iBRoad2EPC

Integrating Building Renovation Passports into Energy Performance Certification schemes for a decarbonised building stock

depositphotos.com | LeonidKos | scornejor | Sympraxis Team

The predecessor project "iBRoad", also funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, developed a long-term approach to step-by-step renovation, which has been included in the new version of the EU Buildings Directive in the form of "Building Renovation Passports (BRP)". As a follow-up project, iBRoad2EPC will apply this long-term perspective to the renovation recommendations in energy performance certificates.

iBRoad2EPC aims to integrate Building Renovation Passport (BRP) elements into existing EPC schemes to provide added values to users. Those are e.g. the improvement of the renovation recommendations in alignment with national building climate targets and an outline of an individual building long-term renovation strategy considering various factors as step-by-step renovations that gradually lead to a consistent deep renovation, avoidance of mistakes through early preparation of later renovation measures or fulfilment of future legal requirements and obligations (e.g., ban of fossil fuels, minimum energy performance standards). The project also aims to enhance quality through the obligatory nature of an on-site visit by a trained expert as well as additional indicators like the Indoor Environmental Quality and the Smart Readiness Indicator.

iBRoad2EPC represents an ambitious though pragmatic effort to catalyse deep renovation of European buildings, by upgrading and making use of the main tool already widely available in the market, namely Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), thus contributing to the EU’s climate objectives.

The iBRoad2EPC concept is designed from the very start to enable its introduction in multiple member states. It can be flexibly adapted to the given individual circumstances of member states. This is achieved on the one hand through a modular structure allowing to include additional features and on the other hand through databases for country-specific text blocks and technical specifications. Furthermore, various interfaces have been developed for the assistant tool that allow integration into existing Energy Performance Certificate software, one-stop shops or similar tools. They utilise either an API interface, existing XML interfaces or Excel tools.

The added value of iBRoad2EPC for building owners is:

• Core information of a renovation roadmap at low additional cost
• Overview of all foreseeable targets and obligations in the future
• Overview of the renovation measures to fulfil the targets
• Information on how to achieve high renovation quality even with step-by-step renovation