Building energy audits project

Transcription

1 Case Study 20 Building energy audits project Latvia 1

2 Project co-funded by the European Commission within THE SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME THEME ENERGY Energy behavioral changes Work package 2 Development of the conceptual model: Analysis of success factors, underlying models and methods in target group interaction Case Study 20: Building energy audits project, Latvia Agris Kamenders (Ekodoma) March, 2009 Grant agreement no: Project acronym: CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Project full title: Contextualising behavioural change in energy programmes involving intermediaries and policymaking organizations working towards changing behaviour 2

3 Content Summary of the case... 4 Step 1: Context of DSM project... 5 National context in general... 5 Local context... 5 Specific context of the project... 5 Step 2: Focus of DSM project... 6 General issues... 6 Initiator and partners... 6 Problem definition... 6 Goals and objectives... 6 The targets and target groups... 6 Step 3: Design of the project... 7 What knowledge and ideas informed the design of the project?... 7 Research conducted on target group... 7 What barriers, motives and capacities did the project aim to target?... 7 The intervention methods/instruments and activities used... 7 Participation... 8 Communication... 8 Learning, evaluation and monitoring... 8 Link to other projects and policy... 8 Step 4: Process of the project... 9 Interaction between the different participants... 9 Reaction of the project manager to issues/problems... 9 Step 5: Outcome of the process...10 Objectives/goals/outcomes...10 Effectiveness...10 Social learning...10 Follow-up of the project...10 Step 6: Analysis and conclusion

4 Summary of the case During the last 5 years, the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency has been providing support for energy audits. The goal of the support is to provide information to end-users about the energy efficiency level in their buildings and to promote adequate energy efficient measures. The support was managed by the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency and includes the following activities: for 8 buildings: co-financing 50 % of energy audit costs in 2003; for 27 buildings: co-financing 100 % ; and for 10 buildings: co-financing 50% of energy costs in 2004; for 103 buildings: co-financing 55 % of energy audit costs in 2005; for 60 buildings: co-financing 50% of energy audit costs in The existing housing stock in Latvia has a significant potential for energy savings, as regards multifamily houses, but there have not been many refurbishments projects implemented until now. Technologies and possible energy efficient measurements are well known, but, due to different reasons, the process of implementing an energy efficiency project is not simple. For example, particular complications arise when all flat owners have to agree on the project layout and organize common activities. The main barriers that did not allow continuing comprehensive renovation of buildings are: Lack of knowledge about the possibilities to save energy; Lack of experience in reaching a common decision; Distrust of banks, neighbours and housing management companies; Low energy price; The Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency involved the private sector for sponsoring the project. The projects are successful according to the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency, but only some of the buildings have implemented energy efficient measures after the energy audits. There were no specific targets defined for the project, for example, it was not stated how many buildings would be renovated based on the results of the energy audits. Any specific targets for behavioural changes are not considered in this project. The only actual target was to provide a grant for carrying out a set of energy audits. On the other hand, one of the aims of the project was to distribute information about energy efficiency in buildings. This target was reached, as several workshops were organized in different parts of Latvia. 4

5 Step 1: Context of DSM project National context in general The average energy costs for households in % of household income are 12.6% or 50 /month [Statistics Year Book 2005]. The statistical data for 2004 shows that 25% of the total population belong to the lowest income group (average income per member of household was 84 EUR) and 13% of their expenses were energy bills and house maintenance. Data about the percentage of household consumers who are not able to pay their energy bills (residents who receive social support and subsidies from municipalities) is not available. The development of the housing policy started on 30 July 1996 when the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Housing Policy Framework Document, prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. This paper is still the main document that regulates the housing policy and determines the objectives, main tasks, and principles of the development. The main task is sustainable development of populated areas. These include: Managing the housing stock in a way that covers the maintenance costs of the housing property, ensures profitability and regular return of investments necessary for further housing development; Increasing the share of energy saving constructive solutions by reconstructing buildings, including insulating of the envelope and applying energy efficient solutions in newly built houses; Introducing water, heat and gas consumption metering and de-centralized control of the housing energy utilization system for economical use of energy resources; Increasing the ratio of humanized environment by reconstructing the existing housing estates. Local context The project was implemented at a national level; all municipalities of Latvia (551 in total) are able to participate in it. Usually building energy audit projects are implemented by one municipality or housing management company at a time. Specific context of the project The project is implemented by the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency and it is well supported by local municipalities and mass media. The Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency (the former Residential Buildings Privatization Commission) deals with housing issues in the country. One of the main tasks is to promote and to help to develop entities that unite owners of those apartments that were privatized after Energy efficiency promotion in the residential dwelling sector is one of the agency s tasks. During the last 4 years, the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency has been managing different promotional and educational activities, including annual conferences on energy efficiency within the housing sector. The project by the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency was realized in cooperation with several partners such as banks, heat insulation manufacturers, and construction companies. 5

