The building sector merits to be at the centre of regulatory efforts for clean electrification through the integration of renewable energy and reductions in energy consumption. Buildings are responsible for roughly 36% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the European Union, most of which originate from heating and cooling. Heating systems based on fossil fuels still dominate in the European building stock, with two thirds of heating demand currently covered by fossil-based technologies. Yet, highly efficient zero-carbon heating and cooling technologies are available and scalable today and the RACHP sector is ready to provide the technologies needed. To succeed, a massive replacement of fossil fuel heating with electric heat pumps will have to take place in the coming decades and the EPBD is a key part of the legislative framework to enable this transition.

European Commission in its recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). At the same time, our sector would like to stress further potentials for improvement on several priority elements.

This position paper summarizes our recommendations for the further development of the EPBD with a focus on 1) the Zero Emission Building (ZEB) concept, 2) the introduction of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), 3) the calculation methodology for the energy performance of buildings, 4) the improvement of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), 5) the need to rapidly phase out fossil fuels in heating, 6) the importance of creating an adequate framework to address indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in the EU, and 7) how to promote the deployment of smart Technical Building Systems (TBS), particularly heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and Building Management Systems (BMS).