SmartLivingEPC at REHVA Brussels Summit

Nov 29, 2024

​​SmartLivingEPC at the 10th REHVA Brussels Summit: Advancing Towards Climate Neutrality

On November 19th, 2024, the SmartLivingEPC project workshop took center stage at the 10th REHVA Brussels Summit, uniting experts to explore pioneering strategies for achieving climate neutrality in Europe’s building sector. Under the theme "Innovating Energy Performance: Advancing Towards Climate Neutrality with SmartLivingEPC and tunES," the workshop presented an impressive lineup of thought leaders and innovative case studies:

• Keynote by Andrei Vladimir Lițiu (EPB Center): The EU’s pathway to climate neutrality and the evolution of EPCs under the recast EPBD.
• Catalin LUNGU (REHVA President) showcased SmartLivingEPC, emphasizing advanced energy performance assessments at building and district levels.
• Tomasz Cholewa (Lublin University of Technology) presented tu​nES, detailing the tuning of EPC and SRI instruments to maximize energy performance.

The event culminated with an engaging interactive session moderated by Pablo Carnero Melero (REHVA), featuring insights from panelists:

• Andrei Vladimir Lițiu (EPB Center)
• Emmanuelle Causse (International Union of Property Owners (UIPI)
• Alfred Gottlieb Freitag (Beli​mo)

Discussions centered on the challenges and opportunities of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and its implications for advanced Energy Performance Certification (EPC).

Key takeaways:

• EPCs are indispensable, yet their transformation is necessary to remain effective in driving energy-efficient renovations.
• From static to dynamic tools: future EPCs will incorporate metrics like the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI), Global Warming Potential (GWP), and Building Renovation Passports (BRP).
• Enhanced calculation methods and trained assessors are vital for EPCs to support both energy efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ).
• Mobilizing public and private investments is crucial to achieving the EU's 2050 decarbonization goals.

As we aim for a fully decarbonized building stock by 2050, energy performance tools like EPC must adapt to meet the demands of a sustainable future.

BUILD UP Expert Talks with Stavros Koltsios

Nov 18, 2024

​Stavros Koltsios, Research Associate from Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) will be a guest at BUILD UP Expert Talk. He will be answering questions about the advantages of implementing Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in EU buildings, talking about the indicators considered when calculating EPCs, the main factors to take into consideration for effective implementation of EPCs at the national level, and whether the digitalisation helps to boost the implementation of EPCs​.

The BUILD UP Expert talks series is an initiative of the BUILD UP portal, and features face-to-face interviews with experts from across Europe, offering diverse perspectives on key topics related to energy efficiency in buildings.

You can find the link here​.

5th Plenary meeting

Oct 30, 2024

The consortium has gathered in Dublin on the 9th and 10th of October to have the fifth plenary meeting of the SmartLivingEPC project. We are heading to the final steps and the works done in different work packages and task are coming together. The progress and obstacles of tasks were presented and discussed. At the end of day one two working groups had workshops to discuss further the theoretical and practical aspects of the project, namely the methodologies and software developed in the project. Future steps were planned and the consortium is working hard to achieve great results from the project.​

Sustainable places 2024

Oct 25, 2024

The SmartLivingEPC project proudly took part in the Sustainable Places 2024 conference, held in Luxembourg, representing a significant opportunity for the project to showcase its ongoing achievements and engage with key stakeholders. Several partners of the project were present to share the results of SmartLivingEPC and actively participate in discussions with other attendees. A highlight of the event was a presentation by the project’s scientific coordinator, Paris Fokaides, who spoke at the NextGenEPC Cluster workshop. His presentation, titled "EPBD Implementation: Facilitated and Enhanced by the Projects on the NextGenEPC Cluster", provided an insightful overview of how SmartLivingEPC is contributing to the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) through advanced solutions. Beyond the formal sessions, the conference offered valuable networking opportunities, where participants exchanged ideas in both structured and informal settings. The event also featured an engaging atmosphere that balanced professional exchange with moments of enjoyment and connection among attendees.​

SmartLivingEPC article in REHVA journal

Jun 28, 2024

​​​​Recently, an article titled "Advancing EPBD Implementation: The SmartLivingEPC project" was published in June's edition of REHVA Journal.  Check it out through this link​!​

SmartLivingEPC video is out!