6 Step 2: Focus of DSM project General issues Similar projects have been implemented every year since 2003 by the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency. Because of this, there are no substantial issues with the implementation, except problems with timing due to bureaucracy. Initiator and partners The Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency is the initiator and coordinator of the project. The following companies participated in the project as partners in the 2007/2008 heating season: Banks Hansabanka, Hipotēku banka, SEB, DnB Nord; Insulation manufactures Isover, Paroc, Sakret. Different partners are involved in different years, but there is always a financial institution or a representative of the building sector in implementing the project. Problem definition Energy efficiency in buildings is very low and the building sector has a high potential for energy savings, but usually building owners do not have sufficient information about energy efficient measures. There is a lack of awareness about building renovation and energy savings measures among building owners. The project was a good platform for the development of an energy-labelling system. Goals and objectives The goal of the project was energy efficient measure implementation in the buildings. The following activities were implemented to achieve the goals: energy audits in the dwellings; promoting building renovation projects; and motivating owners into participating in the qualitative improvements. The goals and objectives set in the project are not quantitative and generally cannot be considered ambitious. The targets and target groups The target groups of the project were residential multifamily houses and building managers. The following conditions were defined for potential participants in order to enter the project: The houses have been built in the time period 1945 to 2003; The house is a dwelling. 6

7 Step 3: Design of the project What knowledge and ideas informed the design of the project? The idea of the project was to help develop an energy audit system and to involve private financing organizations and building companies in it. The development of an energy audit scheme is one of the requirements of the Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings. Research conducted on target group The main reasons for the project are that these types of dwellings compose the main part of the housing fund and represents a big potential for energy savings in Latvia. Before the implementation of the project, the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy organized training courses for building energy auditors that consisted also of a practical implementation of an energy audit in a building. Also, several documentation templates for reports and energy certificates were developed. An information package about the importance of building energy audits and a list of motivation in favour of energy savings was distributed to each municipality of Latvia. No specific research of target groups was conducted before the project planning. What barriers, motives and capacities did the project aim to target? The project addressed the following determinants: Motivation the project promotes the realization of building energy audits that means to ascertain the existing situation and to realize energy efficient activities that contribute to the level of living. Attitude the main aim of the project is to change people s attitudes towards the environmental problems and to make them think in a more environmentally friendly way. Knowledge each year the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency organizes a workshop Mājokļu dienas, in which the residents of multifamily houses are informed about the project results. Main barriers: - No concept about energy efficiency has been developed to be able to explain why such projects are needed; - Lack of knowledge about the ways to save energy; - Lack of experience to reach a common decision; - Distrust of banks, neighbours and housing management company; - Lack of property management skills; the opinion that the State, not the property owners, are responsible for raising the living standards in the housing sector. The intervention methods/instruments and activities used The main instrument in the project is energy audit, which was selected before the target group was found. The main measures implemented by the suggestion of an energy audit are insulation of walls, roofs, basement, and ceilings, replacement or sealing of windows, insulation of heating pipes, installation of heat meters, and so on. During the project implementation time, Directive 2002/91/EC Energy Performa building directive [EPBD] requirements into national legislation was introduced. The second instrument of the project was the organization of informative campaigns for dwelling house residents. This instrument was used for educating people. The following activities were performed during the project implementation: Preparation of a tender for energy auditors, tender announcement, and selection of energy auditors. 7

