For the purpose of EPBD implementation, is there any possibility to provide national policy makers or regulators free access to the set of EPB standards?
The EPB standards are protected by CEN and/or ISO copyright. There is no specific agreement between the EC and CEN to give national policy makers or regulators free access to the standards for the purpose of EPBD implementation. 2019.07.22
For the description of the national calculation procedures, as required by EPBD Annex 1, why is it important to follow the template of Annex A of the EPB standards?
If a certain part of the national calculation procedures is fully based on the relevant EPB standards, then the national choices logically follow the template of Annex A of the relevant EPB standards. In other cases this may not be 100% possible. Nevertheless, it is important to follow the template as much as possible, because: […]
Please explain what is the “energy efficiency first” principle? Can you give an example regarding PV: is exported PV included or is it related only to energy savings?
Putting energy efficiency first is important, as energy savings are the easiest way of saving money for consumers and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Which measures are needed to save energy, by decreasing the energy need (e.g. the building envelope) and the energy use (the technical building systems), can be calculated with the help of […]
What happens with “Annex B” of an EPB standard, if the National Annex or National Datasheet is different?
Annex B is and remains an informative Annex to the EPB standard. The National Annex can be annexed to the national implementation of the EPB standard or published as separate document see FAQ ). So, an EPB standard will have Annex B with default European choices and might also have an Annex NA with the […]
Wouldn’t using a programming language like Python be clearer than spreadsheets?
Spreadsheets are primarily used for demonstration and validation, as explained in another FAQ. Their key advantage is accessibility—anyone can scroll through and examine formulas, making the entire calculation process transparent and easy to follow step by step. Spreadsheets also provide immediate access to all intermediate results for each equation and calculation step. For practical applications, […]
What is difference between the EU mandate (M 480) that led to the set of EPB standards in 2017 and the previous mandate (M 343)?
The set of standards and accompanying technical reports on the energy performance of buildings () have been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association (), to support the EPBD. The , the European Directive on the energy performance of buildings aims to promote the improvement […]
Will the Annex A/Annex B approach provide feedback on the underlying hypotheses for the calculation methodology? What if the underlying EPB calculation methodology is not in line with the EPB standard(s)?
If at national level it is not possible to fill in the Annex A according to the rules it is a strong indication that the national procedure doesn’t follow the procedures included in the set of EPB standards. 2022-04-02
Are there plans to digitalize the set of EPB standards in any way?
Yes, the plan is to upgrade the set of EPB standards from being individually “software proof” to become individually and as a set “software ready”. How? By making all input and output data in each EPB (calculation) standard fully explicit, including all non-numeric choices and to mark these up and link them to a repository […]
Is it correct that an EPB standard can be adopted in a country with some of its content replaced by national procedures?
If a country adopts an EPB standard, it can make use of the specific degrees of freedom given in Annex A of that standard (template for national choices). These choices are introduced to accommodate national/regional differences in climate, building tradition, policy and user behaviour. This is what is known as the National Annex or National […]
What happens with Annex A and Annex B if a National Annex or National Datasheet is published?
Annex A and B are part of the standard and will remain part of the standard. In addition to this, a National Standards Body or a Member state can decide to publish a National Annex or National Datasheet. These are separate documents, based on the template in Annex A, with content that may or may […]