crossCert

The energy efficiency of buildings makes a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gases. The energy performance certificate plays an important role here: the energy performance certificate is a key information tool for building users. To be able to assess the energy efficiency of a building and, if necessary, plan and implement suitable refurbishment measures.

The energy performance certificate should be an easy-to-understand document that allows users to assess and compare the energy efficiency of a building. Through constant further development, the energy performance certificate has become a document whose user-friendliness, accuracy and homogeneity have potential for improvement in Europe.

The Austrian Energy Agency is addressing this fact and is participating in the crossCert - Cross Assessment of Energy Certificates in Europe project. The project contributes to the further development of building energy certificates.

First, a product test methodology for energy certificate approaches is developed. This will be followed by a so-called cross-testing of existing and future energy performance certificate approaches. To this end, each project partner calculates energy performance certificates for previously defined buildings using the partner countries' respective energy performance certificate calculation programs. In two subsequent test rounds, future approaches developed in other projects will be tested (next generation energy performance certificates - next generation EPCs).

During the project work, we invite stakeholders to share their experiences. The results will be incorporated into the next generation of energy performance certificates. Specifically, this project addresses building owners, real estate companies, real estate agents, energy performance certificate calculators, engineering offices, civil engineers, energy advice centers, networks for energy-efficient buildings, etc.

The following aspects will be addressed in the course of the project:

• New energy performance indicators and scales
• Refurbishment recommendations in the energy performance certificate
• Accuracy of the calculation
• Experiences of the users:
• Design of energy performance certificate products and services
• Training and education of energy performance certificate issuers
• Marketing in relation to energy performance certificates
• Needs of users and investors
• Linking energy performance certificates with energy audits
• Integration of energy performance certificates in databases

Recommendations for energy performance certificates on the following topics will be developed based on experience with the calculations of energy performance certificates, using existing and future energy performance certificate approaches and from the interviews and workshops with relevant stakeholders:

• Improving accuracy
• Increasing user-friendliness
• Human-centered design
• Increasing the homogeneity of energy performance certificate approaches in Europe

If you would like to share your experiences and perhaps even ideas for improvement with us or receive information about planned workshops, please contact nicole.hartl@energyagency.at.

Client	EUROPEAN COMISSION – European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
Project management	Nicole Hartl
Project team	Naghmeh Altmann-Mavaddat Patrick Vidovic
Projectpartner	Austrian Energy Agency (AEA) Universidad de Zaragoza (UNIZAR) Heriot-Watt University (HWU) Inovacijsko-razvojni institute Univerze v Ljubljani (IRI UL) Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) Regionalna energetska agencija Sjeverozapadne (REGEA) Krawoja Agencija Poszanowania Energii (KAPE) FONDATSIYA TSENTAR ZA ENERGIYNA EFEKTIVNOST – ENEFEKT (ENEFFECT) Malta Intelligent Energy Management Agency (MIEMA) Ente Público Regional de la Energía de Castilla y León (EREN) Energy Consulting Network (ECNET) Climate Alliance (CA)
Projekt duration	September 2021 to August 2024