Articles

SmartWins leverages digital twins to optimise building energy performance, integrate Life Cycle Assessments, and foster collaboration through research, education, and tools, advancing sustainability and carbon-neutral goals across Europe.

The 2024 BSO update provides granular data on residential and service buildings regarding their energy consumption, associated GHG emissions, activity in the building sector and socio-economic aspects. To address challenges in data availability and harmonisation, the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive asks Member States to set up national databases for the energy performance of buildings and to transfer information to the BSO annually. By supporting transparency and informing policy, the BSO aims to monitor energy performance trends and promote sustainable practices to achieve a zero-emission EU building stock by 2050.

CondoReno examines effective ways for municipalities among other stakeholders to support energy renovations in condominiums. The roles, challenges, and potential of seven municipalities in the Netherlands and Flanders were analysed to explore how they can optimise business models for greater engagement in the early phases of energy renovations.

The OneClickRENO (OCR) and iEPB projects aim to enhance building energy efficiency and EPBD implementation. OCR develops automatic building renovation passports, while iEPB creates a common data model that integrates different EPB assessments.

As Europe moves towards a more sustainable future, energy performance ratings are becoming a key driver in transforming the real estate market. Central to this shift is the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), a policy instrument that not only certifies a building's energy efficiency but also seeks to incentivise investment in greener properties. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU/2024/1275) aims to improve comparability of EPCs across Member States, as well as making them more reliable and digitalised. However, Europe's diverse building stock and the varying energy policies of Member States present significant challenges to these goals.

This article presents early findings from the RES2 project, focusing on challenges within Italy's construction industry, particularly the lack of motivation and necessary skills among young professionals and women.

Buildings account for 36% of EU emissions. The EU aims to cut building emissions by 60% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, necessitating substantial investments. Initiatives like SHERLOCK align financial and technical skills to de-risk energy efficiency investments, essential for energy savings, economic growth, and job creation.

This article describes the process of BPS modelling, lessons learned, and best practices from the use case in SMARTeeSTORY.

On September 24th in Luxemburg, the NEBULA project organised the very first workshop dedicated to the New European Bauhaus at the Sustainable Places Conference, with a participative approach proposed. This article proposes a synthesis of the exchanges between participants.

The article explores the strategies in renovating historic homes while improving their energy performance and indoor climate along with preserving heritage values. It highlights renovation challenges and financing complexities.