In particular, the thermal rehabilitation of the tallest sixteen-story residential building in Balti has already saved up to 50% on energy bills. For the next heating season, technical calculations also suggest a reduction of heat consumption by at least 35%.
The total cost of the works amounted to 10 million lei, of which 8 million lei were provided by the governments of the Netherlands and Slovakia through their embassies, Slovak-aid and the Energy Community Secretariat. The remaining amount was paid by the tenants through a bank loan, which was a precedent for this kind of projects.
“To achieve real results, it is necessary to involve tenants and cooperate with homeowners’ associations. The rehabilitated 80-apartment building has undergone thermal insulation, facade modernization, as well as roof and basement insulation. In addition, the distribution of heat energy from a vertical to a horizontal system was optimized, ensuring higher efficiency. The pilot program ‘First Swallows’ demonstrates that thermal efficiency can reduce energy costs by 40-50% and improve living comfort,” said Karolina Novak, State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy.
The First Swallows project represents an opportunity for a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency in residential buildings. It offers an innovative co-financing model for homeowners’ associations that can be replicated at the national level, according to the industry ministry, when 80% of the costs are covered by development partners from the energy efficiency fund and 20% by tenants.
