empirica recommendations to Member States on the EED, entitled “Specific guidance for sub-metering of thermal energy in multi-unit buildings (implementation of Articles 9-11 of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency)”, are now available on the DG ENERGY web-site. Commission guidance on the Energy Efficiency Directive now explicitly includes them. The Guidelines present a clear evidence-based approach for assessing the cost-effectiveness of sub-metering and consumption information, at national level and for individual buildings. The approach is designed to maximise opportunities provided by heat metering and heat cost allocation technology to provide consumers with feedback on their consumption, supporting them in saving energy for heating, cooling and hot water.

Under contract to the Commission (Study – ENER/C3/2013-977), empirica also estimated the impact of the implementation of the EED provisions across the EU, as cited in the Impact Assessment (SWD2016/405) for the Commission’s 2016 proposal to amend the EED. Some elements of the Guidelines are now being considered by the EC for codification and inclusion in future revision of the EED (SWD/2016/399, p35).

Development of the Guidelines involved extensive interaction with stakeholders – tenant, consumer and property owner associations, government and the sub-metering industry – in a series of eight public workshops. Five regional cluster workshops were directed primarily at representatives of national governments, giving each Member State the opportunity to detail any specific national considerations or constraints to EED implementation to be considered in the Guidelines.

The Guidelines will soon be available in Dutch, English, German, Polish, Spanish and Swedish. For further information also visit http://mbic.eu.