EPLabel was a 26-month (January 2005 - February 2007) project supported by the Intelligent Energy for Europe (EIE) SAVE programme of the European Commission. It involved a team from 19 countries and addressed EPBD Article 7.3, the requirement for 'Public Buildings' over 1,000 m² to display an Energy Certificate prominently.  The project supported Member States planning for and implementing Operational Ratings under the EPBD, offering sufficient flexibility to accommodate national diversity whilst seeking harmonisation.

The project covered six building sectors:

• Public administration offices,
• Higher education,
• Schools,
• Sports facilities,
• Hospitals and other health facilities,
• Hotels and restaurants.

EPLabel developed a 'graduated response' procedure, consistent with CEN Standards, which allows a progressive introduction of Article 7.3 to suit the knowledge available in each country for each building sector and the level of resources an organisation is able to apply.  It can provide an easy entry level for cases where detailed information is hard to get or may be less rewarding; with the potential to move on to a more detailed assessment where the need and scope for improvement is greater.

Achieved results

1. The project has created proof-of-concept tools fully operational in each of the eight languages of the ten Partner countries and partly working with the data and languages of four additional European countries (Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and Norway).  The software demonstrates a robust, pragmatic procedure for how Energy Certificates based on Operational Ratings can be produced for display to the public:

• EPLabel Excel: aimed at energy in buildings specialists to allow them a deeper understanding of the calculations and algorithms in the methodology.
• EPLabel Online: easy-to-use system aimed at the owners, occupiers and managers of public buildings (http://online.eplabel.org)  

2. A training package is available for users of EPLabel software. See Project Reports.

3. The project has made crucial progress with harmonising the approach to operational rating assessments across the EU and developing the use of measured energy benchmarks - an area that in many member states is not well advanced. It has developed a common language and understanding for the Operational Rating methodology with each of the terms employed translated into each Partner’s national language using an idiomatic vocabulary. This required not just a basic translation but also a challenging harmonisation of the meanings of terms in the context of different traditions of building energy assessment.

4. EPLabel activities have played a significant role in the evolution of plans for the implementation of EPBD Article 7.3 in many Member States, but notably UK, Ireland, Belgium, France, Greece, Sweden and Germany.  EPLabel has been promoted at numerous national and international events, including presentations to national officials at the EPBD Concerted Action meetings in Brussels and Budapest, written papers at international conferences in Lyon, Frankfurt and Brussels, and, singularly amongst SAVE projects, a presentation at the EC's Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels, webcast live.

5. EPLabel helped to inform the development of the EPBD CEN Standards relating to Operational Ratings and made detailed contributions to the CEN Working Group writing the applicable Standards.  The software is in full compliance with the new CEN standards.