on the materials and thickness of each element. The basic formula from EN ISO 6946 is:

R = d / λ [m²·K/W]
U = 1 / R [W/(m²·K)]

Where d is the material thickness in meters and λ is the thermal conductivity in W/(m·K).

You can estimate your building's thermal performance using our free calculator:

Check if your building meets LBN 002-19

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Key takeaways

LBN 002-19 has been in force since January 1, 2020
It replaced the previous LBN 002-15
It defines maximum U-values for walls, roof, floor, windows, and doors
Most older buildings in Latvia do not meet the current standard
Insulation improvements can significantly reduce heating costs

Data in this article is based on the official text of Cabinet Regulation No. 280 (LBN 002-19), published at likumi.lv. Material thermal conductivity values are from BS EN 12524 / EN ISO 10456. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute professional engineering advice.