Building Energy Performance Certificates (EPCertificates, EPCs) have now been around in the EU’s Member States for at least 10 years. Underpinned by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), building performance assessment methodologies (and related certification processes) have been prepared at national level leading to more than 30 different methodologies (in some cases several within the same country).

The overall context is somewhat different now in 2021 from when EPCs were first introduced. Buildings are acknowledged as one of the key focus areas for delivering the European Green Deal and more specifically the Renovation Wave Strategy. Furthermore, finance is becoming more and more available and will reach in the coming decades the needed scale to digitally transform buildings not as a goal in its own right, but as means to an end for reaching by 2050 a healthy, safe, efficient and sustainable EU building stock.

Policy and finance for buildings are rolling in the needed direction, however on the technical side the EU’s market is still fragmented due to the different approaches of the Member States. Although, there’s no right or wrong nor better or worse building performance assessment methodology and ultimately building physics/science is the same round the globe, the current situation is hindering the needed leapfrogging for immediately reaping the multiple benefits of continuously improving and optimizing the performance of the buildings we live, work, study, heal, relax etc. in.  

Fortunately, all the “technical layer” ingredients are available, such as the set of CEN/ISO Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) standards and Horizon 2020 coordination, support and innovation actions and moreover the EPBD is currently being revised (the public consultation is open till 22 June 2021).

Can we walk the talk and go farther together (as opposed to fast alone) in the spirit of the EU’s principles, including subsidiarity, and facilitate a convergent evolution to a common building performance coherence framework?

Join U-CERT and EPB Center teams and our 6 guest representatives of the Next Generation EPCertficates Horizon 2020 cluster of projects to learn, exchange and identify the most sensible pathways to build forward together.

Programme (approximate timings)

10h00 - 10h05 – Welcome and general introduction

               by Andrei Vladimir Lițiu, Building Performance Adviser, REHVA

10h05 - 10h25 – Keynote “The set of EPB standards supports convergence and coherence”

               by Dick van Dijk, EPB expert, EPB Center & chairperson ISO JAG on the ISO 52000 family of EPB standards

10h25 - 11h28 – Panel discussion and Q&A from the audience

               moderated by Jaap Hogeling, Chairperson CEN/TC 371, Energy Performance of Buildings, European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

               Spotlight on the Next Generation EPCertificates Horizon 2020 cluster of projects

11h28 - 11h30 – Closing remarks by Andrei Vladimir Lițiu