The EU-funded project LiveBetter has completed its first phase, marking an important milestone in its mission to accelerate deep renovation across Europe.
(Note: Opinions in the articles are of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union)
The EU-funded project LiveBetter has completed its first phase, marking an important milestone in its mission to accelerate deep renovation across Europe. Following the conclusion of the initial testing and requirements co-creation phase at the end of September, project partners gathered in Valladolid, Spain, on 13–14 October for the project’s second physical plenary meeting, hosted by CARTIF.
The meeting provided an opportunity to review preliminary results from the first year of work, exchange lessons learnt from the six business cases and coordinate the activities planned for the next phase. The focus now shifts towards testing preliminary versions of LiveBetter’s digital services, refining their functionalities and preparing for more extensive end-user involvement.
LiveBetter is developing a portfolio of digital services designed to support smarter, more efficient and people-centred building renovation. These services address challenges ranging from energy performance and indoor environmental quality to digital inspections, renovation planning, financing and energy flexibility.
The project follows a three-phase testing approach:
With Phase 1 completed, partners are now preparing to move into Phase 2. This next stage will focus on assessing preliminary service versions, identifying opportunities for improvement, and ensuring that the solutions respond to the needs of their intended users. Beyond collecting end-user feedback, LiveBetter has also established a structured impact assessment framework, including dedicated KPIs, initial baselines, and measurement and verification plans for all the business cases, to quantitatively evaluate the status and performance of the services throughout the testing phases.
The six LiveBetter business cases (BC) bring together different building types, stakeholders and renovation challenges across Europe. Through nine co-creation workshops involving 34 participants, partners captured the needs of users such as facility managers, energy auditors and asset managers, translating their feedback into service requirements. This procedure prepared the necessary infrastructure and established the conditions for testing the project’s services.
Led by EPÜ and the wider Futureal Group ecosystem (including HPP and FR), this business case focuses on improving energy management and occupant comfort across retail, office and logistics buildings. Initial sensor testing is underway, with data now being received by the technical team following calibration. Energy consumption and solar generation data have also been made available to support the development and assessment of AI-supported energy management and demand response solutions. The next steps include expanding sensor coverage and collecting comfort and satisfaction feedback from building users.
LCA Dynamics is preparing to test digital tools across a portfolio of 20 residential and 10 tertiary buildings. The team has provided technical inspection reports, building information, energy performance certificates, thermal imagery and geospatial datasets to support predictive defect identification, energy audits, drone- and augmented reality-assisted inspections, and post-renovation evaluation. Data covering 17 renovated apartment buildings has also been supplied to help assess renovation outcomes. The next stage will depend on the continued development and implementation of the services.
Led by ESC, this Business Case explores how digital tools can help bridge the gap between technical renovation planning and investment decisions. Three services form the basis of the approach: Dynamic Renovation Passports, a Renovation Financing Assistant and a Post-Renovation Evaluation Tool. Together, they aim to make renovation projects easier to assess, finance and verify, helping investors and financial institutions evaluate risks and compare expected performance with actual outcomes.
In the Valencian Community, IVE is working with residential buildings and its renUEva platform to connect building data, renovation scenarios and sensor feedback. The Business Case brings together services addressing indoor environmental quality, comfort performance, defect identification, energy audits and renovation planning. Initial monitoring has highlighted the importance of reliable data collection, consistent sensor coverage and common audit inputs. Partners are addressing these challenges while preparing the next testing activities.
HERON is developing utility-led solutions to improve energy management and flexibility in residential buildings. Initial progress includes automated data ingestion and validation, early versions of energy disaggregation and aggregation modules, a prototype for energy load profiling, and ongoing integration work for the portfolio-level demand response tool. The next phase will build on these foundations by developing user-facing functionalities, refining analytics and exploring scenarios for energy flexibility and demand response.
Working with the Municipality of Plovdiv, EAP is preparing renovation pathways for five public buildings, including schools, kindergartens and a sports hall. Most of the required data has been collected and assessed as high quality, providing a basis for applying the relevant LiveBetter services. Energy Agency experts have carried out initial testing and refinement, with building managers and municipal officials subsequently reviewing and validating the proposed approach. The next steps include testing preliminary service versions and presenting recommendations through an online workshop.
The first phase has established an important foundation for LiveBetter’s next steps, from preparing datasets and technical infrastructure to defining requirements and engaging the stakeholders who will use the services.
The coming phase will place greater emphasis on preliminary service testing, end-user journeys and iterative refinement. By bringing together technical development, practical feedback and the diverse experiences of its six business cases, LiveBetter aims to make its digital solutions increasingly relevant, usable and effective in supporting Europe’s building renovation efforts.
