Development of a methodology for EPBD-compliant energy performance certificates based on energy consumption measurements for multi-family buildings

The project addresses the challenge that, as part of the implementation of the EPBD 2024, the GEG must further develop energy performance certificates in such a way that buildings can be assessed in a comparable manner regardless of the method used – both for certificates based on calculated energy demand (DIN V 18599 or, in the future, DIN/TS 18599) and for certificates based on measured energy consumption. As demand and consumption can differ significantly in practice – particularly in multi-family dwellings – due to actual building physics, weather/location, and differences in comfort and usage, the current consumption-based certification methodology does not fully meet the EPBD requirements. The aim is therefore to develop an EPBD-compliant methodology that allows the necessary parameters to continue to be reliably derived from consumption measurements, whilst also enabling integration into database and monitoring systems.

First, EPBD and GEG requirements, as well as the existing ‘notice’ for energy performance certificates, will be systematically analysed, and the data foundations will be refined so that they can be used in an EPBD-compliant manner (including time resolution/meter reading intervals, differentiation of energy sources, relevant additional consumption, and the share of renewable energy at the site). Building on this, a calculation method will be developed that derives a ‘typical consumption’ from the measured consumption, takes user/comfort influences into account appropriately, and consistently determines the parameters for final energy, primary energy and GHG emissions. The methodology is being verified using real-world apartment blocks (comparison with results from traditional energy accounting; iterative refinement and definition of application limits). In parallel, criteria for assessing the low-temperature capability of heating systems are being developed, a data model for the national building database is being defined (required data fields, processes, verification mechanisms), and the GDPR compliance of the processing of consumption and usage data is being assessed, including options for aggregation/anonymisation and recommendations for legally compliant implementation.