energy efficiency in st. petersburg - bef-de. · pdf file| 10 energy efficiency in st....

M. Zhevlakova · N. Zhilnikova E. Podgaiskii ·D. Indriksone· M. Grätz

Energy efficiency in St. Petersburg

M. Zhevlakova · N. Zhilnikova E. Podgaiskii · D. Indriksone · M. Grätz

Energy efficiency in St. Petersburg

EnErgy EfficiEncy in St. PEtErSburg© Copyright 2012Baltic Environmental Forum Groupwww.befgroup.net

Maria ZhEvlakova ([email protected])natalia Zhilnikova ([email protected])Eduard PodgaiSky ([email protected])

Center for Transboundary Cooperation – St. PetersburgKozhevennaya liniya 34-411199 106 St. Petersburg, Russian Federationwww.ctcspb.ru

daina indrikSonE ([email protected])

Baltic Environmental Forum LatviaAntonijas iela 3-8LV-1010 Rīga, Latviawww.bef.lv

MatthiaS grätZ ([email protected])

Baltic Environmental Forum GermanyOsterstraße 58D-20259 Hamburg, Germanywww.bef-de.org

Layout PhiliPP EngEwald (Baltic Environmental Forum Germany)

This publication was prepared with financial support of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt and the European Union. The contents is solely the responsibility of its authors. Any statements made herein do not reflect the official opinion of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, the Euro-pean Union or any of their related institutions.

Contents

List of abbreviations and terms 6

Introduction 7

Overview on the building stock in St Petersburg 10Types of buildings .......................................................................................................10Ownership and management of residential buildings ...................................................10General development of the housing sector in St. Petersburg ....................................... 13State of existing building stock ....................................................................................14Expected development of new building stock ...............................................................14

Energy supply of the building stock in St Petersburg 16Heating .......................................................................................................................16

Current situation ......................................................................................................16Current and future developments concerning heat supply .........................................18

Electricity ....................................................................................................................19

Energy efficiency policy: the legal frame 20Energy efficiency policy for new residential houses ......................................................21

The general legal frame ............................................................................................21The № Order 262 .......................................................................................................23Standards and requirements for old houses ................................................................ 26Energy audits ............................................................................................................. 28Quality control and enforcement of requirements ........................................................ 28

Stakeholders in the energy efficiency process 29Authorities ................................................................................................................. 29

National and regional authorities ............................................................................ 29Flat owners ............................................................................................................. 30Local authorities ..................................................................................................... 32

House management companies ...................................................................................33Energy suppliers .........................................................................................................33

Difficulties regarding energy efficiency in buildings 34Public awareness ........................................................................................................34Ownership structure and management of buildings ......................................................34Socio-economic aspects ..............................................................................................35Material and technologies ......................................................................................... 36

Insulation ................................................................................................................37Financing and funding ................................................................................................ 38

Current practice and good cases in St. Petersburg 40Case 1: Re-development of residential areas in St Petersburg. ...................................... 40Case 2: Energy efficient construction. ......................................................................... 42Case 3: Renovation of “khrushchevka house” at Torzhkovskaya str., 16 ........................43

Conclusions 45

Annexes 46

List of abbreviations and terms

chP combined heat and power plant

Eu European Union

gdP Gross domestic product

goSt Russian National Standard imposed on most goods and services to en-sure their quality. For different services and products, different GOSTs with different numerical titles are used.

ngo Non-governmental organisation

SniP Sanitary norms and rules

tgc/ tgk Territorial company that generates heat and electricity

Introduction

Buildings use 40%1 of the primary en-ergy consumed world-wide and if we include the energy consumed in manu-facturing, steel, cement, aluminium and glass used in building construction, this number grows to more than 50%2. Ener-gy consumption in buildings is projected to rise substantially in the world’s most populous and fastest growing countries, such as China and India.

The knowledge and technology available today could contribute to big reductions in the energy consumption of buildings, however, the progress towards less en-ergy use is taking place only very slow-ly. Market and policy failures as well as behavioural barriers impede the neces-sary progress The construction of a huge number of new buildings in a more ef-ficient way poses a big challenge, but it is also essential to implement measures for increasing the energy performance in the existing building stock.

In order to address this challenge, the Russian government announced the am-

1 Within the EU buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the total energy consumption and 36% of the CO2 emissions (http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/energy_efficiency/en0002_en.htm)

2 Figures taken from http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=MTA5NQ

bitious goal to reduce the GDP energy intensity of Russia by 40% until 2020. The Federal Law 261 on Energy Efficiency of 2009 was one of the first policy measures to help achieving this goal. It contributed to bringing the topic energy efficiency on the agenda all over the country and in different sectors, integrating energy ef-ficiency issues into almost all spheres of the economy and society.

