Specific Challenge:

Under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive^[1], all EU countries have established independent energy performance certification systems supported by independent mechanisms of control and verification. However, current practices and tools of energy performance assessment and certification applied across Europe face a number of challenges.

Assessment processes and certificates have to become more reliable, user-friendly, cost-effective, have comparable good quality and be compliant with EU legislation in order to instil trust in the market and incite investments in energy efficient buildings. They have to increasingly reflect the smart dimension of buildings and at the same time, facilitate convergence of quality and reliability of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) across the EU. The building energy performance methodologies should also ensure a technology neutral approach, be transparently presented making use of International and European standards, in particular the ISO/CEN standards developed under Commission mandate M/480^[2] aimed at enabling the presentation of national and regional choices on a comparable basis.

Next-generation energy performance assessment schemes will value buildings in a holistic and cost-effective manner across several complimentary dimensions: envelope performances, system performances and smart readiness (i.e. the ability of buildings to be smartly monitored and controlled and, to get involved in demand-side management strategies). The assessment should be based on an agreed list of parameters/indicators, such as e.g. calculated annual final energy use, share of renewable energy used, past (climate corrected) final energy consumptions and energy expenditure, comfort levels or the level of smartness. The assessment methods should increasingly take into account output measures of performance (actual measured data) making use of available and increasing number of building energy related data from sensors, smart meters, connected devices etc.. These new schemes should contribute to improving the effectiveness of certificates, by demonstrating how these could be strengthen, modernised and best linked to integrated national/regional certification schemes within a framework that aids compliance checking and effectiveness of financial support.

Scope:

Proposals should address the definition and demonstration of innovative approaches for the assessment of building energy performance, focusing at first on the reliable assessment of building intrinsic performances (e.g. using inverse modelling) but working also towards output-based assessments using available building energy related data^[3]. Proposals should involve relevant stakeholders (including national and regional certification bodies). The proposed approaches should be more reliable as well as cost-effective and compliant with relevant EU standards^[4], in order to allow for an EU-wide deployment. Such approaches should rely on the combination of existing and proven technology components (starting from TRL 6-7, please see part G of the General Annexes) with well-structured methodologies and protocols that can lead to the definition of new certification schemes. They could also consider implications when using EPCs in building passports and renovation roadmaps.

This topic contributes to the roadmap of the Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB) cPPP.

Expected Impact:

Proposals are expected to demonstrate, depending on the scope addressed, the impacts listed below using quantified indicators and targets wherever possible:

• Improved user-friendliness of EPCs in terms clarity and accuracy of the information provided;
• Enhanced user awareness of building energy efficiency;
• Primary energy savings triggered by the project (in GWh/year);
• Investments in sustainable energy triggered by the project (in million Euro).

Additional positive effects can be quantified and reported when relevant and wherever possible:

• Reduction of the greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year) and/or air pollutants (in kg/year) triggered by the project.