EPBD independent control system for energy performance certification: The Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) pioneering experience

Directive 2010/31/EU introduces the obligation of “independent control systems”. The Member States have implemented this obligation with different methods and levels of accuracy. Based on these motivations, in Italy, the Emilia-Romagna Region (ERR) has activated its own Energy Performance Certificate Control System. We describes the Control System in Europe, compared to existing works, the procedure adopted in the ERR, and the results of the control campaigns in 2016 and 2017. The methodology provides for control over both the EPC Drafts and EPCs Issued, carried out on two levels: checks and on-site inspection. The results show the impact of the EPC control on the technicians, EPC quality and they highlight the recurring mistake during EPC compilation: which should be divided in two categories: technicians who have misunderstood the laws and standards and other technicians whose work entails negligence or illicit activity. Moreover, the results show the effectiveness of such solutions and the extent of the independent control system to verify the work of the independent experts and the contents of the EPCs. We report a customer satisfaction survey about the EPC control and validation. Advantages of this work that it is possible to carry out widespread EPC control, and it reports an improvement in the quality of the EPCs, moreover it is first study about independent control in Italy.