8 Preparation of a tender for dwelling houses, tender announcement, and selection of the applicants. Energy audits. Project management. Promotion activities for the project. Participation The Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency participated in the development of the project together with the Ministry of Economy and all of the project partners. The structure for project realization was developed during negotiations between partners. Communication No special communication plan was developed for the project, but communication between the target group and the project partners was mediated by realizing the following activities: Communicating information about the project pre-implementation stage information about the project was distributed among all municipalities of Latvia as leaflets and brochures. Giving presentations and distributing informative leaflets during the workshops. The participants had an opportunity to ask questions and get informed answers. Workshop organizers and lecturers included the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency, Ministry of Economics, other project partners and energy auditor companies. Performing a survey among the residents of the dwellings in which energy audits were made in order to find out the results of the project and to state what needs to be changed in order to obtain better results from similar project realizations in the future. The target group received the energy audit results. The negative side is that it is mainly dwelling house managers, not the residents, who receive information and demonstrate interest in participating in the projects. Learning, evaluation and monitoring One of the main goals is to raise energy efficiency in buildings but there are no specific numbers or indicators for this. The only indicator is that buildings should be audited. Unfortunately, until now, many dwellings have not implemented any energy efficiency measures and are not interested in building renovation. Link to other projects and policy As mentioned earlier, the project was developed for implementing Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings in Latvia in order to develop the mandatory policy. 8

9 Step 4: Process of the project Interaction between the different participants As the project coordinator was the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency, it was possible to involve important players within building renovation in Latvia. The housing manager agency could have also been involved in the project in order to bring more weight to the project, but, in general, it does not have such an important role in the results. It was important for some building owners to have an energy audit done in order to perform building renovation in the future. However, the majority of the target group only had an energy audit done without taking any further action. In some of the buildings for which renovation works were suggested in the energy audit reports, the results were monitored. The results were presented to the target groups during Mājokļu dienas workshops. Reaction of the project manager to issues/problems The goals and objectives have not been changed since the beginning of the project. The project is proceeding as planned. Several new stakeholders and partners have joined the project during its implementation. 9

10 Step 5: Outcome of the process Objectives/goals/outcomes The project is partly successful as, in the end, only some of the buildings actually had to implement energy efficiency measures. However, one of the factors that allow evaluating the project as good is that different partners were involved and that the project was recognizable among the partners and mass media. Only few energy efficiency projects have been implemented in the residential sector, and monitoring activities were not performed on most of them. Riga Technical university researchers and consulting companies experts monitored some of the earliest projects. Since 2003, all buildings that received co-financing for energy audits by the state and the private sector, and are managed by the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency are obliged to present annual reports on energy consumption and implemented energy efficiency measures. Effectiveness There were some problems with timing during the implementation of the project. Social learning No special social learning was planned during the project implementation. However, the project stakeholders and the project managers achieved social learning while participating in the project. Close relationships and contacts developed between the housing managers and the Construction, Energy and Housing State Agency, which helped to solve various questions. Some banks decreased their interest rates for those residents who decided to take a bank loan for renovation purposes. Follow-up of the project The project does not have an effect on the target groups future behaviour changes after the end of the project. The behaviour changes will, however, appear independently as experiences are gained from best practices examples. 10

11 Step 6: Analysis and conclusion Based on the evaluation of implementing the building energy audit project, the following five most crucial factors influencing the success of the programme can be defined: 1. Project goals and objectives there are no quantitative objectives that would not allow monitoring or evaluating the project results. The stated objectives are not specific, which makes obtaining better results more complicated. An example of this is organizing information days for the target groups. One workshop attracted 15 participants, another 70 participants. In both cases, the objective of the organizing the workshop is achieved, but in the second case, the results are much better. This means that more precise details of each objective should be provided. 2. Project coordinator management appropriate timing was not maintained, personnel changes were quite frequent, and there was a high level of bureaucracy involved. There is a great need for internal qualitative control. In the future, quality revision for energy audits could be provided, which could be very helpful for the project implementation. 3. Monitoring and evaluation in order to evaluate the level of success of the project, the evaluation or the monitoring has to be introduced as a part of the project. In this case, all planned activities during project implementation were done, but no further action was taken to determine the effect of the project. 4. Target group selection criteria have to be revised. Dwelling houses with high energy consumption were selected as the main group, but the majority of their inhabitants were not interested in performing any energy efficient measures. Finally, energy audits were made, but no further energy efficient measurements were implemented. The results of the project could have been better, if buildings in which energy efficient actions have been implemented before had been included. 5. Private involvement This type of project allowed involving banks in the project realization, which provided better loan conditions for dwelling owners. The project results would be less successful, had the banks not provided favourable conditions for the target groups. 11