Jun 14, 2024

​​SmartLivingEPC project in a nutshell!

Check out the 3-minute video, where the goals and concept of the project are presented - here is the link​!​

The NextGenEPC conference - EPBD Recast Edition

Jun 13, 2024

On the 23rd of May 2024, the NextGenEPC projects gathered in Brussels for the EPBD Recast Edition conference. The event was divided into four parts - the first one provided the common context related to EU policy, EPBD recast, and introduction to EU-funded NectGenEPC projects, the second part showed an overview of insights and outcomes of 4 projects (CrossCert, EPC RECAST, EUB SuperHub, iBRoad2EPC) and later on in the third part a deep dive into the Key Exploitable Results was made. The event concluded with the fourth part where third-party feedback and views were provided. The SmartLivingEPC project presented its roll-up during the network drinks at the end of the event. We always enjoy seeing progress of our sister projects!​

4th Plenary meeting

May 03, 2024

Three weeks ago, SmartLivingEPC partners met in Delft, The Netherlands for the 4th Plenary meeting. The meeting was hosted by our Dutch partner DEMO Consultants. We came together to discuss the steps taken in advancing energy performance certification.

On the first day, we started with a Project Management presentation by CERTH where the general project status was discussed. Next, the Conceptual Architecture Framework, System Requirements, and System Viewpoints were discussed in the scope of WP1. During the presentation of WP2 the Asset methodology was discussed and synergies with WP3, which deals with the Operational methodology, were identified. In the presentation of WP4, progress on the following topics was discussed: Common Information Exchange Model, Building dynamic behavior monitoring, Digital Twin and Digital Logbooks. We concluded the day with the Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation WP. After a fruitful day full of discussions, we headed to the DEMO Consultants office, which is located near the meeting location in Delft. After refreshing drinks, it was time for dinner in the city center of Delft.

The second day of the meeting started with WP5 which is about Added Value Tools. We talked about AI tools and a Nudge-ready performance benchmarking & evaluation tool. The final presentation of the 4th plenary meeting was about the demonstration WP, where activities are well on track.

The meeting was successful, and we again had a great opportunity to improve the bond between the consortium partners even further.​

Smart Readiness Indicator Joint Event

Mar 18, 2024

The SRI Joint event brought together the projects from the SRI cluster (SRI2MARKET, EasySRI, SRI-ENACT), the CINEA, and the DG ENER, but also related projects including iEPB, SmarterEPC, tunES iBECOME, CHRONICLE, and SmartLivingEPC, to discuss smart readiness of European buildings. It started on the 7th of March 2024 with a morning session on the SRI Platform (4th plenary meeting) and continued into the afternoon where Expert talks and Panel discussions on SRI streamlining and detailed assessment took place. The focus was on the interconnected energy systems and the pivotal role of smart technologies in the clean energy transition. Dimosthenis Ioannidis from CERTH was representing the SmartLivingEPC project during the Roundtable Discussion. In parallel, visitors had the opportunity to check the SRI project exhibition with the latest outcomes from the projects funded by the LIFE and Horizon programs. The event was organized by the Smart Square project as a hybrid event with a location in Brussels, Belgium.​​

Webinar - Transposing and implementing the EPBD Recast

Feb 01, 2024

​On the 27th of September 2023, the BUILD UP webinar took place, which was focused on the Transposing and implementing the EPBD Recast: Next Generation Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).  The webinar started with an introduction by Andrei Vladimir Litiu from EPB Center, who gave an overview of the projects under the Next Generation EPC cluster and the steps that were taken as a cluster to have a single visual identity. SmartLivingEPC project is the 2022 generation among the 13 projects in this cluster. Next, Ulrike Nuscheler from CINEA talked about Turning Policy into Action, followed by two EPBD Recast transposition perspectives, given by Aitor Dominguez from IDEA and Pau Garcia Audi from DG ENER. The event concluded with the panel discussion with speakers an a thank you note from BUILD UP. ​

You can learn more about the event and watch the recorning of the webinar via this link.

3rd newsletter is out!

Dec 19, 2023

​The third newsletter of the project is out! With this one, we mark the 18 months of the project or the half of our 3-year journey. Scroll through to see what have we been up to in the past six months - you can access it here​.

Enjoy!

