Doctoral College Summary Within Europe, all member states are required to define and implement the Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB) standard for all new buildings from 2020 on. The EU requires member states to ensure that each country’s NZEB standard is not undermined by performance gaps between theoretical and actual use, and by poor indoor environmental quality. This provides challenges for all stakeholders, from those writing the building regulations, through to the architects, engineers, developers and tradespeople and ultimately to the owners of the dwellings built to these new standards. In November 2019, Part L of the building regulations in Ireland for dwellings was updated to implement the NZEB standard, but is this fit for purpose, does it address the EU’s concerns about energy performance gaps and indoor air quality, and is the industry prepared to deliver the new regulations along with complimentary regulations such as the Smart Readiness Indicator? Thus there is a need to undertake evidence-based research to develop an inclusive strategy for all industry stakeholders on how to improve the implementation of low energy building standards for domestic dwellings, using Ireland as an exemplar.