The international IMPACT project had the aim

• to support National actors with the implementation of the EPBD and
• to contribute to the preparation of market actors for the introduction of energy labelling in 2006.

For an effective implementation of energy labelling, aspects like quality control, tools and communication needed to be prepared and thoroughly tested. Within the IMPACT project energy labelling was tested in six National tests.

Partners:

• Ecofys, The Netherlands
• SenterNovem, The Netherlands
• German Energy-Agency (dena), Germany
• Tribu-energie, France
• Danish Building Research Institute (SBi), Denmark
• Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI), Belgium
• 3E N.V., Belgium
• Ecofys S.L., Spain

The German national test focussed on testing the certification scheme of non-residential buildings. The major goal was to improve simplification methods and default values as well as to tackle difficulties that issuers encountered using the - then -  new calculation method of DIN V 18599.

The project was finalised in January 2007. 

Project results and direct outcomes in the 6 partner countries
are available on the website ( www.e-impact.org).

The Concerted Action II is the continuation of the first Concerted Action supporting transposition of the Directive, which ran from January 2005 to June 2007. This continuation became necessary due to the delay in the implementation and the underestimated complexity of the Directive.

For each participating country, representatives of National government ministries or government-affiliated institutions that are in charge of the technical, legal and administrative framework for the implementation of the EPBD take part in the Concerted Action. Dena participates as the national contact organisation for Germany. Furthermore the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning and the University of Kassel are substantially involved in the German national team.

The specific objectives of the Concerted Action are:

• To enhance and structure the sharing of information and experiences from national implementation and promote good practice in activities required of Member States for implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
• To create favourable conditions for faster convergence of national procedures on EPBD related matters.
• To supplement the work of the Energy Demand Committee (Article 14 of the EPBD) and its ad-hoc group on CEN standards and certification exercises.

In more detail, Concerted Action EPBD II covers five central themes:

• Certification procedures
• Inspection of boilers and air-conditioning systems
• Specifications and training requirements for experts and inspectors
• Methods and procedural aspects for energy performance characterisation
• Information campaigns

Further information on the work of the EPBD Concerted Action are available on the project website ( www.epbd-ca.org).

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