New approaches and methodology developments of the 10 innovative features for better energy performance certificates (EPCs)

03/09/2021

The H2020 project X-Tendo is developing a framework of ten “next-generation EPC features”, aiming to improve compliance, usability and reliability of EPCs. These features are divided in two categories, innovative indicators and innovative data handling.
The two reports present respectively the preliminary scoping and analysis of the five technical features related to developing innovative EPC indicators (smart readiness, comfort, outdoor air pollution, real energy consumption, and district energy) and the methodologies and concepts for the technical implementation of each innovative data handling feature (EPC databases, building logbooks, enhanced recommendations, financing options and one-stop shops). You can find below the main conclusions for each feature and the link to the related reports.

Smartness indicator : The smart readiness indicator (SRI) approach presents a potential method for assessing the smartness of buildings with nine domains (e.g. lighting, ventilation, envelope, monitoring and control etc.).
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Comfort: The comfort indicator approach incorporates four key indicators – thermal, visual and acoustic comfort and indoor air quality – to be assessed through checklists, on-site measurements and surveys.
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Outdoor air pollution: The outdoor air pollution indicator approach addresses the impact of a building on the air by two methods: an outdoor air pollution contribution index and an indoor air purity index.
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Real energy consumption: The real energy consumption approach outlines an assessment method based on operational ratings, with options for normalisation to allow for better inter-building comparisons.
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District energy: The district energy indicator focuses on predicting the potential for the future developments of buildings via two methods: expected future performance of district heating and heat distribution and transfer system.
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EPC databases: The methodology for quality control of EPC databases consists in the development and implementation of routines, which are able to verify the EPC data and to identify outliers
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Building logbooks: X-tendo developed a concept for a common data model based on available EPC data. The core logbook ingredients are the data providers, logbook functionalities, benefits of the provided information and data governance. 
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Enhanced recommendations: The enhanced recommendations methodology proposes to generate automatically building specific recommendations, to estimate the economic assessment of possible renovation measures and to link the recommendations to national long-term renovation strategies.
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Financing options: The approach for the financing options feature starts from identifying information sources on public financial schemes to then closer integrating financing with EPCs.
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One-stop-shops: The feature one-stop-shops put down guidelines on how to set up or upgrade one-stop shops,  and describes approaches for linking EPC data to one-stop shops. 
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