Meeting EPBD Targets: Energy Performance and Indoor Environmental Quality in Buildings

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) sets ambitious targets for new buildings and the improvement of existing building stock. From 2028 onwards, these include zero emission buildings (ZEB), minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for the worst-performing existing buildings, non-residential ZEBs equipped with devices to monitor and regulate indoor air quality, and ZEBs capable of reacting to external signals to adapt their energy use, generation or storage. Alongside these energy improvements, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) must not be compromised and should be optimized, creating new challenges for regulation, design and prediction. European Member States are currently transposing EPBD into national regulation, and similar policies exist worldwide.Implementing these targets requires calculation methodologies able to predict and verify performance improvements, as well as innovative concepts and product-level solutions that improve performance cost-effectively. Key challenges for existing building stock are boosting deep renovation and developing standard solutions or packages for smaller upgrades suitable for large-scale implementation. A particular challenge is establishing the specific average energy use (kWh/m²/year) of the building stock, needed to set renovation trajectory targets and track their achievement over time. This calls for new building stock energy models and, in particular, automated data collection across building registries, building and energy statistics, and platforms that combine these into practical tools.This Research Topic welcomes contributions on the development and implementation of EPBD and other energy policy targets in both new buildings and renovation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Energy calculation and simulation methodologies• Data-driven methods for baselines, normalization and performance verification• Building stock energy models• Platforms for data-driven and real-time monitoring• Technical solutions improving energy and IEQ performance and energy flexibility – building envelope, technical building systems, renewable energy systems, building automation and AI• Development of methods for energy performance certificates• Development of energy regulations and standards• IEQ continuous monitoring and assessment methods• Demand-controlled ventilation systems and control of IAQ• Indicators covering operational GHG, renewable energy and primary energy Topic editors: Jarek Kurnitski, Tomasz Cholewa, Raimo Simson Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86440/meeting-epbd-targets-energy-performance-and-indoor-environmental-quality-in-buildings