D^2EPC · Project

Smart Digital Energy Certificates That Update Automatically Using Real Building Data

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You know how your building's energy rating is basically a snapshot taken once and then forgotten? It's like weighing yourself once and calling that your weight forever. D^2EPC built a system that continuously monitors a building's actual energy use through sensors and digital twins — a virtual copy of the building — and keeps the Energy Performance Certificate up to date automatically. It also tells owners exactly what renovations would save the most money and tracks whether upgrades actually delivered the promised savings.

By the numbers

Pilot demonstration sites across Europe

Consortium partners

European countries represented

Total project deliverables produced

SME partners in the consortium

Months of project development and testing

The business problem

What needed solving

Europe's current Energy Performance Certificates are static snapshots — issued once and quickly outdated, failing to reflect actual building performance. This means property owners can't track real energy costs, ESCOs struggle to verify savings guarantees, and cities lack reliable data for planning district-wide renovations. The gap between certified and actual energy performance costs building owners money and undermines trust in the entire certification system.

The solution

What was built

The project built a digital platform for issuing and automatically updating Energy Performance Certificates using real-time operational data, digital twins, and BIM integration. Concrete outputs include pilot demonstrations across 6 European sites, user training workshops, a GIS-based mapping environment, and performance benchmarking and verification services — totalling 52 deliverables.

Audience

Who needs this

Commercial real estate portfolio managers needing accurate energy ratings across multiple buildingsEnergy Service Companies (ESCOs) that must verify guaranteed savings in performance contractsMunicipal energy planning departments mapping district-level building efficiencyBuilding certification bodies looking to modernize from static to dynamic EPCsPropTech companies developing smart building management platforms

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Commercial real estate

mid-size

Target: Property management firms and building portfolio owners

If you are a property management company dealing with outdated energy certificates that don't reflect actual building performance — this project developed a digital platform that issues dynamic EPCs based on real operational data, demonstrated across 6 pilot sites in 7 European countries. It lets you benchmark your portfolio, forecast energy costs, and verify whether renovation investments actually deliver the promised savings.

Energy services and ESCOs

SME

Target: Energy Service Companies offering performance contracts

If you are an ESCO struggling to prove guaranteed energy savings to clients — this project built a performance verification service using digital twins and smart monitoring that continuously tracks actual vs. predicted energy consumption. Demonstrated across 6 sites, the platform provides the hard evidence you need to back up your performance guarantees and win more contracts.

Municipal and regional government

enterprise

Target: City planning departments and energy agencies

If you are a municipal energy office trying to plan district-level renovation strategies with limited data — this project developed a GIS-integrated platform that maps building energy performance across neighborhoods. It supports policy planning and decision-making at local and regional level, with benchmarking and forecasting capabilities tested with 13 consortium partners across 7 countries.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this dynamic EPC system for our building portfolio?

The project data does not include specific licensing or deployment pricing. Since this was an Innovation Action with 13 partners and 6 demonstration sites, commercialization terms would need to be negotiated with the consortium. Contact the coordinator for pricing discussions.

Can this scale to hundreds or thousands of buildings?

The platform was designed with GIS integration and benchmarking features that support portfolio-scale deployment. It was demonstrated across 6 pilot sites in 7 countries, indicating cross-border scalability. The digital twin approach and automated data collection are built for scaling beyond individual buildings.

Who owns the IP and how can we license the technology?

The consortium of 13 partners across 7 countries jointly developed the platform. IP arrangements would follow EU Horizon 2020 grant agreement rules, where each partner typically owns the IP they generated. Licensing discussions should be directed to the coordinator, ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS in Greece.

Does this comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive?

The project was specifically designed to contribute to the redefinition of EPC-related policies and the update of current standards. It addresses the EPBD requirements and proposes guidance for implementation, including Smart Readiness Indicators aligned with the EU's building assessment direction.

How long does it take to set up the monitoring and digital twin for a building?

Based on available project data, the platform uses BIM (Building Information Modelling) and smart monitoring systems to create digital twins. The project ran for 36 months total, but individual building setup timelines are not specified in the available data. The 6 pilot demonstrations would provide practical deployment benchmarks.

Can this integrate with our existing building management systems?

The platform is designed to be fed by operational data from smart monitoring systems and integrates with BIM models and GIS environments. This suggests compatibility with standard building data formats, though specific BMS integration details should be confirmed with the consortium.

Consortium

Who built it

The D^2EPC consortium brings together 13 partners from 7 countries (Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Netherlands), with a strong industry presence at 46% — 6 industry players and 5 SMEs alongside 2 research organizations and 1 university. This mix signals serious commercial intent: the SMEs bring market agility while the research partners from Greece's national research centre (CERTH) provide technical depth. For a business buyer, the multi-country spread means the platform has been tested across different regulatory environments and building types, reducing adoption risk. The coordinator is a major Greek research institution, which provides institutional stability for follow-up engagement.

ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISCoordinator · EL
ASOCIACION ESPANOLA DE NORMALIZACIONparticipant · ES
AUSTRIAN STANDARDS INTERNATIONAL -STANDARDISIERUNG UND INNOVATIONparticipant · AT
ÖSTERREICHISCHE ENERGIEAGENTUR - AUSTRIAN ENERGY AGENCYparticipant · AT
FREDERICK RESEARCH CENTERparticipant · CY
CLEOPA GMBHparticipant · DE
EYFYEIS LYSEIS GIA KTIRIA MIDENIKOUKAI THETIKOU ENERGEIAKOU ISOZYGIOU- KOMVOS PSIFIAKIS KAINOTOMIAS AMKEthirdparty · EL
HYPERTECH (CHAIPERTEK) ANONYMOS VIOMICHANIKI EMPORIKI ETAIREIA PLIROFORIKIS KAI NEON TECHNOLOGIONparticipant · EL
DEMO CONSULTANTS BVparticipant · NL
KAUNO TECHNOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETASparticipant · LT
SEnerCon GmbHparticipant · DE
GEOSYSTEMS HELLAS IT KAI EFARMOGESGEOPLIROFORIAKON SYSTIMATON ANONIMIETAIREIAparticipant · EL
SGS TECNOS SAparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

The coordinator is CERTH (Centre for Research and Technology Hellas) in Greece. Use SciTransfer's coordinator lookup service to find the right contact person.

Order a report on this consortium See ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how dynamic EPC technology can improve your building portfolio's energy ratings and reduce compliance costs? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the D^2EPC team and help you evaluate fit for your specific use case.

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