Good to know about the Energy Efficiency Directive

As you know, the European Commission has introduced the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) which is one of the many tools to be able to reach the 2030 climate target. 

The EED contains several provisions that affect residential buildings, aiming at increasing their energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint. This means that many measures are demanded from property owners.
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At Hococo, with our network of partners, we can help you bring your property up to the required standard. You can find more information on this at the end of the article, but first, let's talk more about the impact of the EED on residential properties.

Action required for residential property owners

The EED provisions include for instance energy audits for larger buildings to be performed at least every 4 years and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for buildings.

On top of this, the property owners must be able to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to prospective buyers or renters with information about the building’s energy performance and costs related to its heating, ventilation, and hot water – and it must be based on the actual energy consumption of the building.

Are you measuring energy consumption in real time?

In connection with the above, there are two important requirements that property owners face:

• Property owners must install meters and systems to monitor the energy consumption of their buildings, including heating, cooling, hot water and lighting.
  
  
• The property’s energy consumption information must be made available to tenants and property managers so that they can understand the energy performance of the building and identify opportunities for improvement.
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A reminder of the important deadlines

From 1 January 2022:
Meters with remote reading must be read monthly and users must receive consumption information at the same interval. This can be done e.g. via an app or portal for PC, with online data. So this is where your property should be already.

On 1 January 2027:

All meters must be remotely readable. Meters that cannot be read remotely must therefore be replaced by 31 December 2026, unless it can be demonstrated that this would not be economically viable.

The deadline is still 4 years away, but time goes fast, and significant investments should be planned well in advance.
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Not quite there yet? You are not alone.

Even though the requirements are already in place, discussions with real estate professionals show the reality: many residential properties have not yet updated their processes to meet the requirements.

Common reasons for not having made the improvements yet, include:

• The cost of installing meters and monitoring systems, which can easily form a barrier for some property owners, especially in older or smaller buildings. The project of installing the meters and connecting them to a system to visualize the data can be perceived as complex and time-consuming and requires specific knowledge and skills.
  
  
• Lack of awareness: some building owners are still not actually aware of the requirements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. There is also naturally some resistance to this change as well as ignorance of the benefits of monitoring energy consumption.

However, it is crucial for properties to comply with the Energy Efficiency Directive and install meters to monitor energy consumption for many reasons.
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The concrete benefits of complying with the EED

• This information is required by law and is essential in order to reach the overall climate goals before it's too late.
• Regular monitoring and reporting of energy consumption can help property owners identify areas for improvement, track progress towards energy efficiency and lower energy costs. Obviously saving in energy and water consumption also saves money for you and for your tenants.
• Tenants of today – and the future – are more and more aware and environmentally conscious. They want to play an active role in reducing the environmental impact of their building and also monitor their own consumption habits. 

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Get started with measuring and reporting easily – with our help

Are you also struggling with the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Directive and how to make it happen for your property? We can help you!

We collaborate with companies that provide the hardware needed for consumption monitoring, and companies that collect the data – and we have the software that provides an interface between property management, property owners and residents and visualises the collected data for all the parties, in real-time.

Get in touch with us today!

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