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EPBD, Energy & Smart Buildings

A-rated on paper. B-rated in practice. We help you close the gap between how a building is rated and how it actually performs.

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A-rated on paper.
B-rated in practice.

A Building Energy Rating (BER) tells you what a building could achieve. Energy Use Intensity (EUI) tells you what it actually uses. More and more, regulators, funders and tenants care about the second number.

Most of the gap between the two comes from how a building is run: heating, cooling and lighting left on in empty rooms, schedules nobody has revisited in years, and control systems that can't talk to each other.

BER: The Rating that Ignores Reality

Evidence from SEAI, the CSO and the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC)

A ‘dumb’ A-rated building can use more energy than a ‘smart’ F-rated one.

Average energy use, kWh per square metre per year An A-rated building using 92 kWh per square metre per year compared with an F-rated building using 65. 100 75 50 25 0 92 kWh/m²/yr 65 kWh/m²/yr A-rated F-rated
Average kWh/m²/year: the ‘dumb’ A-rated building against the ‘smart’ F-rated one.

SEAI & the 1.9% Target

  • SEAI M&R enforced: The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland now enforces the Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) system to track actual energy use.
  • The performance gap: SEAI data confirms that buildings with the same BER often have very different EUI, because BER ignores how a building is managed.
  • The 1.9% target: Under Article 5 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), public bodies are legally required to cut their total final energy consumption by 1.9% every year. A better “sticker” (BER) does not count. Only a lower meter reading (EUI) does.
  • 1.5× to 2.5× measured gap: The IGBC finds that actual energy use in modern Irish offices is often 1.5 to 2.5 times higher than the BER predicts.
  • The “notional” error: BER is based on a “notional building”, a hypothetical model. The IGBC argues this overlooks how buildings are really operated.
“CSO figures currently show little correlation between a Building Energy Rating (BER) and gas/electricity usage… In the non-residential sector, actual energy use must be disclosed… rather than asset ratings such as the BER.”

Regulatory Runway: the EPBD Sets the Clock

The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) are coming whether your organisation is ready or not.

EPBD and MEPS compliance timeline: statutory risk against utilisation tuning A falling statutory benchmark line crosses a flat line for a building's energy use under legacy operations around 2030, the stranding date. After that, the building fails MEPS and is exposed as a stranded asset. Energy use intensity / regulatory pressure 202420262028 2030203220342036+ STRANDING DATE MEPS failure / stranded asset exposure Property EUI (legacy operations) EPBD statutory benchmark
Without operational tuning, a building's energy use stays flat while the statutory benchmark tightens. Where the lines cross, the asset is stranded.
  1. Dec 2024Building Automation & Control Systems (BACS) required for systems >290 kW
  2. May 2026Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) mandate
  3. Sep 2026Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) vulnerability reporting
  4. Jun 2027Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) mandate for systems >290 kW
  5. Dec 2027Zoned lighting & CRA full compliance
  6. Dec 2029BACS threshold drops to 70 kW
  7. 2030MEPS Phase 1: 16% of stock stranded
  8. 2033MEPS Phase 2: 26% of stock stranded

Buildings Are Full of Disconnected Systems

Different vendors. Different protocols. Different data. No single view.

HVAC

Trane, Daikin, Carrier

BACnet, Modbus

Lighting

DALI, KNX, Philips

DALI, KNX, API

Access Control

Gallagher, Lenel, Genetec

TCP/IP, API

Energy / Metering

Schneider, Siemens

Modbus, BACnet

Vertical Transport

KONE, Otis, Schindler

Proprietary

AV / Video

Crestron, Extron, QSC

IP, Serial, API

Room Booking

Microsoft, Google, Robin

API

Occupancy Sensors

VergeSense, Aruba, Axis

API, MQTT

Security / CCTV

Axis, Genetec, Milestone

RTSP, API

Fire & Life Safety

Notifier, Bosch

Modbus, Proprietary

Siloed systems

Each system operates in isolation.

