In the springtime, as apartment house companies’ annual meetings are getting closer, it is the right time to reflect on the future of the property. How to keep the living costs under control? What about comfort, could it be improved in any way? How about the value of the property? Energy renovation cuould be an answer to a number of the problems.
Property owners are also considering more and more about the environmental impact of living, and no wonder: for instance, as much as 56% of the city of Helsinki’s direct climate emissions come from heating residential buildings! When the whole country of Finland is taken into account, about a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions are caused by the heating of residential buildings. By comparison, traffic emissions are about 10 % of the total emissions, less than half of the amount caused by heating! On the other hand, it is no wonder, as there are still about 36,000 apartment buildings in Finland that blow room temperature exhaust air into the sky. Needless to say, huge amounts of money are also being wasted.
Money usually acts as a great motivator for energy renovations, as it is an investment that will pay off in a few years’ time. The price of district heating has been steadily rising, so reducing energy consumption is one of the best ways to lower the costs of living. A good example of successful implementation of energy renovation is our HybridHEAT client in Turku, which utilizes exhaust air heat recovery: As Oy Yliopistonkatu 12 saved approximately EUR 23,000 in monetary terms during the first year. The payback period of the investment is therefore 6-7 years. At the same time, CO2 emissions fell by about 70,000 kg per year! The amount is equal to the emissions produced by a medium-sized petrol car in about 500,000 kilometers driven. Investing in the energy efficiency of a heating system is therefore one of the most efficient climate actions.
Energy renovation also improves living comfort. For example, by improving the insulation or replacing the windows, the effects of temperature fluctuation can be reduced. More advanced solutions, such as a hybrid system utilizing an extensive apartment-specific sensor network and remote control system, can further improve living comfort. At the same time, the system produces consumption data, on the basis of which operations can be optimized to suit the needs of your own property. Of course, a well-functioning and efficient system also has a positive effect on the value of the property.
