By 2020, there were 111 million buildings in the European Union, of which 101 million were residential and 10 million were dedicated to services. In 2021, direct fossil fuel emissions from the residential sector totalled more than 300 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent, while emissions from the service sector reached nearly 130 megatonnes, showing a slow but steady decrease compared to previous decades. In 2022, around 7% of the population was in arrears on their bills, 9.3% were unable to keep their homes adequately warm during cold months, and 14.8% lived in homes with structural issues such as roof leaks, damp walls, rotten windows, frames and floors.
These figures are just some of the data accessible on the BSO factsheet, a summary table of a massive amount of data available on the European Building Stock Observatory website concerning the Union's building stock. Having this information is essential to monitor the impact of European and national policies aimed at decarbonising buildings and combating energy poverty, to inform future policy development, to promote transparency for citizens, and to encourage industry to create new products and solutions that contribute to a more sustainable built environment.
With its new version launched at the beginning of 2024, the BSO has achieved a good degree of granularity, and by consulting its database it is possible to visualise very precise information on the EU and Member States’ building stock and related characteristics (e.g., energy consumption, building elements and technical building systems installed, renovation rates, and also energy poverty and financing aspects).
The BSO data, which is collected in an aggregated and anonymised manner, comes from EU-funded projects (e.g., MODERATE or HotMaps) and European statistics (e.g., from Eurostat or the European Environment Agency). It is gathered using a range of methods and tools but relies notably on the inspection and certification schemes established under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (e.g., Energy Performance Certificates or EPCs), and on cadastres’ records, interviews, field measurements and inspections, satellite and drone images, and utility bills.
The process for collecting reliable data on buildings is not straightforward. For instance:
The amount of data readily available is still limited
Raw data is insufficiently harmonised and can be difficult to aggregate and compare
The instruments that help collecting data on buildings energy cover only a limited share of building stocks (this applies for instance to EPCs)
Collection of metering data (e.g., electricity and gas consumption) is challenging
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive promotes policies to achieve a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050, create a stable environment for investment decisions, and enable consumers and businesses to make more informed choices to save energy and money.
The recent revision of the Directive aims to provide for an effective framework for collecting data on buildings at EU and National level, and more broadly, for improving the making available and sharing of data.
Two specific parts of the Directive can be highlighted:
Article 22, under which National databases for energy performance of buildings are mandated. These databases will allow to centralise a wealth of data about buildings energy, notably resulting from the implementation of EU certification schemes such as EPCs. Under the EPBD, aggregated building stock data from these databases will be made publicly available and the information from the databases will be transferred to the BSO on an annual basis thanks to a common template to be developed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States.
Article 16, which fosters exchange of data on buildings relying on, and supplementing the EU framework established under the European data strategy (notably the Data Act).
To reduce carbon emissions in buildings, policymakers need reliable data. OBSERVE supports EU efforts by standardising data collection methods, enhancing transparency, and helping six Member States improve energy and climate policies.
The ReLIFE project aims to improve data accessibility for deep building renovations in the EU, offering services like financial, forecasting, and technical assessments through an open-source platform to enhance decision-making and reduce energy-related emissions.
The MODERATE project aims to create an open platform that standardises data sharing in construction using AI, ML, blockchain, and IoT. It enhances data access, GDPR compliance, and promotes real-time building insights.
The project aims to create a knowledge base for building life-cycle management, integrating sustainability, resilience, and energy efficiency. It extends a Digital Building LogBook with new tools, blockchain, and data integration, supporting stakeholders through a decentralised system to share, track, and trade building information, enabling better decision-making for building adaptation and intervention.
The BuiltHub project aims to create a roadmap for continuous data enhancement to support building-related policies and market decisions, focusing on decarbonising the EU building stock via an accessible data hub.
The BSO provides crucial data on the EU's building stock, supporting efforts to achieve the EU climate neutrality goal and promote greater social equity. Despite challenges in data collection and harmonisation, the BSO plays a vital role in monitoring policy impacts, promoting transparency, and driving industry innovation. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive further strengthens data-sharing mechanisms across Member States, laying the foundations for increasingly detailed, accurate information that informs future policy development, helping to create a more energy-efficient, sustainable and inclusive built environment throughout the EU.
