An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives building owners a recognised picture of energy performance and includes recommendations for improvement where potential exists. That information matters: it makes a building’s performance more visible, supports comparison and can draw attention to the potential benefits of renovation. Yet an assessment and a recommendation do not, by themselves, settle the decisions a building owner or community must make before commissioning works.

EPCs also serve several functions in the renovation journey. They provide a common reference for energy performance and can inform regulatory, market and funding decisions. Their value for renovation depends, however, on what users can do with the information. A recommendation such as improving insulation or replacing a system becomes actionable when it is connected to a sequence, a decision-maker and a view of the expected benefits.

Owners need to understand which measures make sense for their building, how they benefit from them, how they relate to one another, which should come first, what the cost is and what each stage might achieve. In a block of flats, these questions must be discussed collectively and connected to the community’s priorities, available finance and decision-making process. The distance between 'I know how my building performs' and 'I know what to do next' is the missing link between certification and renovation action.

The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) gives this gap new policy relevance. Under Article 12, Member States were required to introduce renovation passport (RP) schemes by 29 May 2026, based on the common framework in Annex VIII. The Directive also links RPs and EPCs: Member States may allow them to be prepared and issued together, in which case the RP replaces the EPC’s renovation recommendations. This creates a pathway from a performance assessment towards a longer-term renovation strategy.

An RP is therefore a planning instrument: it places the current condition alongside a possible sequence of future improvements. Its value lies in making the transition from assessment to action easier to understand and discuss. It also breaks a complex renovation decision into smaller, more manageable steps. The opportunity is broader than energy performance alone. A staged roadmap can help owners consider expected energy improvements alongside financial implications, indoor environmental quality, comfort and environmental performance.

Producing a detailed passport for every building requires data, time and professional expertise, which is difficult to scale. OneClickRENO therefore explores whether existing information and digital tools can make an initial, estimated RP available as a first step, while retaining professional assessment for later decisions about works.

OneClickRENO approach: one-click access to an estimated renovation passport

The LIFE OneClickRENO project is developing and testing digital tools that can generate estimated and customisable renovation passports. The approach starts from a practical premise: relevant building information already exists in sources such as EPC databases and cadastral and geospatial datasets. By combining these sources with building typologies and assessments prepared for reference buildings, a tool can produce an initial picture of a property without first requiring a detailed assessment.

At the centre of the project is a common data model for renovation passports. It organises information into a description of the building’s current condition and a forward-looking roadmap of renovation stages. To provide a consistent structure across its pilots while national schemes were being developed, OneClickRENO defined a shared model aligned with the common framework in Annex VIII of the recast EPBD. Its structure and indicators are described in a previous BUILD UP technical article on the OneClickRENO Renovation Passport data model.

Reference-building calculations: a bottom-up method

To make RPs available at scale, OneClickRENO prepares a repository of assessments for reference buildings, or archetypes. An archetype is a model building that represents a segment of the existing stock. It is characterised using the attributes that influence performance and renovation potential, such as building type and use, construction period, size, climate, envelope and technical systems.

The use of archetypes is an engineering-based bottom-up approach to building-stock modelling: energy calculations are carried out for a representative set of buildings, and the results can be extrapolated to the larger stock those buildings represent.

Related methods have been applied in European building-stock research. The TABULA project used reference buildings to assess the energy-saving potential of residential stocks, and its typology approach was subsequently harmonised across 20 European countries through TABULA and EPISCOPE.

For each reference building, calculations establish a baseline and assess renovation scenarios, from individual measures to staged pathways. Indicators are drawn from the OneClickRENO data model and calculated using methods and sources appropriate to each context. Depending on the indicator and connected tool, results may be pre-calculated and retrieved from a database or calculated on request.

