The project is based on knowledge exchange between European stakeholders on existing and new EPCs in several Member States. This exchange includes extensive cross-certification between European countries and the establishment of an internet-based EPC Knowledge Exchange Centre. The partners recommend procedures and guidelines to ensure the quality and value of the new EPCs and that they meet the new EU requirements. This procedure consists of assessing the new EPC indicators (such as accuracy, data integration, replicability, understandability, verifiability or data use). A methodology is developed to assess them in a quantifiable way. The new EPC approaches are improved by analysing certification experiences and results and tested along existing and new EPCs.

Guidelines for the development of people-friendly EPC products and services integrate new (and evolving) EPC approaches and capacities for tailored application at the level of individual EU Member States. New procedures and features are recommended to achieve end-user acceptance of next-generation EPCs. To this end, both existing and future certification procedures are tested in more than 140 buildings in ten Member States.

CrossCert contributes to the success of the next-generation EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) by elaborating and testing guidelines and recommendations that achieve:

• Improved accuracy and usability of the certificate.
• A people-centric design and satisfactory user experience.
• Increased homogeneity across Europe.

This Horizon 2020 project creates a product testing methodology for the new energy performance certificate of buildings approaches. The crossCert project:

1. is cross-testing among energy authorities current Energy Performance Certificates and the new approaches/concepts/initiatives, using more than 140 buildings in 10 European countries, and creating a public benchmarking repository of test cases.
2. Compares and analyses the results between different approaches.
3. Elaborates policy recommendations, which include potential improvements on the accuracy, usability and harmonisation.
4. Engages networks and alliances for analysis and for outreach.