BUDI: Take-off of the Building Directive – Pilot Actions to develop a functioning market for energy performance certificates

The “Directive on the energy performance of buildings” will be an important instrument with a great positive impact on the building sector in terms of awareness raising and energy efficiency. In order to mobilise these potentials, it is necessary to prepare well for the start-up in 2006.

The overall goal of this project is to accelerate the successful introduction of energy perfor­mance certificates. They should become an effective instrument in terms of improving energy efficiency in buildings by developing a functioning market for energy performance certificates.

The project will have a focus on the regional level, as a lot of key actors in the building sector act on a local and regional level. Practical pilot actions in six European regions will be carried out and the successful introduction of energy performance certificates into the market will be prepared – already before 2006. The gained experiences will be provided and disseminated, which will be of great benefit for the general implementation of the Directive from the beginning of the year 2006 on. Other countries and regions will be able to benefit from the pilot experiences.

The objectives of the proposed action are:

• Creating regional information and competence centres which will disseminate their practical experiences
• Carrying out pilot actions for two important target groups: public buildings and apartment blocks (60 certificates for apartment blocks, 48-60 for public buildings)
• Supporting these target groupsin the broader implementation of energy performance certificates through information, tools and advice
• Developing training for independent experts to assure a sufficient number of qualified experts; carrying out one training seminar per country
• Developing guidelines and accreditation schemes to assure the quality level of the certificates and experts; developing implementation and quality assurance procedures
• Organising a platform for a regular and up to date exchange of experiences among regional (and national) key actors across Europe (through a series of 5 seminars and a web-site)

In general, examples and showcases for a successful implementation of energy certificates on the regional level are developed and the tools, guidelines and certificates are provided to all interested actors in Europe.