The advent of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) is set to fundamentally reshape the HVAC and construction industries, moving towards detailed, interoperable, and secure product lifecycle records. As HVAC&R systems become more interconnected and regulated, DPPs will provide a place for managing data across the lifecycle of products, from material extraction to end-of-life disposal. The DPP initiative incorporates the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), to drive transparency and sustainability in product selection, and complements established digital frameworks. 

Technical Implementation: Digital Product Passports and Compliance Tracking 

For HVAC&R professionals, particularly those working on large commercial or institutional projects, maintaining compliance with regulations like the EU Ecodesign or Labelling Regulation is a must. DPPs store not just the technical specifications of HVAC components but also crucial compliance data, such as refrigerants, energy efficiency ratings, and waste disposal instructions. 

For example, a heat pump equipped with a DPP would include information on efficiency class, and engineers can quickly verify whether it complies with project specifications, or the best classes ensuring alignment with the green European taxonomy. This automation ensures HVAC designs are compliant from the outset, reducing costly rework due to non-compliance issues. Furthermore, there will be the possibility to access the data stored within the DPP through BIM (Building Information Modelling).

Environmental Product Declarations: A Cornerstone for DPPs 

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are standardised documents that quantify the environmental impact of products over their entire lifecycle. Governed by ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A2, EPDs are essential for assessing the ecological impact of materials and systems, especially within the construction and HVAC sectors. For engineers, integrating EPDs into Digital Product Passports (DPPs) adds a new dimension to how HVAC components are evaluated, ensuring compliance with increasingly stringent environmental building regulations in EU 

EPDs provide detailed data on Global Warming Potential (GWP), energy consumption, water use, and other ecological impacts linked to manufacturing, usage, and disposal. The possibility of integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based carbon calculations, would also offers engineers immediate access to a component’s comprehensive sustainability profile, including the total carbon footprint calculated across each phase of its lifecycle. This data, stored in a DPP for components like air handling units (AHUs), chillers, and fan coil units (FCUs), is critical for achieving compliance in large-scale commercial HVAC projects and supporting the shift toward transparent, eco-conscious design. 

Steering Environmental Compliance : EEPLIANT Consortium 

In conjunction with the developments on the digital passport subject, a collaboration across industry players and experts is in place to support the industry policy making: the EEPLIANT Concerted Action. The primary goal of the EEPLIANT3 is to ensure that the Energy Labelling and Ecodesign Regulations achieve their full economic and environmental potential. To accomplish this, the initiative focuses on enhancing compliance rates with these directives by harmonising and strengthening the monitoring, verification, and enforcement efforts across in EU.  

A total of 24 Market Surveillance Authorities, alongside five additional organisations, will collaborate to oversee these activities, ensuring that products adhere to the required standards and deliver on the intended sustainability and efficiency targets. By fostering a more unified approach, EEPLIANT aims to significantly improve adherence to these critical regulations, ultimately promoting greater energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact across the region.  

Future Impacts on HVAC: Circular Economy and Lifecycle Design 

As HVAC engineers increasingly design systems for long-term sustainability, the integration of DPPs with EPDs and compliance supporting networks as EEPLIANT3 becomes more critical. The Circular Economy Action Plan outlined by the European Union emphasises reducing waste and improving resource efficiency across all industries. For HVAC systems, this means greater attention to end-of-life data, where DPPs will offer detailed instructions on how to recycle or repurpose components, such as fan coils, compressors, and air filters. 

Digital twins are increasingly being used in conjunction with DPPs to create predictive models for maintenance and energy consumption. Engineers can use real-time data from DPPs to model the impact of wear and tear on HVAC components, improving predictive maintenance schedules. This will optimize the operational efficiency of HVAC systems throughout their lifecycle, reducing energy consumption and extending component lifespan. 

ProdBIM is proactively following the trajectory of Digital Product Passports (DPPs), preparing the grounds to the upcoming standards. As it goes for enabling EPREL declarations or building market trust through Eurovent certified data, ProdBIM remain close also to lifecycle transparency and regulatory alignment, in order to maintain a reliable, up-to-date, data-driven product management approach.