About TIMEPAC
Towards Innovative Methods for Energy Performance Assessment and Certification of Buildings (TIMEPAC) is a Horizon 2020 research project.
Europe’s building stock covers some 25 billion square metres of floor space, of which 75% is residential. Therefore retrofitting plays a major role in achieving the climate targets set for 2050. The ongoing revision of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is therefore crucial for tackling climate change and energy poverty.
This is TIMEPAC’s starting point – turning goals into action by transforming the entire Energy Performance Certification (EPC) process.
As valued as the EPC is, some doubt exists as to whether it actually reflects real building conditions. There is clearly a trade-off between the cost of issuing a detailed and tailored EPC and the willingness of customers to pay for it. Current EPCs are cheap, but they are not investment-grade documents and follow a static approach.
Our approach
Transversal Deployment Scenarios
TIMEPAC will improve the existing certification process across countries through Transversal Deployment Scenarios. Each TDS encompasses various stages of the EPC workflow (generation, storage, analysis, and exploitation), involving multiple stakeholders (research groups, energy agencies, ESCOS, etc.) and resources (data, tools, methods).
TIMEPACs approach will consider:
Generating enhanced EPCs with BIM data
Creation of guidelines for EPC generation from BIM data with the goal of increasing the quality adn realibility of EPCs
Enhancing EPC schemas through operational data integration
Expanding the set of energy performance indicators in the EPC in a bid to highlight the holistic approach in the assessment of the building.
Creating Building Renovation Passports from data repositories
Creation of procedures to trace the evolution of building refurbishment using different sources such as BIM, EPC, technical building inspections, building materials, and operation data.
Integrating Smart Readiness Indicators and sustainability indicators in EPC
Creation of a methodology for SRI and environmental sustainability indicators integration in the existing EPC schemes according to effort for data collection and impact for indicators calculation
Large scale statistical analysis of EPC databases
Development of a large scale analyse methodology to determine the energy balance of the building stock, energy refurbishment scenarios and data quality checking of the EPC databases
Deployment
Verification scenarios
The five Transversal Deployment Scenarios will be validated in four verification scenarios across six European countries (Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain).
In each scenario, it will be demonstrated to which extend the enhanced procedures contribute to improve reliability, effectiveness, user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, etc. with regard to existing procedures in the participating countries.
- Improving certification with enhanced EPCs
- EPC exploitation through advanced analysis
- Building renovation scenarios from the analysis of enhanced EPC data
- Improving building operation with enhanced EPC
The project’s results will be used as training materials for certification professionals in Europe. Materials and courses for a variety of contexts will be available via an online platform.
Outcomes of the discussions with local stakeholders below:
Austrian Verification Scenario
Croatian Verification Scenario
Slovenian Verification Scenario
Cypriot – Coming soon!
Training
TIMEPAC Academy
The TIMEPAC Academy further develops and uses the new EPC improvement tools and training materials (click on the Training scenario boxes to access).
Training scenarios
Analysis and visualisation of EPC data and development of innovative energy services
Professional certifiers, energy agencies, ESCOs
EPC data collection, validation and exploitation
Professional certifiers, energy auditors, energy agencies, ESCOs, local / regional / national administration bodies
Advanced methods and tools for holistic energy renovation of buildings
Professional certifiers, architects, energy agencies, ESCOs
Exploitation of EPC for local, regional and national energy planning
Professional certifiers, energy agencies, local / regional / national administration bodies
Evaluation and verification of energy saving opportunities based on EPC
Professional certifiers, energy auditors, building managers, energy agencies, ESCOs
Operational optimisation of building energy performance based on activities during EPC generation
Professional certifiers, energy auditors, building managers, owners, tenants, energy agencies, ESCOs