Online user-acceptance workshops were conducted in the five ePANACEA pilot countries (Spain, Belgium (Flanders), Finland, Austria and Greece) to test users’ acceptance of proposals for new EPC summary sheets oriented towards end-users. The main target group for the acceptance workshops are end-users of EPC (i.e. tenants, building owners, occupants, etc.); however, many participants had a technical background in energy efficiency in buildings. This report describes the work carried out in these workshops and the results obtained.
The proposals for new EPC summary sheets consisted of different illustrations, such as energy labels, final energy demand, partial performance indicators, etc. The focus of the acceptance test was on the content, presentation and visualization of information, while data basis and plausibility of information were discussed on the side. The tested acceptance variables were perceived ease of use (i.e. comprehensibility of information), perceived usefulness, perceived importance, behavioural intention to use and willingness to pay. Next to this, participants were also asked to indicate their preferences between options and their main interest in a set of indicators. In this way, the main components of an EPC (energy label, main, partial and additional performance indicators and recommendations, etc.) were queried. In total, 105 participants took part in the online acceptance workshops (ranging from 28 to 10 participants per workshop). Their answers were collected on the one hand through a software called Poll Everywhere and, on the other hand, through open discussions. Based on the results, we have drawn some initial conclusions: Overall, most workshop participants showed rather high perceived importance, comprehensibility, and usefulness of the proposals. However, summarizing the feedback from all workshops, we recognise that there is potential for improvement regarding all proposed illustrations for new EPC summary sheets. Furthermore, common interests that catch the eye are strong interest in annual energy costs as one of the main performance indicators in all countries, whereas primary energy use is also considered highly important. Moreover, overall, indoor air quality and thermal comfort are the most interesting additional indicators to participants based on the results. However, these two points still raise questions about the data basis and calculation methodology that make it possible for valid data to be made available. One thing became clear again: information that does not seem plausible or up-to-date, or whose calculation basis is not transparent should not appear in the EPC summary sheets because it would create mistrust and confusion.