QualDeEPC – Next generation EPCs and Deep Renovation

The Horizon-2020 project QualDeEPC – Increasing the quality and cross-EU convergence of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) schemes, and enhancing the link between EPCs and deep renovation – aims to improve the practical implementation of EPCs. This involves the assessment, issuance, design, and use of EPCs as well as their renovation recommendations, in Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Spain, and Sweden.

In November 2020 the QualDeEPC project published its Green Paper on Good Practice in EPC Assessment, Certification, and Use. This Green Paper provides analysis, policy proposals and draft descriptions of tools on the seven areas that the project has identified as its priorities for the development of enhanced EPC schemes that could be used in all EU Member States:

1. Improving the recommendations for renovation, which are provided on the EPCs, towards deep energy renovation
2. Online tool for comparing EPC recommendations to deep energy renovation recommendations
3. Creating Deep Renovation Network Platforms
4. Regular mandatory EPC assessor training on assessment and recommendations required for certification/accreditation and registry E) High user-friendliness of the EPC
5. Voluntary/mandatory advertising guidelines for EPCs
6. Improving compliance with the mandatory use of EPCs in real estate advertisements.

In this EU-level workshop, QualDeEPC presented these proposals. Based on the inputs from the European Commission regarding the EU Renovation Wave and the draft proposals of QualDeEPC’s Green Paper, expert panellists discussed the question of what an enhanced EPC scheme has to look like to become a driver for the EU Renovation Wave, and what QualDeEPC’s proposals could contribute to it.

Panelists:

1. Olav Luyckx, Project Advisor, Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)
2. Pau García Audi, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Energy
3. Céline Carré, Vice-President EuroACE and Head of Public Affairs Saint-Gobain
4. Lukas Kranzl, Senior Researcher, Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Vienna
5. Margarita Puente, European Energy Manager, ESCAN
6. Stephanie Veselá, expert for energy efficient buildings, dena (German Energy Agency).

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 847100.