High-quality Energy Performance Assessment and Certification in Europe Accelerating Deep Energy Renovation (QualDeEPC)

Project Information

QualDeEPC

Grant agreement ID: 847100

DOI

10.3030/847100

Project closed

EC signature date 26 April 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 28 February 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 1 995 575,25

EU contribution

€ 1 995 575,25

Coordinated by

WUPPERTAL INSTITUT FUR KLIMA, UMWELT, ENERGIE GGMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - QualDeEPC (High-quality Energy Performance Assessment and Certification in Europe Accelerating Deep Energy Renovation (QualDeEPC))

Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Considering that 40% of the European Union’s energy consumption can be traced back to its buildings, it is essential to improve their energy efficiency in order to achieve the EU’s energy efficiency targets. Both the rate of energy renovation and its depth, i.e. the amount of energy savings during a renovation, need to be improved.
An important instrument to enhance the market uptake of energy-efficient new buildings and the energy-efficient renovation of existing buildings are the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), required by the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
The EPC schemes offer an objective estimate of a building’s energy efficiency under normal use and cover many of the aspects for the long-term renovation strategies required by the EPBD. However, there are several challenges to overcome in order to increase market confidence in the EPCs and incite investments in energy efficient buildings, such as enhanced reliability, quality of the renovation recommendations, cost-effectiveness, and compliance with relevant EU standards and the EPBD.

The aims of the Horizon2020 funded project QualDeEPC were to enhance (1) the quality and cross-EU convergence of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) schemes, and (2) the link between EPCs and deep renovation.
QualDeEPC focused on EU-wide convergence of the building assessment and the issuance, design, and use of quality-enhanced EPCs as well as their recommendations for building renovation. The aim was to make these recommendations coherent with deep energy renovation towards a nearly-zero energy building stock by 2050. Under the coordination of the Wuppertal Institute, the project partners worked to create consensus in the participating countries and beyond, and to implement as many improvements as possible during the project period, involving certification bodies, energy agencies, building sector and certification stakeholders, and other relevant organisations.

The QualDeEPC project was carried out with eleven partners from eight different European countries over a period of three and a half years. In order to reach the objectives, the project organized its activities in four stages:
1. Analysis of existing EPC schemes, good practice, shortcomings, and priorities for improvement
2. Development and testing of concrete proposals and tools for enhanced EPC assessment, certification and verification, as well as Deep Renovation Network Platforms
3. Adaptation to country needs and implementation of consensus elements, as well as developing a roadmap for further dialogue, and
4. Development of a sustainability strategy and conclusive policy recommendations for regional, national, and transnational dialogue, and transfer.

QualDeEPC stimulated action for enhanced EPC schemes by (1) intensive dialogue involving the important stakeholders at all levels from the very beginning in the above four project stages and (2) disseminating its findings among the relevant target audiences in Europe.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work performed in QualDeEPC can be described best along the four project phases:

Phase 1: Analysis
The key result of the first project phase was D2.4 Development Strategy Plan for the development of next generation EPC schemes, which served as the guide for the development phase and the elaboration of an enhanced EPC scheme, the tools and in particular the Deep Renovation Network Platforms.

Phase 2: Development and testing
The D3.1 Green paper on good practice in EPC assessment, certification, and use, published in November 2020, provides further analysis, policy proposals and draft descriptions of tools for the seven priorities:
A) Improving the recommendations for renovation, which are provided on the EPCs, towards deep energy renovation
B) Online tool for comparing EPC recommendations to deep energy renovation recommendations
C) Creating Deep Renovation Network Platforms
D) Regular mandatory EPC assessor training on assessment and recommendations required for certification/accreditation and registry
E) High user-friendliness of the EPC, by way of an enhanced EPC template form, including an introduction of the proposed “Energy Rating” indicator
F) Voluntary/mandatory advertising guidelines for EPCs
G) Improving compliance with the mandatory use of EPCs in real estate advertisements

The key result of the second project phase was D3.2 White Paper on good practice in EPC assessment, certification and use, which provides analyses, policy proposals and description of tools on the seven prioritized areas for enhanced EPC schemes.

Phase 3: Adaptation and implementation
The key result of that phase is D5.3 Guidebook for improved EPCs presenting the project’s proposals for an enhanced and converging EPC assessment and certification scheme. It holds the final version of the policy proposals and tools on the seven prioritized areas for enhanced EPC schemes, ready to use in adapted form for the seven EU Member States of QualDeEPC implementation, and in general form for other countries.

Phase 4: Sustainability strategy and policy recommendations
The key result of the concluding fourth phase of policy dialogue was D7.2 Conclusive policy recommendations guide. It includes EU and general policy recommendations and aims to inform both the debate on the recast of the EPBD and the enhancement of national EPC schemes in EU Member States.

With a variety of stakeholders, QualDeEPC’s concepts, proposals and tools regarding an enhanced EPC scheme were discussed in several EU events and in the 4 rounds of national workshops and possibilities and needs for national implementation considered. In 98 pilot buildings the enhanced EPC scheme has been tested. For the seven project countries, online tools for comparing EPC recommendations to deep energy renovation recommendations have been set up or improved, as well as Deep Renovation Network Platforms have been implemented or adapted. These will continue to be operated by the partners or other authorities and stakeholders in the future. In addition, some policy proposals have been adopted at national level already.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project’s results as summarized above have considerably advanced knowledge on EPC schemes and the needs and possibilities for enhancing them beyond the state of the art. The seven priorities for development by the project have been developed in general and adapted to the seven project countries . Online tools and Deep Renovation Network Platforms have been implemented or adapted, and some policy proposals adopted.

At the EU level, policymakers have been intensively informed about QualDeEPC’s policy recommendations via emails when meetings were not feasible, in addition to events including a Session at the FEDARENE General Assembly in June 2022 and the QualDeEPC Final Conference in November 2022.

The expected impact of QualDeEPC will be more of an indirect one, when Member States adopt the developed enhanced EPC schemes including the necessary changes in regulations, laws, or standards. Nevertheless, the QualDeEPC Results and Impacts Report (D5.5) shows that quantitative impacts were also achieved. For example, QualDeEPC has led to primary energy savings of up to 98.5 GWh/yr and investments in energy efficiency renovations of up to 290 million Euros.

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