The specifics of thermo-modernization is that it cannot be done “point by point”. Insulating the exterior walls on their own for individual apartments, as is often done, will not bring significant savings. The house will still continue to “phonate”, losing heat. The problem can be solved only by joint efforts of all the residents. It demands organizational decisions, but the result in the form of increase of comfort and reduction of bills for utility services is worth it.

However, self-organization is not the only requirement for energy efficiency measures. They require financial costs, which are usually quite tangible. Therefore, in European countries that passed this way, the thermo-modernization of the housing stock was done through the joint efforts of citizens, the community and the state.

Poles were quick to appreciate the benefits that increased national energy efficiency would bring to citizens and the state. The first thermo-modernization programs began operating there in the late 1990s. For the past 20 years since then, the country has carried out a large-scale thermo-modernization of the housing stock. In Poland, thermo-modernization loans are provided by commercial banks, which have concluded an agreement with the State Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The owners of residential buildings (legal entities) of all forms of ownership are eligible for compensation. And the technical condition is a measurable reduction in energy consumption for heating and hot water supply – by 25% in the end.

The general procedure is as follows. The state bank considers the results of the energy audit of the building, then agrees on the issuance of compensation. After that, the commercial bank grants the applicant a loan, which pays the invoices issued by contractors for the work. After completion, a licensed expert evaluates the compliance of the energy audit measures and the project. If all standards are met, the state bank transfers the compensation to the account of the commercial bank where the customer is served.

Established in 1998, the Thermomodernization Fund is a systemic element of Poland’s housing policy and is annually replenished from the state budget. Thus, in 2020, owners of more than 40,000 apartment buildings took advantage of the Fund’s programs. Of course, not everything went smoothly from the start. Only after 5 years of operation of the Thermomodernization Fund Poles began to actively use its possibilities. This was due both to the optimization of banks’ requirements to borrowers and the compensation procedure itself, and to an information campaign introducing the benefits of the program to Poles.

The National Energy Efficiency Programme in Ukraine: popularity with high potential

Ukraine has a State Energy Efficiency Programme, a tried-and-tested and effective instrument of state support for implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings. The program provides co-financing for residents of houses that have decided to make thermo-modernization.

Often the state program is also reinforced by local programs, scaling their effect and significantly reducing the investment that residents themselves need to make. Examples: In Lviv Oblast, in the city of Boryslav, a solid fuel boiler was installed in a private two-family house under the warm loan program. The loan amount was 44,865 UAH, the state reimbursed 8,973 UAH. As a result, the cost of heating of the house with an area of 86 square meters during the heating season decreased from 300-400 cubic meters of gas per month to 100-150 cubic meters. In Transcarpathian region, 168300 UAH of credit funds were used for energy modernization of a private house – insulation, installation of windows, solid fuel boiler and radiators. Of these, the state reimbursed UAH 51195. As a result, the household reduced the use of gas from 800 cubic meters per month to 200 cubic meters. Savings amounted to 75% and even more. And at the same time – to reduce costs for heating and hot water.