No unified data

Different formats, protocols and platforms.

Hard to automate

Complex, bespoke integrations.

Poor user experience

Multiple apps and interfaces.

Missed opportunities

Energy, space, security and operational insights locked away.

Without a Platform: Manual Normalisation

Without a middleware layer, every new requirement means cleaning, grouping and mapping data by hand, then wiring up yet another point-to-point link.

Existing systemsSiloed & fragmented

  • HVAC Climate & airflow control
  • IoT sensors Telemetry & metrics
  • BMS BACnet / Modbus
  • Room booking Offline & online formats
  • Access points Varying Wi-Fi endpoints

Manual processDisjointed system templates

  1. Manually clean data Scrubbing varying formats
  2. Manually group data Organising fragmented metrics
  3. Manually map data Individual point variables, custom mapping schema

Integration hellPoint-to-point network

Twelve applications tangled together by brittle point-to-point connections

A traditional integration network is brittle, complex and hard to sustain.

Change in requirements or new time frame → restart the process → back to existing systems

One Layer Connects the Building

An integration and automation platform such as PlaceOS sits on top of the systems you already have. You keep the existing plant: connect it once, then reuse it in every application.

  • HVAC & BMSBACnet / Modbus
  • LightingKNX / DALI gateways
  • AV & signageTCP/IP / APIs
  • Access controlVendor APIs
  • Sensors & metersMQTT / APIs
  • Bookings & identityMicrosoft / Google APIs

Integration + automation layer

  • Normalised state
  • Shared context & actions
  • Rules & workflows
Cloud • on-premise • hybrid
  • Apps & interfacesWorkplace, AV & signage
  • AutomationCross-system actions
  • InsightsDashboards & reporting
  • AI agentsVia platform APIs

Example: a room is booked and occupied, so the lighting, HVAC and AV respond automatically. When it empties, they wind down.

Case Study: Matching HVAC to Real Occupancy

A university campus compared its standard HVAC schedule with actual class bookings and room occupancy, then simulated occupancy-driven automation.

Current operations

7 hClasses booked per day
13 hHVAC running per day
192%Over-operation
  • Classes are booked for an average of 7 hours per day.
  • HVAC runs for an average of 13 hours per day.
  • HVAC runs an average of 6.1 hours longer than class schedules.

With occupancy-driven automation (predicted)

7 hClasses scheduled per day
10 hHVAC running per day
152%Over-operation
  • HVAC runs only 3 hours longer than class schedules, down from 6.1.
  • 3 fewer hours of HVAC operation per day, or 15 hours per week.
  • 23% more efficient than current HVAC operation.
  • Only about ¾ of an hour of real overrun per day, once 30-minute start-up and shut-down times are allowed for.

HVAC running Room occupied and booked (system ON required), across a 24-hour day

Predicted annual savings across the campus

~22,800MWh/year energy saved

Electricity ~4,000 MWh and natural gas ~18,800 MWh

~4,947tonnes CO₂/year avoided

Total emissions savings

~$838,100energy cost saved per year

Plus ~$250,000/year in carbon value (at $50/tonne)

Note: ROI is forecast using Canadian energy and CO₂ costs. Figures for Irish buildings will depend on local tariffs and carbon pricing.

How SysPro Can Help

Optimise first, then retrofit. SysPro works with building owners, facilities teams and public bodies to cut measured energy use and get ready for the EPBD:

  • BER versus EUI gap assessment, based on your meter data rather than the notional model
  • EPBD, MEPS, BACS and Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) compliance road-mapping
  • Support with SEAI Monitoring & Reporting and the public sector 1.9% annual reduction target
  • Finding unoccupied energy waste by comparing HVAC, lighting and booking data
  • Smart building integration planning: connecting the systems you already have, without replacing them
  • Building the business case: energy, carbon and cost savings ahead of any capital spend

Talk to us about your buildings