SmartLivingEPC brochure is out!

Dec 18, 2023

​The SmartLivingEPC brochure is out, you can find it here​!

​Scroll through to find out more about 

• the project, 
• the objectives, 
• the consortium,
• the conceptual architecture framework and 
• pilots.
  

Enjoy!

Policy Recommendations

Dec 07, 2023

​The SmartLivingEPC project has prepared Policy Recommendations based on the findings of the research work on how to improve the existing EPC schemes. You can read the document here.​

Press Release 2023

Dec 05, 2023

​We're pleased to introduce the first press release for the SmartLivingEPC project, one of the 13 EU-funded initiatives dedicated to improving Energy Performance Certificates. Discover the activities undertaken by the Next Generation EPC cluster and the objectives set by the SmartLivingEPC project.​

You can read the Press Release here.

Thank you for joining us on this journey toward enhancing Energy Performance Certificates!​

ENERGY in BUILDINGS - EPIRUS 2023

Nov 28, 2023

ENERGY in BUILDINGS is an International Conference that contributes to and advances the state of the art of the built environment. It connects Engineers, Architects, Stakeholders, Academia, and Professionals of different disciplines. SmartLivingEPC was present there in Session 3 - Sustainability, with the presentation called Energy Performance of Buildings - Operational Rating​, given by Stavros Koltsios from CERTH. The conference was organised by ASHRAE Hellenic Chapter in Epirus on the 25th of November. ​

TIMEPAC conference

Nov 27, 2023

​On the 21st of November 2023 a TIMEPAC international workshop took place. The topic was "Towards a dynamic and enhanced EPC: advanced procedures for building assessment and certification​" and several latest developments in energy performance certification were presented. The event was divided into four sessions: 

• Using BIM for the EPC generation process, 
• Integrating data sources in renovation roadmaps, 
• Enhanced EPC - integrating additional indicators, SRI, and BRP
• Supporting the Renovation Wave

​In the third session, our colleague Stavros Koltsios from CERTH presented the developments within the SmartLivingEPC project with a presentation titled "SmartLivingEPC: Advanced Energy Performance Assessment towards Smart Living in Building and District Level"​

Unlocking operation rating schemes: the synergetic added value of SmartLivingEPC and CHRONICLE

Oct 24, 2023

​​SmartLivingEPC and CHRONICLE project explored the intricacies of operational rating schemes and the methodologies at the webinar entitled “Unlocking operation rating schemes: the synergetic added value of SmartLivingEPC and CHRONICLE”. The webinar took place on the 14th of September 2023 and was hosted by BUILD UP. First, the presentation on the Challenges in Building Environment & Operational Rating Schemes was given by Sofia Bazzano, EU Project & Financial Officer at REHVA, followed by Ulrike Nuscheler, Senior Project Adviser LIFE Energy + LIFE Climate, CINEA, who presented: H2020 to LIFE-CET - The Buildings Topic(s) in transition. The keynote speakers of the day were Andrei Vladimir Lițiu, Executive Director at EPB Center and Gusts Kossovics, Director Technical Communication at eu.bac, who discussed Measuring building performance as a steppingstone towards operational rating. Next, the two projects were presented by Paris Fokaides, Senior Researcher, Frederick Research Center  (SmartLivingEPC) and Angelina Katsifaraki, Project Manager at HYPERTECH SA (CHRONICLE). The webinar concluded with a short Q&A session, moderated by BUILD UP.

​You can check the recording of the webinar through this link and you can download the slides here.

3rd Plenary Meeting of SmartLivingEPC

Sep 26, 2023

​​SmartLivingEPC had the third plenary meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, hosted by Tal​linn University of Technology on September 20th and 21st. The consortium partners presented the progress of the project in different work packages, tasks, and deliverables, and discussed the challenges and issues. The project is ongoing as planned with already important findings, and further planned actions and steps to be taken. 

In addition, Ehituse Mäemaja builidng, on the campus of TalTech university was visited by the partners, as one of the project's pilot buildings. The building fulfills NZEB energy requirements, and has been constructed in 2020 with state-of-the-art techincal systems. ​​

Leitza pilots at Bioterra

Jul 06, 2023

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BIOTERRA is a local fair where different companies show their services or products, all related to energy efficiency, renewable energies bioconstruction, organic food products, other organic products, and responsible consumption. It is held in Irun, Basque Country, every year. Our partner Goiener has participated with a stand during the three days of the fair to show their services and their involvement in the SmartLivingEPC project. Goiener is a pilot manager of Leitza Pilots and has presented an overview of the demonstration buildings through the poster (in the Basque language) that you can find here​.

