Ten transformative years ahead!
The revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) does not only change the requirements placed on buildings. It also changes how property owners need to think about maintenance, investments and long-term value creation.
Instead of isolated technical measures, a framework is established in which buildings’ energy performance is to be improved step by step, systematically and in a traceable manner over time.
For property owners, this means that energy issues can no longer be treated separately from financial planning. EPBD becomes part of the property’s decision logic.
2025 – When the direction became clear
During 2025, Sweden was in the final phase of incorporating EPBD into national legislation. The directive had already been adopted at EU level, and the deadline for implementation was set for May 2026.
At the same time, intensive work was underway to adapt the Swedish energy performance certificate system to the directive’s new structure.
The National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (Boverket) presented proposals affecting both methodology and energy performance classification. A key change is the introduction of a new highest energy class, often referred to as A0, linked to zero-emission buildings.
In parallel, analyses were carried out on how minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) could be designed to function within the Swedish building stock and ownership structure.
For property owners, this phase was characterised by uncertainty in the details, but with a clear overall direction. EPBD should already be taken into account in long-term plans – not as a future regulatory problem, but as a structuring factor for how maintenance and investments are prioritised.
2026 – The regulatory framework is in place
By 29 May 2026, EPBD is to be implemented in Swedish law. This makes the directive’s core structure binding: an updated energy performance certificate system, requirements for a national building renovation plan, and a framework for the stepwise improvement of energy performance in existing buildings.
During the second half of 2026, regulations and guidance are expected to begin giving concrete substance to these frameworks.
It will become clearer how energy performance is to be measured, how energy classes are to be used in property management and reporting, and how, over time, they may be linked to policy instruments and requirements.
For property owners, this means that uncertainty at system level decreases, even though future tightening of requirements is not yet fully defined. It now becomes possible to start adjusting maintenance plans and investment strategies based on a more stable regulatory framework.
2027–2028 – When energy performance becomes an economic issue
During 2027 and 2028, there is a clear shift from regulatory structure to practical application.
The focus increasingly lies on identifying buildings with poor energy performance and ensuring that plans exist for how these are to be improved over time.
At this stage, requirements are likely to primarily concern mapping, planning and follow-up rather than immediate mandatory measures.
At the same time, energy performance certificates based on the new methodology gain full impact, and energy classification begins to play a clearer role in credit assessments, valuations and investment decisions.
This creates a new reality for property owners. Maintenance measures carried out without linkage to energy performance risk becoming difficult to justify, both economically and strategically.
Energy performance becomes an integral part of a property’s financial governance.
2030 – The first threshold effect
Around 2030, EPBD is expected to have a clear impact on the market.
At EU level, the objective is that the share of buildings with poor energy performance will have decreased significantly, and national systems for monitoring and governance should by then be fully established.
For property owners, this means that energy classification is no longer merely an information label, but a market attribute with real significance.
Buildings with poor energy performance risk facing increased requirements, whether through reporting obligations, financing conditions or other policy instruments.
Maintenance plans that do not integrate energy considerations appear incomplete at this stage.
2033–2035 – When long-term planning pays off
By the mid-2030s, Member States are expected to demonstrate that renovation rates are aligned with the EU’s long-term energy and climate objectives.
During this period, the mechanisms of EPBD are expected to take on a more binding character.
In Sweden’s case, this may entail stricter requirements for buildings that continue to have poor energy performance, a clearer linkage between major refurbishments and energy improvements, and increased differentiation in financing conditions based on energy performance.
Property owners who have early on integrated energy performance into their long-term plans will then be well positioned.
They face lower regulatory risk, have better decision-support and achieve more robust value development.
EPBD and BIM Energy – from regulation to decision-making
The fundamental shift introduced by EPBD is not that energy requirements are tightened, but how decisions are expected to be made.
The focus moves from individual measures to coordinated strategies over time.
This is where tools for analysing the interaction between maintenance, energy performance and economics become decisive.
BIM Energy is here the ultimate choice!
By combining energy calculations with economic analyses, such as net present value calculations with time-specific investment events, property owners can make decisions that are robust both technically and financially.
EPBD thus becomes not an external requirement, but an integrated part of long-term property governance.