Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Act firmly on energy security – Walk the talk on energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is the best policy to shelter European citizens and businesses from high energy prices, restore European sovereignty while improving living conditions of our citizens.

Business leaders of European frontrunners on energy efficiency, strongly encourage Members of the European Parliament to adopt an ambitious and future-proof Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This crucial piece of legislation must align the 3 ingredients to boost dormant renovation rates:

1. A solid Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) regime
2. Increased access to quality information and guidance
3. New instruments are needed to mobilise finance

The economic case supporting ambition in the EPBD

Years of inaction on energy efficiency in the building sector are having a dramatic impact on households and public finances. Energy bills are expected to triple in some Member States compared to previous years, exposing millions to the risks of energy poverty and/or the inability to make mortgage payments. In turn, this becomes a credit risk for banks, as demonstrated by the European Central Bank (ECB) climate stress test from July of this year.

A recent assessment by Bruegel indicates that around 4% of the EU GDP (around €350 billion + €200 billion recently announced by Germany) has already been spent by Member States on subsidising energy bills. This amount is greater that the Commission’s own assessment of how much would be needed per year to double deep energy renovation in the EU.

Support for citizens and businesses is already available: Energy renovations are investments that improve living conditions, increase property value and decrease energy bills. And there has never been as much financial support available for households and businesses as today. However, there is currently a clear mismatch when it comes to investments in renovation, something an ambitious EPBD can help tackle.

EPBD General Approach – Not yet walking the talk

On October 25th, 2022, the European Council adopted its General Approach on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). While negotiators maintained essential elements of the Commission proposal, it fails to match the ambition level needed to answer the current energy crisis and put the EU on a path to achieve its energy and climate goals.

Ambitious Minimum Energy Performance Standards: A no regret option (Joint Letter)

Leading industry players, NGOs, think tanks and investors are thus calling Members of the European Parliament to adopt ambitious Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) in the EPBD recast. MEPS are the main tool addressing the pressing issues of energy poverty, energy security and decarbonisation in the revised text and are critical for both planning purposes and for execution.

EPBD: Opening the Door to Efficient Buildings

An easy-to-read and easy-to-understand two-pager with which you can get a clear sense of our main asks and demands from the ongoing EPBD revision.

Namely, strengthen policy measures to boost renovation, promote zero-emission buildings, go beyond energy savings and bolster technical buildings systems, and digital approaches.

Buildings in the Fit for 55 Package for a Climate Neutral Economy in 2050

To achieve at least 55% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, the EU must reduce GHG emissions from buildings by 60%, their energy consumption by 14%. In view of these targets, and in the context of the Fit for 55 Package, we must ensure that across different Directives affecting buildings and their energy performance, we create a coherent and robust framework that will lead us to a zero-emissions building stock by 2050.

EPBD (2022)

EuroACE – Energy Efficient Buildings, welcomes the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

In view of the attainment of the EU energy and climate goals, and the multiple societal, health and economic benefits that a well-performing building stock entails for EU citizens, the EPBD should play a central role in the Fit for 55 Package. With its new and revised elements, and its extended scope, the European Commission has made a step forward in enabling our building sector to achieve the goals set out by the Renovation Wave Strategy, but more ambition will be needed from the building sector at large to make the goals set for 2030 and 2050 a reality.

The EPBD must play a more central role in the Fit for 55 Package. In line with the need to strengthen its level of ambition, our main recommendations are:

• Strengthening the level of ambition Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS)
• More ambitious Zero-Emissions Buildings (ZEB) standards using both primary and final energy indicators
• More ambitious timeline and next steps for implementation of provisions should be better addressed for new buildings
• Addressing and defining “Healthy Indoor Climate”
• Ensuring better Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) coverage
• Extending the scope of Technical Building Systems (TBS) to electrical installations and introducing a clear provision to require that outdated and inefficient TBS are replaced as part of holistic deep energy renovations
• The introduction of a timeline to implement recommendations stemming from inspection reports is needed

EPBD (2021)

As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission via its “Fit for 55 Package” started in 2021 the revision of those EU policies that are needed to deliver on the GHG reduction targets agreed in the European Climate Law, among which the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is included. As part of the current revision, the main elements that are being revised and/or taken into consideration in the current text of the Directive are:

• The possible introduction of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) to spur both rate and depth of energy renovations across the EU
• The update of the Long-term Renovation Strategies requirements
• The update of “nearly-zero energy buildings” definition
• The update of the energy performance certificates (EPC) requirements and overall framework
• A new definition for “deep energy renovation”
• A more important role for digital solutions and a data-centric approach to assess the energy performance of buildings
• A possible extension of scope of the Directive (i.e., inclusion of whole-life cycle carbon assessment of buildings)

This position paper sets out the recommendations of EuroACE, which are built on its formal response to the Open Public Consultation on the Directive and are divided in three main groups:

• New provisions that should be introduced
• Elements that must be strengthened
• The scope of the Directive

The body of the paper describes the recommendations in more detail and the whole paper is supported by an Annexe that recalls the legislative context that the EPBD fits into and that explains why buildings (both new and existing) have a crucial role to play in achieving long-term climate and energy efficiency goals.

EPBD (2018)

The 2010 EPBD foresaw in its Article 19 that the Directive must be evaluated by 1^st January 2017 at the latest. In this framework, and in view of the 2030 targets, the EPBD has been amended. On 19th June 2018, the amending Directive 2018/844 was published, with a transposition deadline in March 2020. Main points are:

• The move of the national long-term renovation strategies from Article 4 of the Energy Efficiency Directive to the Article 2A of the EPBD, with this provision being considerably strengthened;
• The option for Member States to develop the use of Building Renovation Passports (BRP) and the requirement for the European Commission to undertake, before 2020, a feasibility study on the possibilities and timeline for the introduction of BRPs as an option
• Better access to financing as well as links between financial measures and improved performance after renovation works
• Introduction of a Smart Readiness Indicator
• Changes to the provisions related to inspections of heating, cooling and ventilation systems, as well as provisions related to Technical Building Systems (mandatory individual room temperature room control, mandatory installation of Building Automation & Control systems by 2025 in large non-residential buildings…)
• Revision of Annex I on the methodology to describe the energy performance of buildings (increased transparency, and incentive to use EU standards)