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Glossary
Energy standards and regulation

What is EPBD?

Definition

The EPBD, recast as Directive (EU) 2024/1275, is the EU law on the energy performance of buildings, covering certificates, minimum performance standards, renovation plans and building automation.

Who it reaches

A directive binds member states, which write it into national law, so owners face the national version rather than the EU text. Per the European Commission, the recast entered into force on 28 May 2024 with transposition due by 29 May 2026. On 15 July 2026 the Commission sent letters of formal notice to all 27 member states for not fully transposing it.

Thresholds for non-residential buildings

  • Minimum energy performance standards trigger renovation of the worst performing 16 percent of non-residential buildings by 2030 and the worst 26 percent by 2033
  • Building automation and control systems (BACS) were due for systems above 290 kW by the end of 2024
  • The BACS requirement extends to systems above 70 kW by 2029

How Aqueduct's monitoring lines up with BACS

The BACS article describes continuous monitoring, logging and analysis of energy use, which is what an electric digital twin and a weather-normalized baseline produce. Aqueduct adds this layer over an existing BMS through BACnet or Modbus. Whether it satisfies a national BACS rule is for the owner's adviser to judge against the transposed text.

Questions

EPBD: common questions

The EPBD, or Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, is the main EU law for building energy. The 2024 recast sets a path to a zero-emission building stock by 2050 and requires member states to run certificates, minimum standards and renovation plans. Aqueduct's view of it is on the EU EPBD compliance page.

An energy performance certificate rates one building. The EPBD is the directive that requires member states to run certificate schemes and sets what they must contain, so each country's EPC follows the directive while using its own rating method. The UK version is covered under MEES and EPC.

The European Commission can open infringement proceedings, as it did in July 2026, starting with a letter of formal notice and a two month window to respond. Owners keep following their existing national rules until the new national law is adopted, so dates can differ by country.

The building automation and control rules. They expect systems that monitor, log and analyze energy use continuously and flag losses of efficiency. Aqueduct supplies that measured layer through sub-metering, a weather-normalized baseline and fault detection, while the owner's adviser confirms how the national rule is met.

See Aqueduct on your own facility.

Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.

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