23.01.2025
IRI UL at the BUILD UP Board of Ambassadors event: Slovenia’s experience in implementing the EPBD through EU projects
Ana Tisov presented Slovenia’s key challenges and opportunities in implementing the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) at the BUILD UP Board of Ambassadors event in Brussels. The event, which brought together various stakeholders in the field of energy renovation of buildings at the European and national levels, highlighted how EU projects can support the practical implementation of the legislation and serve as a bridge between new implementations and current practice.
Ana highlighted Slovenia’s specific challenges:
- Scattered ownership, especially in multi-apartment buildings, which makes comprehensive renovations difficult.
- Seismic activity and radon exposure, which increase the complexity and cost of renovations.
- Limited capacity to develop financial instruments, making it difficult for small countries to introduce innovative financial solutions.
- High costs of developing dynamic analysis methods, which are often out of reach for smaller countries.
Despite the challenges, Slovenia has demonstrated through some projects and practices that small countries can play an important role in innovation. Ana highlighted the LIFE project Renov-AID, which introduces a one-stop shop to support homeowners in renovating their homes, and the Slovenian nationwide ENSVET network, which provides free advice to citizens on energy efficiency, sustainable renovation and subsidies. The examples presented generated a lot of interest among the participants, as Slovenia also offers approaches that can be transferred to other EU Member States.
Ana stressed that research and innovation are key to linking legislation with viable solutions, and EU projects are not only a platform for testing new technologies, but also a catalyst for establishing sustainable practices at European level.
Ana highlighted the role of IRI UL projects, which are already pilot cases in Slovenia for the implementation of some of the newly introduced concepts of the Directive:
- U-Cert, CrossCert – Dynamic Energy Performance Certificates & SRI
- INFINITE– Industrialisation of building renovation
- BARRIO – Neighbourhood approach for renovations
- SocialNRG, NRG2peers – Energy communities, energy poverty, capacity building
- Renov-AID– OSS for building renovation
“European projects are key to bringing stakeholders together, developing innovative solutions and accelerating the sustainable transformation of the building sector”, concluded Ana Tisov.
IRI UL would like to thank the organisers of the BUILD UP Board of Ambassadors event for the opportunity to showcase Slovenian experiences and contribute to shaping a sustainable future for the European building sector. At the same time, we encourage all other actors in the field of energy efficiency to join the BUILD UP portal, as it is the EC’s central platform for knowledge exchange in the field of energy efficiency in buildings.
Read more about the event on the official BUILD UP website: link to article.
