Energy efficient living environment – it all begins with our home!
There is no alternative to saving energy in today’s world. Sustainable energy solutions are needed in all fields from economy to housing, and from culture to the environment.
If our aim is to achieve a modern and climate neutral economy, while maintaining our natural environment, we need to save energy. Energy efficient society and improvement of our living environment can be achieved in various ways, but as it happens – it all begins with our home..
Energy costs of buildings form 40% of the energy balance in the European Union, and 42.7% in Estonia. The main forms of energy consumed in Estonia are electricity, gas and heating, of which the latter constitutes the largest part of total energy consumption.
For this reason, the European Union and the government of Estonia encourage the development and use of energy efficient buildings and support the renovation of existing buildings in order to reduce energy dependency of housing stock and greenhouse gas emissions.
Estonia has adopted the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP 2030), the main target of which is to reduce Estonian greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030 (by 80% by 2050).
Among numerous measures, continuous reconstruction of public sector buildings as well as commercial and residential buildings is extremely important to achieve the target. This means that to save energy, all buildings erected before the year 2000 need to be reconstructed by 2050.
These buildings include about 14,000 apartment blocks.
The main problems pointed out in the Estonian Energy Policy Development Plan (ENMAK 2030) in relation to housing stock include high energy consumption, unhealthy indoor climate, and inefficient planning of dwelling environment. All these problems can be solved step by step, and in the longer term, there is great potential for energy saving in the housing and energy sector.
The problems can be solved by reconstructing buildings to be energy efficient and energy producing. In housing, effective solutions are used for automated energy production, consumption and monitoring (and also for selling the surplus).
Balti Vara Ehitus uses all effective renewable solutions to make buildings more energy efficient.
Reconstruction of an apartment building not only improves the indoor climate and living environment, but also the appearance of the building. In addition to improving energy efficiency, reconstruction prolongs the lifetime of the building, increases its value as a property, and creates a stronger sense of “being at home”.