Sustainable Places 2023 - Joint Workshop of InCUBE, REHOUSE, D^2EPC, SmartLivingEPC, CHRONICLE, and EPC RECAST projects

Jun 21, 2023

​Sustainable Places is an annual international conference that brings together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers to discuss and showcase the latest advancements in sustainable building and urban planning. For its 11th annual edition, the Sustainable Places conference took place in Madrid, Spain from June 14th to June 16th, 2023.

SmartLivingEPC, in collaboration with InCUBE, REHOUSE, D^2EPC, CHRONICLE, and EPC RECAST, co-organized a workshop titled "Digitalization of Energy Performance Assessment to Enable Retrofits". The workshop held on the 15th of June was articulated into two parts:

• The first part focused on Digitalizing the Energy Performance Assessment: This session started with the presentations of D^2EPC followed by EPC RECAST and CHRONICLE, in conclusion, Mr. Paris Folkaides from SmartLivingEPC provided a presentation entitled “Towards digitized EPCs with enhanced information: the SmartLivingEPC project".
• The second part focused on the Digitalization of the renovation process: During this session, InCUBE and REHOUSE provided their presentations on digitalization and innovation to accelerate the EU building renovation rate.

The workshop ended with a round table discussion on “Digitalization as a support tool for the energy efficiency improvement in the renovation process".

Presenters at the workshop:

SmartLivingEPC's active participation at Sustainable Places 2023 helped foster knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation within the realm of digitalization for energy performance assessment and retrofitting. The workshop facilitated the identification of key challenges, the exploration of novel solutions, and the establishment of partnerships among stakeholders from academia, industry, and policymakers. Furthermore, the workshop enables continued cooperation with sister projects and sharing key objectives, progress, and outcomes.

As the project continues its mission to revolutionize energy performance assessment, SmartLivingEPC aims to translate the insights gained from Sustainable Places 2023 into practical tools, methodologies, and guidelines that can be adopted by professionals in the field. By harnessing the potential of digital technologies, SmartLivingEPC strives to accelerate the transition toward sustainable and energy-efficient buildings.

The 2nd plenary meeting

Apr 28, 2023

The second plenary meeting of SmartLivingEPC was hosted by the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, on April 20th and 21st.

On the first day of the meetings, the consortium partners traveled to Leitze, a city next to Bilbao, with 6 demonstration cases for the project. The meeting started with a welcome from GOI, and an introduction by CERTH. The mayor of Leitza presented an introduction to the initiatives of the city to improve sustainability and the pilot sites of Leitza.

The first presentation by CERTH was about the project management work package, discussing the project status, a list of actions, and deliverables and milestones for the next period. Afterward, tasks of WP1, Exploration for Smart Living EPCs, were presented, elaborating on the main achievements and findings.

The demonstration cases, including residential, educational, public, and multi-purpose buildings were visited by the consortium partners. These buildings will provide unique opportunities for the project to identify how older buildings with no digital information can be dealt with in the scope of EPCs.

On the second day, the meeting took place at the campus of the University of Deusto. The progress of WP2, SmartLivingEPC asset methodology, WP3, SmartLivingEPC operational methodology, and WP4, Building digitalization towards Smart Living EPCs, were presented by WP leaders, AIIR, FRC, and IESRD. Tasks leaders also presented the status of each task, in addition to main findings, and next steps. Due to the lack of time, WP7 presentations were postponed to be discussed in the WP7 meeting on Wednesday, April 26th.

​Finally, the consortium partners had a short visit to the environmental improvements of the campus of UDeusto. The next plenary meeting will be held in Estonia, hosted by TalTech. The plenary meetings provide the chance for the consortium partners to meet in person, build up the foundations of the collaboration, and embark on interesting and fruitful discussions about the project. The project is in its first year and is moving steadily towards its milestones and objectives. 

