Source book for improved compliance of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) of buildings. QUALICHeCK report

Report, 2017

The European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (2010/31/EU), also known as EPBD, requires that Member States of the European Union establish a certification of the energy performance of buildings. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) must be implemented that shows the owner or tenant the energy performance of his/her new or existing building compared to reference values (Articles 11 and 12).

The energy performance certification must be carried out by independent experts (Article 17) and Member States must establish an independent control system for the EPCs that are issued (Article 18) in order to ensure compliance.

An EPC is considered compliant if it is established and used according to the procedures of the relevant legislation. Non-compliance of an EPC with the rules of the Member State that transpose the EPBD must be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, to be stipulated by Member States (Article 27).

In this context, this source book intends to analyse the conditions for Energy Performance Certificate compliance and the reasons for non-compliance: how to make sure that a building's EPC is compliant, and thus that the minimum energy performance requirements are met and/or that the owner or tenant is well informed?

The EPC is issued from input data that describe the building, its environment, the construction products used and their implementation, the building systems (heating, cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water, lighting, renewables, etc.) and the building's operation. EPC compliance requires that these input data are also compliant, i.e. that they have been determined according to the procedures set out in the relevant legislation. Thus, compliant input data for energy performance calculation are the foundation of a compliant EPC and are dealt with in detail in this source book.

To achieve EPC compliance, a three-step approach has been laid out:
1. To obtain compliant EPC input data and to prove that they are compliant, there should be clear procedures explaining how to determine these input data,
2. There should be clear legal procedures about how to decide on non-compliance of an EPC and EPC input data, and how to implement related actions,
3. There should be effective control and sanctioning mechanisms to be applied in case of noncompliance of an EPC and/or EPC input data.

This source book describes this three-step approach, with examples and references to other documents from the QUALICHeCK project, which provide more details.

It also explains the need for clear procedures and easy access to input data.

It describes different ways to check compliance, together with the ways to define penalties so they are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The importance of political will and societal support is also emphasised. The source book also discusses how to handle with innovative products and systems, the economic impact of compliance, and the future role of BIM for improving compliance.

The source book provides guidance and support for compliant Energy Performance Certificates and will be useful to all stakeholders interested in improving energy performance of new and existing buildings.