A common user journey across OneClickRENO tools

The data sources, inputs and available customisation differ across national implementations (BERWOW in Ireland, renUEva in Spain, and reMODULEES in Italy and the Netherlands), but the shared user journey, illustrated in Figure 1, can be summarised in four steps:

1. Identify the building. The user enters a location or selects a building through the available map or data interface (01, Figure 1). Where supported, an EPC or another structured building record can provide some inputs; the user supplies or confirms any missing information needed for classification. The amount of input therefore depends on the data available in each context.
2. Match the building to an archetype. Using the available characteristics, the system selects the reference building that best represents the property from a prepared data set. The selected property is linked to a reference building (02A, Figure 1), the corresponding reference-building key performance indicators are obtained (02B, Figure 1), and those results are applied to the selected property (02C, Figure 1).
3. Explore the diagnosis and roadmap. The tool presents an estimated baseline and uses reference-building results to compare the renovation options and stages available in that implementation. Users can review alternatives and, where enabled, adjust preferences or sequencing (03, Figure 1).
4. Generate the estimated passport. The selected information and pathway are assembled in the OneClickRENO data-model structure and made available through the connected tool. The result gives the user an initial roadmap to discuss with a professional, who can verify the actual building and develop a detailed assessment and plan (04, Figure 1).

Together, these steps make an initial passport quicker to obtain and easier to use for exploring options, while keeping its assumptions visible and professional verification as the next step when owners decide to proceed.

_{Figure 1. Common user journey across OneClickRENO pilot tools. Source: OneClickRENO project.}

Implementation in Spain through renUEva

In Spain, the OneClickRENO approach is being implemented through renUEva, a tool developed by the Valencian Institute of Building (IVE), as an extension of the renovEU tool. renovEU was designed to support energy diagnosis and compare improvement measures under NextGenerationEU funding in the Valencian Community. renUEva extends the tool to Spain nationally, while OneClickRENO adds a workflow to generate an initial estimated renovation passport with minimal input.

The aim is to make a first diagnosis and staged renovation roadmap accessible through a straightforward online process. The workflow is designed to be usable by residents and other non-specialist users, as well as by technicians, one-stop shops and property managers. The Spanish implementation follows these steps.

• Step 1. Choose an access route. The 'Your home' route is intended for residents and owners; 'A building' provides an entry point for users working at building level, including technicians and administrators. These routes allow the process to start either from an individual home or from the building as a whole.

_{Figure 2. Choosing an access route. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

• Step 2. Locate the home or building. The user selects a property on the map. Additional layers, including cadastral information and climate zones, provide context for the diagnosis. In the Spanish workflow, only properties recorded in the Cadastre with residential use can be selected. Where available, the tool retrieves and displays the cadastral record and photographs.

_{Figure 3. Locating the building and viewing map layers. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

• Step 3. Check the property data and reference building. The user checks the cadastral attributes that influence archetype assignment: built area, plot area, year of construction, number of dwellings and number of storeys. These values can be amended where necessary. The tool then presents the representative archetype’s assumed envelope—ground floor, roof, façade and windows—so the user can review it and indicate elements that have already been renovated. The user also selects the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems present. On this basis, the tool assigns the reference archetype that best represents the property.

_{Figure 4. Property data and archetype assignment. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

• Step 4. Current-condition diagnosis. The tool displays a baseline for non-renewable primary energy consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, passive comfort, final energy consumption, heating and cooling demand, and embodied global warming potential (GWP) for product stages A1–A3. These results are based on the assigned archetype and provide an initial appraisal; they are not measurements of the building.

_{Figure 5. Estimated current-condition diagnosis. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

• Step 5. Select measures and compare scenarios. Users can explore window replacement, HVAC replacement with an air-source heat pump, envelope insulation and photovoltaic panels. Each option includes a technical description of its components and an indicative cost based on IVE’s Construction Cost Database. Users compare the current condition with the estimated post-renovation condition using the same indicators. They can then review individual measures and combinations as alternative scenarios, including their estimated energy savings and costs.

