The context
Context
Buildings are the single largest energy consumer in the EU, responsible for
A closer look at the status of the building stock in Europe clearly shows that politicians, decision-makers and society as a whole need to act fast.
Only 1% of the building stock undergoes energy renovations each year, so there is an incredible gap between today’s reality and the EU’s climate ambitions.
The new EPBD’s renovation wave now aims to combine efforts at all levels in order to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030, in order to at least double the annual renovation rate and make deeper energy retrofitting happen.
TIMEPAC will demonstrate the feasibility of combining EPC databases with other data sources to make certification more effective and reliable. In addition, TIMEPAC will promote digitalization so that EPC can better reflect actual building conditions and enhance accessibility for users.
Improved EPCs are expected to enable additional deep renovation of about 6.5 m2 annually in the six TIMEPAC countries, leading to an average primary energy savings of 85 kWh/m2.
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
The European Union and Member States have committed to achieving a net zero economy by 2050 and to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
The European Union and Member States have committed to achieving a net zero economy by 2050 and to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
To meet the EU climate targets, buildings need to be put at the centre of the European Green Deal.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is promoting policies that will achieve a highly energy-efficient and decarbonized building stock for both renovations and new builds. The ongoing amendment of the EPBD finally also takes one step further towards Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) so that new buildings and ones that are undergoing major renovations do not only have to be energy efficient but also have to address healthy indoor climate conditions.
For this to happen, the right regulatory instruments are needed that can trigger better and deeper renovations and attract private investment.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
How much energy is consumed in a building depends on its energy efficiency. The Energy Performance Certification (EPC) provides important information on this.
It is a practical way for tenants, leaseholders and buyers to compare the energy demand and consumption of buildings. It helps them estimate the possible cost for heating and hot water. Typically, the EPC contains information about the building and its heating, as well as the energy performance of the property.
It informs tenants, leaseholders and buyers about a building and its energy performance – for example, the possible cost of heating and hot water.
EPC is a successful and widespread tool for assessing the energy performance of buildings. It became mandatory in 2010 and many Member States had to draw up guidelines for data collection. Since then, much data has been collected and stored for different purposes.
However, since its introduction over a decade ago EPC implementation, data quality and reliability still need to be improved.