Energy efficiency is a central element of the European Union’s approach to achieving its climate and energy objectives, underscoring the need for analytical tools that can support the assessment of future energy efficiency policies and trends. This paper applies the ODEX methodology within a combined ex-post and ex-ante framework to examine projected developments in energy efficiency across sectors. By extending ODEX, traditionally used for retrospective monitoring, to forward-looking national scenarios, the study provides a consistent basis for comparing historical progress with anticipated future improvements. The approach is illustrated using two EU Member States, demonstrating its broader applicability for assessing national strategies and identifying where additional measures may be necessary to meet future final energy consumption targets. The findings reflect patterns reported in recent literature, showing substantial differences in expected efficiency gains across sectors and highlighting areas where progress may need to accelerate to remain in line with EU ambitions. The results also indicate how a top-down, consumption-weighted index such as ODEX can complement existing evaluation practices by offering a transparent way to interpret efficiency trends and by supporting preliminary assessments of energy efficiency policy impacts. While the approach does not replace detailed modelling or bottom-up evaluation methods, it provides a reproducible and data-efficient tool that can assist with cross-country benchmarking, policy evaluation, and ongoing monitoring under the Energy Efficiency Directive. By linking observed trends (ex-post) with forward-looking (ex-ante) scenarios, the framework may contribute to strengthening national and EU-level discussions on future energy efficiency pathways.
For cost efficient and timely network expansion investments, development planning must transparently and impartially compare classic infrastructural network investment costs and customer flexibility service operating expenditures. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a suitable tool, but results are strongly dependent on accuracy of input parameters. One of the most important parameters is the value of lost load (VoLL), usually determined by a regulatory defined methodology, reflecting often conflicting aspects of reliability of electricity supply, including customer willingness to pay, DSO's network planning criteria and regulatory tariff methodology. The proposed approach evaluates regional and seasonal variations using publicly available data, thereby addressing the absence of dedicated surveys and improving cost-efficiency in planning processes. The analysis was performed as part of the study initiated by the HEP Distribution System Operator Ltd. to improve network expansion planning and applied the results and best practice recommendations of studies and methodologies provided by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). Based on analyses performed, a transparent methodology for annual amendment of VoLL is proposed, which gives annual VoLL for Croatia over 1,6 times higher than according to currently used methodology.
Energy efficiency is crucial for sustainable energy transitions, supporting global climate and energy goals. This paper presents a standardized framework for top-down assessment of future energy efficiency policies using the ODEX methodology, addressing critical gaps in evaluating and comparing policy impacts across Europe. By harmonizing key data on energy consumption, policy measures, and target alignment, the framework ensures consistency, reliability, and comparability, fostering more effective strategies. A key innovation is integrating ex-ante (forecasting) and ex-post (retrospective) evaluations into a single framework. This dual approach illuminates both past performance and future impacts, providing insights into drivers of energy savings and the alignment of national efforts with broader objectives. It also underscores how policy choices and market factors interrelate, informing strategic decisions and refining policy design across the European Union. The paper outlines the methodology’s core components, including recent advancements in the ODEX approach, primary data sources, and practical applications in selected EU countries, such as Croatia and Slovenia. These case studies illustrate the framework’s capacity to detect inefficiencies, identify emerging trends, and offer actionable recommendations for policy improvement. In addition, the research highlights the framework’s scalability and potential replication across diverse national contexts and at the EU level. By bridging the gap between historical performance and future planning, this robust, scalable methodology addresses the urgent need for reliable tools to evaluate and monitor energy efficiency policies. Ultimately, it supports the development of harmonized, evidence-based approaches, bolstering national capacities to meet ambitious energy efficiency targets and advancing broader climate and sustainability objectives.
The European Commission has mandated the use of digital building logbooks (DBL) to encourage deep energy renovations and overcome barriers in building renovations. The current energy performance certificates (EPCs) focus on operational energy consumption, whereas the DBL will cover the entire life cycle of buildings and provide a more comprehensive evaluation of buildings, through providing a passport rating in three domains: energy performance, sustainability, and smartness. This paper defines the digital building logbook (DBL) data structure within the context of the EUB SuperHub, a three-year project financed by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program. The creation of the EUB SuperHub DBL data structure involved an extensive review of relevant literature, including existing DBL data structures developed in previous EU projects (iBRoad, ALDREN, BIM4EEB, X-tendo), recommendations from the “Study on the Development of an EU Framework for Buildings’ Digital Logbook”, requirements specified in the grant agreement, existing EU legislation, and anticipated future legislation. The proposed digital building logbook data structure for the EUB SuperHub project comprises eight primary categories and is designed to provide all the essential input data needed throughout the building’s life cycle to compute the passport rating across three domains: energy efficiency, sustainability, and smartness. With the requirements stipulated in existing and soon-to-be-adopted EU legislation, the introduction of a digital building logbook has become a necessity. Though the undertaking is a formidable task and will require considerable effort, its benefits are numerous and promising, including the potential to enhance energy renovation rates.
The number of data centres (DC) in recent years is growing rapidly, and with that, the share in total consumption of electricity is growing too. A significant amount of electricity is transformed into heat energy which increases the optimal temperature in DC for component operation. This heat needs to be removed and usually, it doesn’t have any further application. Today it is recognized that waste heat can be integrated into district heating (DH) and by using it reduce the usage of conventional heat fuels. Integration of waste heat is possible in three ways: with a heat exchanger (HEX), with a booster heat pump, or with the combination of the HEX and heat pump. In this paper, a combination of HP and HEX was used. Although those utilizations are examined and implemented, there is a lack of research on the optimization of the integration of waste heat into the district heating network (DHN). To perform optimization, a thermodynamic model of the DC and a pinch analysis model were developed. In this study, a method for evaluating the economic feasibility of DC waste heat integration into DH systems is proposed. The most suitable integration technology of waste heat into DH systems by using the hourly merit order of waste heat utilization technologies based on pinch analysis is found. The connection pipe between DC and DHN is optimized, and the ideal diameter is determined considering different temperature regimes of the network: low-temperature, ultralow temperature, and neutral temperature networks. The methodology was tested using a case study of a DC in the City of Zagreb.
