Smart buildings in Horizon Europe: beyond technology
Improving the energy performance of buildings is one of the major challenges of Europe’s green transition. But progress towards more energy-efficient buildings does not depend on technology alone. It also depends on how buildings are designed, managed and used; how people interact with smart systems; and how social, behavioural and economic factors influence actual energy performance.
This perspective lies at the heart of the HORIZON-CL5-2026-09-D4-01 call, under the Built4People Partnership, which focuses on analysing the technical, social and economic factors that influence the energy performance of smart buildings.
Under this call, which closes today, 15 September 2026, Kveloce is submitting a proposal as coordinator, bringing together a consortium designed to address this challenge from an interdisciplinary perspective: combining technical expertise, user-centred approaches, social impact, energy efficiency, behavioural analysis and socioeconomic assessment.
Smart buildings are more than technological systems
Smart buildings can help reduce energy consumption, optimise comfort, improve building management and support Europe’s climate and energy objectives, in line with Built4People’s vision of a people-centric built environment. Sensors, automation systems, digital platforms, building management systems and energy technologies are all essential components of this transformation.
However, technology alone does not guarantee better energy performance.
Buildings are used by people, managed by organisations and embedded in specific social, economic and climatic contexts. This means that the performance of smart solutions depends on much more than their technical capabilities. It also depends on user behaviour, acceptance, trust, accessibility, affordability, maintenance, governance and the ability to adapt solutions to different types of buildings and user profiles.
Smart buildings should therefore be understood as socio-technical environments, where success depends on the interaction between technology, people and context.
Why users and acceptance matter
One of the recurring challenges in energy efficiency is the gap between expected and actual performance. A solution may be technically sound, but its impact can be limited if users do not understand it, trust it, accept it or naturally integrate it into their daily routines.
This is particularly relevant in smart buildings, where technologies can influence comfort, autonomy, indoor conditions, data use and everyday behaviour. Understanding how people perceive and interact with these systems is essential to ensure that innovation delivers real benefits.
User acceptance is not a secondary consideration. It is a condition for impact.
A strong proposal in this field cannot treat users as a homogeneous group. Age, vulnerability, digital literacy and socioeconomic context all influence how people perceive, understand and ultimately adopt—or reject—smart technologies. Ignoring this diversity is one of the most common ways in which a technically sound project can end up delivering less real-world impact than expected.
The role of socioeconomic assessment
Energy performance is usually measured through technical indicators, but the long-term adoption of smart building solutions requires a broader perspective: economic and social viability also matter.
Socioeconomic assessment helps determine whether a solution is viable, scalable and meaningful beyond the pilot phase. It can identify implementation barriers, analyse cost-benefit implications, explore the needs of users and stakeholders, and assess the conditions required for future replication.
Within Horizon Europe, this type of analysis is becoming increasingly important. Projects are expected not only to develop innovative solutions, but also to demonstrate how those solutions can generate measurable impact, respond to real needs and contribute to wider European objectives.
For Kveloce, this is a key area of expertise: connecting research and innovation with social relevance, stakeholder engagement, exploitation pathways and evidence-based impact.
Kveloce as coordinator: connecting technology, people and impact
By coordinating a proposal under this Horizon Europe call, Kveloce strengthens its role as a strategic player in European R&I projects, particularly in areas where technical innovation needs to be connected with social understanding, user needs and implementation in real-world contexts.
This proposal also builds on previous experience closely aligned with the objectives of Horizon Europe Cluster 5, which focuses on climate, energy and mobility. Kveloce has participated in projects such as MAtchUP, linked to smart cities and sustainable urban transformation, and DISTENDER, focused on integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies through participatory approaches.
In both cases, connecting technology, territories, stakeholders, social impact and sustainability has been key to advancing towards solutions that are more applicable and better suited to the green transition. This experience enables Kveloce to bring a particularly relevant perspective to calls where the challenge is not only to develop technical solutions, but also to ensure that they can be adopted, used, replicated and sustained in real-world contexts.
Our role as coordinator goes beyond structuring a consortium or managing the proposal process. It means building a coherent project vision, aligning partners around a shared methodology, translating European priorities into a robust work plan, and ensuring that impact is considered from the very beginning. In this case, the challenge has been to connect smart building technologies with the human, social and economic dimensions that shape their real-world performance.
This approach reflects one of Kveloce’s main strengths: connecting technical excellence with social impact, policy relevance and exploitation potential.
A proposal aligned with the future of the built environment
This call reflects an increasingly clear evolution in European research and innovation in the built environment: buildings are no longer understood simply as physical infrastructure, but as spaces where energy, technology, comfort, behaviour, sustainability and inclusion come together. Competitive projects must demonstrate not only that a solution works technically, but also how it will generate real impact, adoption and measurable benefits.
At Kveloce, we work precisely at this intersection. With this proposal, aligned with the Built4People objectives and KPIs and with the ambition to connect with its network of Innovation Clusters, we strengthen our position as coordinator of strategic initiatives for the green transition, connecting scientific and technical ambition with credible pathways towards impact, adoption and long-term sustainability.
Because the future of energy-efficient buildings will not be defined by technology alone. It will depend on how innovation responds to real users, real contexts and real impacts.
