Edukacja Ekologiczna

What is energy efficiency?

The energy efficiency means efficient energy use resulting from the preparation of a building in such a way as to provide its users with thermal comfort while consuming as little energy as possible for heating or cooling. The higher the energy efficiency, the greater the energy conservation. It should be remembered that saving energy is not only a way to reduce the emission of pollutants into the air, including greenhouse gases, which are generated during the process of fuel combustion for heating a building, but also a real source of savings in the household budget. Therefore, it is worth ensuring that windows, doors and walls are properly secured (e.g., by adequate sealing), so as not to lose heat unnecessarily, and thus not to increase heating bills. So, how to save money without worsening the comfort of using rooms? First of all, it is worth performing thermomodernization.

Thermomodernization, or what?

The thermomodernization is defined as a number of activities aimed at reducing the demand for thermal energy needed to heat a building or prepare domestic hot water, or at increasing the energy efficiency of a building. These activities include, among others:

• replacement or modernization of the heating system, including replacement of the existing heat source with one with a higher energy efficiency class, as well as replacement of the central heating system and domestic hot water system;
• insulation of external partitions;
• insulation of other partitions, such as ceilings, roofs and floors;
• replacement of windows, external doors or garage doors.

The thermomodernization also includes activities aimed at reducing electricity consumption by replacing existing lighting, installations or equipment with more energy-efficient ones.

Energy audit – why is it worth performing?

Before deciding on introducing often costly construction changes to improve the energy efficiency, it is worthwhile to first analyse all the necessary activities with an expert and perform an energy audit.

The energy audit is performed in order to determine the level of energy efficiency of a building, but also to define the scope and technical parameters of works that should be carried out as part of the thermomodernization. The audit specifies in which areas of the building energy losses are the greatest and thus indicates which areas require the most urgent actions to obtain energy savings. In addition, the audit helps in preparing a cost estimation of the necessary works, and as a result, we get a detailed description of the technical condition of the building and its installation, information about the optimally planned modernization of the heating system and the improvement of the thermal insulation or an estimate of the savings that we will gain thanks to the thermomodernization. The audit shows us the direction in which we should follow when carrying out our work, so that it is optimal and the least costly. At the same time, the preparation of such a document facilitates the procedure of obtaining co-financing for the thermomodernization of a building from EU funds or the state budget. It is also possible to apply for reimbursement of the costs of performing the audit. This is especially important in the case of multi-family buildings, where the cost of thermomodernization is high, and many housing cooperatives or associations plan in advance to use co-financing for this purpose.

What after the audit?

After the audit is performed, we can start implementing thermomodernization activities that will allow us to increase the energy efficiency, bearing in mind that the process should be based on rational and optimal energy consumption and storage, as well as on prevention of its loss. The appropriate insulation of partitions (the heat transfer coefficient of external walls from 2021 may be up to 0.20 W/(m²·K) helps to significantly reduce the costs of heating, which often consume a significant part of the household budget.

An additional energy conservation results also from the use of thermostats which allow for optimal control of the thermal energy used during the day adapting it to the conditions outside.

Another activity that increases the energy efficiency is the replacement of the electrical installation with one that is more reliable and guarantees less energy losses. It also related to using less energy-consuming household appliances with an appropriate energy class. The simplest action in this regard is to replace light bulbs with energy-saving LED ones which consume as much as 75% less energy than ordinary light bulbs and their lifetime is longer. The use of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels, also significantly helps to reduce the consumption of electricity from the grid.

Why is it so important?

The improvement of the energy efficiency should become a priority in the design of new buildings and the modernization of existing buildings, and the energy conservation should be based on the principles of its rational storage and consumption. It is worth realizing that the fight against the climate change and the need to improve the air quality are a problem that affects not only the state but, most of all, all of us, and the change starts with us. In view of the ever-increasing demand for energy, also in the context of replacing energy sources with alternative models of obtaining it, the energy efficiency is an area to which Poland attaches great importance. This is manifested, for example, in engaging in projects aimed at implementing legal provisions in this area, as well as in participating in national and local programmes allowing for the introduction of the energy efficiency also in households.

An important support in the implementation of investments in the field of thermomodernization is the possibility of obtaining co-financing from the Clean Air Programme. The programme is systematically improved so that as many people as possible can benefit from the support (e.g., the application has been simplified, the time of its examination has been shortened and the e-application has been enabled on the Gov.pl Portal). In addition, in 2020, within the second edition of the Clean Air Programme, the level of co-financing was increased to PLN 37,000, and in January 2022, its third edition was launched with the level of co-financing of PLN 69,000 for residents whose monthly income does not exceed PLN 900 or PLN 1,260 per person (in case of multi-person and one-person households, respectively) and for people who are entitled to benefits.

It is also worth paying attention to the possibility of taking advantage of the thermomodernization allowance which allows to deduct from the income (revenues) expenses related to the performance of thermomodernization works, replacement of heating sources and installation of renewable energy sources in single-family residential buildings.

These are only some examples of support for improving the energy efficiency. It is worth taking an interest in this topic because we have one environment and, undoubtedly, we must take care of it. Besides this, another important argument are economic terms because a well-insulated house means lower heating bills.

Information on the possibility of co-financing in this area can be found on the websites of municipalities or districts, but also on the websites of the Voivodship Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management or the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Information on co-financing can also be obtained directly from the Municipal Information Points.