_{Figure 6. Selection of renovation measures and comparison of scenarios. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

• Step 6. Build a staged renovation passport. Once an objective is selected, renUEva presents users with a personalised building renovation roadmap, structured into successive steps towards 2050. The tool allows users to choose between different renovation strategies, combining and sequencing improvements such as window replacement, building envelope insulation, heating and cooling system upgrades, and renewable energy installations according to different priorities. All strategies follow no-regret principles, avoiding lock-in effects between successive renovation measures, and aim to align as closely as possible with the Energy Efficiency First principle. Those that fully meet this principle and therefore could qualify as renovation passports under the EPBD definition will be clearly marked as recommended. Each step includes a dedicated information card describing the proposed intervention, its expected benefits, estimated investment and impact on the building’s energy performance, emissions and thermal comfort. This step-by-step approach helps users understand how individual measures contribute to the overall renovation objectives.
  
  The platform also provides a timeline visualisation of the complete renovation strategy, illustrating how building performance evolves throughout the planning period. Interactive charts allow users to explore the annual impact of the proposed measures from financial, energy and environmental perspectives. These are complemented by summary indicators highlighting the strategy’s cumulative benefits and key milestones, including the time required to achieve the target comfort level. By bringing together technical information and accessible visualisations, renUEva supports a comprehensive comparison of renovation pathways, helping users identify the strategy that best matches their needs and priorities.

_{Figure 7. Example renUEva roadmap showing a staged strategy and estimated indicators. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

To complement the technical roadmap, OneClickRENO is also developing an economic and financial assessment of renovation strategies, with indicators calculated per dwelling up to 2050. These include the life-cycle cost, which adds up energy bills, works and financing costs, net of grants, in present-day euros; the net financial benefit compared with not renovating; the cumulative return on investment; and the year in which the investment is recovered. The expected increase in property value from an improved energy rating will be reported for information. Different financial scenarios will be modelled to assess the impact of subsidies, financing options (owners’ contributions or loans) and the timing of interventions, for example, a staged passport with or without a loan, compared with a single-step renovation. The analysis will also consider the impact on household expenditure, including the peak monthly cost of energy bills and financing, helping owners and communities of owners assess the economic feasibility and affordability of different renovation pathways.

• Step 7. Download and prepare the passport for discussion. The passport can be downloaded with a visual roadmap and complementary information, including links to one-stop-shop services and available renovation support where relevant.
  
  The status of this output is made explicit: it is an estimated or draft renovation passport, intended to help owners begin an informed conversation and support this initial discussion. Article 12(6) of the EPBD allows Member States to develop a complementary digital tool through which owners and building managers can simulate a draft simplified passport. Article 12(4) distinguishes this from a formally issued passport, which must be provided in a printable digital format by a qualified or certified expert following an on-site visit. The estimate can help owners decide what to investigate next, but it does not replace a building-specific assessment or professional renovation planning.

_{Figure 8. Estimated renovation passport report. Source: IVE, renUEva demonstration interface.}

This first step may be particularly relevant in Spain, where 69.5% of dwellings are in residential buildings containing three or more dwellings, according to Eurostat’s 2021 Census data. Decisions in these buildings often involve shared elements and require agreement among multiple owners. Property managers, who maintain regular contact with owners’ associations, can bring an accessible first diagnosis to the community when it is not yet ready to commission a full study. The roadmap can shift the conversation from a diagnosis of current energy performance towards long-term options, sequencing and priorities. If the community wishes to proceed, the property manager can help connect its questions and knowledge of the building with a more detailed assessment and professional planning. Planned maintenance also offers an opportunity to coordinate works, for example, adding roof insulation when roof repairs are due.

Conclusions: scaling up access to renovation advice

Renovation passports can connect building performance information with a staged plan, but access to detailed advice is difficult to scale if each owner must commission a complete assessment before taking a first decision. OneClickRENO estimated passports use existing information and reference-building calculations to make an initial diagnosis and set of options accessible to more people. The estimate does not replace a verified passport or professional planning; it gives owners and communities a concrete point from which to ask better questions and decide whether to proceed. In this way, OneClickRENO broadens the entry to the renovation journey and supports wider implementation of the passport framework introduced by the EPBD.