This report provides a summary of the activities undertaken in TIMEPAC Task 3.1 “Improving certification with enhanced EPCs” of Work Package 3 (WP3) “Verification Scenarios”. The main goal of this work package is to validate the results of the Transversal Deployment Scenarios (TDSs) developed in Work Package 2 (WP2), with the involvement of local stakeholders engaged in building certification procedures.
TIMEPAC partners organised workshops in Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain with diverse stakeholders, including energy certifiers, energy agencies, and public authorities, among others. A total of 98 participants, 43 of whom represent professional certifiers, consulting companies and regional/local authorities outside the TIMEPAC consortium, collaborated in the workshops which were carried out from October 2023 to January 2024.
The workshops provided valuable insights, helping to identify the training needs required for participants to contribute to actively enhancing current certification practices in line with the most recent updates of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, adopted by the European Council on 12th April 2024.
The workshops conducted across the six countries provided a rich overview of the current building energy performance situation and the challenges that stakeholders are facing in light of the latest Directive, which is also considered in TIMEPAC’s future scenarios developed in WP2.
One of the main challenges facing stakeholders is how to use building modelling and simulation technologies to improve the quality (more reliable and accurate) and enhance the content (with additional parameters and indicators) of the energy performance certificates (EPCs) in order to ensure interoperability among the applications developed by various software developers and to prevent the loss of information when importing and exporting models between applications. Moreover, despite their importance, energy certificates are susceptible to human error, thus necessitating a delicate equilibrium between their quality and affordability. It is imperative that the cost associated with these certificates is substantial enough to guarantee their reliability and accuracy, thereby safeguarding their integrity in assessing energy efficiency. BIM has many potential benefits, particularly for new construction projects, but its adoption remains limited in some countries, which means that more training is needed.
Regarding the inclusion of sustainable indicators in energy performance certificates, there is concern about the Global Warming Potential (GWP), as it fails to provide clear calculation parameters and available data sets, which would provide crucial information for authorities when certifying standards. Additionally, benchmarks are missing, and tools and databases for calculating KPIs based on a life cycle approach are generally unavailable. Finally, the correlation between high Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) performance and improved comfort is not consistently demonstrated.
Based on discussions with workshop participants, it was suggested that government entities, educational organizations, industry groups, and professionals collaborate closely. This collaborative effort is crucial for establishing database infrastructure, implementing comprehensive training programs, and facilitating a smooth transition to new standards.
Ultimately, the workshops showed the importance and the effectiveness of training, which plays a pivotal role in upholding the integrity of the certification process. Training should provide those involved in building assessment and certification with a more comprehensive perspective on the environmental implications of buildings across their entire lifecycle. Furthermore, it is crucial to disseminate knowledge and information to all parties involved in the assessment process, including property owners, management teams, technical staff, property management agencies, construction firms, and other relevant stakeholders. These insights are especially pertinent to the training initiatives underway in the TIMEPAC Academy.