SmartLivingEPC pitch video from the 3rd NDA workshop

Mar 06, 2023

​The Next Gen EPC cluster 3rd Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) workshop has been held on 13th of December 2022. The main scope was to explore together synergies and join forces as identified best for successfully implementing the individual projects and overall maximizing the impact at cluster level.

​The event included also 5min elevator pitches per project. You can check ours here​!

​​For making a meaningful, impactful and lasting contribution to the evolution process of the European Building Performance Assessment and Certification (both mandatory and voluntary) the Next Gen EPC cluster of projects strongly believes in enabling and facilitating an open dialogue and structured exchange in between the sister initiatives.

First newsletter

Feb 22, 2023

At the end of last year we sent out our first newsletter! You can find it under Project results or by clicking on this link. Even better - subscribe and never miss our newsletter again!​

The 1st Plenary Meeting in Limassol, Cyprus

Jan 25, 2023

The 1st Plenary meeting of SmartLivingEPC has been organized by Fredrick University and held in Limassol, Cyprus on January 16th. As the first plenary meeting, the main goals were to present the status of started WPs, and to discuss and plan the next required actions.

On the first day, partners from CERTH started the meeting with presenting the project status, project management roles and responsibilities, and defining the actions and milestones for the next period. The meeting continued by presentations of WP1, which aims to explore the market and technological conditions where SmartLivingEPC will be realized. In addition, WP2 and WP3 were presented, discussing SmartLivingEPC asset and operational methodology. At the end, WP7 partners presented the status and actions regarding project's communication, dissemination, and exploitation. The meeting was concluded by discussing closing remarks and pre-planning the next meetings.

The meeting was a great chance for the consortium partners to meet in person, and discuss the project together. However, it was held hybrid, and it is hoped that all partners can join the next plenary meetings in person, to increase the opportunities for making a strong collaboration within the consortium. ​

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"NEXT GENERATION EPC" Webinar, 23rd January 2023

Jan 20, 2023

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Paper on SmartLivingEPC project in EESAP13

Nov 17, 2022

​The paper "​The potential for improvement in the new generation of Energy Performance Certification with an integrated approach to assessment at neighbourhood level. SmartLivingEPC Project- case study of Leitza", written by Eider Iribar and Chris Merveille has been presented in the thirteenth edition of the International Conference on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Architecture and Urban Planning (EESAP 13). 

The paper describes the challenges in developing the next generation EPC schemes and introduces the SmartLivingEPC project. It mentions that it will be based on digital tools, and it will integrate verious indicators that until now have not been included in the methodologies, such as life-cycle analysis, air quality, acoustic quality, water consumption, level of building intelligence (SRI), and the actual operation of facilities. The paper also mentions that, in addition to developing the rating system at building level (Building EPC), another rating scheme will be obtained at the level of building complex level (Complex EPC). This extension to the neighbourhood level and energy communities is one of the most important innovative aspect of SmartLivingEPC.​ The building complex in Leitza, Spain is also described as the case study of this project. describes the pilot complex of buildings in Spain. 

You can see the conference's abstract book here. 

Deep Renovation of buildings: what Energy Performance Certificates can do

Nov 09, 2022

​​​Dr.-Ing. Paris A. Fokaides, Associate Professor at Frederick University, partner and scientific coordinator of SmartLivingEPC, will have the honour to represent the SmartLivingEPC project during the Next Gen EPC cluster panel discussion. Furthermore, Clara Ouvrier (ANEC) and Andrei Vladimir Litiu (REHVA) will participate to the QualDeEPC final conference also representing SmartLivingEPC in their communication, dissemination and clustering responsibilities as SmartLivingEPC partners.​

There is room for improvement in energy savings in the building sector, mainly through refurbishing Europe’s existing building stock. Amongst the measures introduced in the EU to boost energy savings is Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), providing buildings and owners with an incentive to invest in improving energy efficiency. In addition to improving the practical implementation of the assessment, issuance, design, and use of EPCs, QualDeEPC has focused on deep renovation recommendations.

All the progress made since the start of the project in 2019 has kept the deep renovation measures at its core. How can increasing the quality of EPC schemes accelerate the deep renovation of buildings? Join the final conference of QualDeEPC to discover the new EPC template, tools developed, and policy recommendations. On this occasion, participants will also meet representatives of the Next Gen EPCerts H2020 cluster​ which is the hub of the H2020 projects working on EPC.