The strength of the new law is that it represents a real attempt to lay the foun-dations for a legal regulation of this is-sue, moving away from the largely only declaratory old law on energy saving, which was adopted in 1996. However, also the new law lacks clear and sig-nificant economic incentives, such as tax advantages or exemptions. It builds only a framework and requires a large number of regulations to implement its provisions.

Up to now, a large proportion of the housing and building market has not yet responded to this law, although the rel-evant actors are observing the respective progress and collecting information, and the authorities in different parts of Rus-sia, including St. Petersburg, make ef-forts to implement various regional pro-grams on energy efficiency. Nonetheless, new services and products in the sphere of energy efficient technologies, mate-

Fig 2. Typical Khrushchevka building, as they can be found not only in St. Petersburg, but all over the coun-tries of the former Soviet Union.

Introduction 9 |

rials, energy audits and other aspects related to energy efficiency have been introduced already before the adoption of the new law and it is expected that the law will lead to an increasing number of services and products related to energy efficiency. In particular, the demand for professionals with experience in “green” and energy efficient construction may increase, as energy efficiency compli-ance will be mandatory at all stages of the life of a building, i.e. in the design, construction, and reconstruction.

Reflecting the current processes and tak-ing into account the new prospects, this brochure gives a short review on the situation regarding energy efficiency in the residential building sector, successes and failures in the current efforts towards increased energy efficiency in this sector, focusing mainly on St. Petersburg and, to some extent, on the city’s surrounding regions in Russia. The information pro-vided in the 5 sections of this brochure is based on on-desk research, meetings and various consultations with the ma-jor stakeholders, as well as presentations and seminars attended on the issue.

SEction 2 of this brochure gives an overview on the current and forecast-ed situation with regard to the residen-tial building stock in St. Petersburg, including the construction materials used and the conditions of the build-ing stock, on-going construction and energy supply for residential houses,. It also includes information related to ownership of the buildings.

SEction 3 of the brochure shortly de-scribes the situation regarding energy supply in the city.

SEction 4 of the brochure presents the legal framework, requirements and standards in the residential building sec-tor, with a focus on energy performance norms and standards.

SEction 5 names some of the major institutional, financial and structural problems and obstacles regarding the implementation of energy efficiency measures in St. Petersburg, which, however, also reflect the situation in many other Russian cities.

SEction 6 shortly describes the key stake-holders and their interests in the energy efficiency process, and also looks at how this might influence the approaches to energy efficiency measures.

SEction 7 presents some examples of pos-itive experiences and good practices in St. Petersburg. These are the renovation pro-jects and refurbishing examples which lead to improving energy efficiency in some built areas or separate buildings.

SEction 8 provides a short conclusion of the content of all other sections.

The appendixes contain several charts and tables providing the data used in the other sections.

The aim of this brochure is to contribute to a better understanding of the current situation regarding the building stock and energy efficiency in St. Petersburg. It will help to draw lessons for future de-velopments and positive changes.

This brochure has been developed within the project “EEFIRus – Network for Energy Efficiency in Northwest Russia”. The project aims at increasing awareness, knowledge and networking

| 10 Energy efficiency in St. Petersburg

on energy efficiency and saving in the construction sector in Northwest Russia. The main objective of the project is to increase capacities and create networks among construction related stakeholder (architects, engineers, and others) to ensure that good-practice regarding en-ergy efficiency and saving measures are spread and implemented. A thorough analysis of the situation, recommenda-tions for improvement, the development

of a web-based information platform, and seminars for stakeholders have con-tributed to reach this goal.

The project is implemented by the Baltic Environmental Forum Deutschland e.V., the Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia and the Center for Transboundary Co-operation - St. Petersburg, Russia, and is supported by the German Federal Foun-dation for the Environment (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt).

Overview on the building stock in St Petersburg

Types of buildingsThe most common type of the residen-tial buildings in St. Petersburg is multi-storey multi apartment houses in which the majority of the city’s inhabita0nts live and which still represents the main type of newly built houses. In some ar-eas – mainly located in the outskirts of the city – detached and semidetached town houses have been built.

The existing buildings are built with var-ious construction materials which differ with regard to the period of the build-ing’s construction. For buildings con-structed in the 1970s and 1980s, for ex-ample, the most common building ma-terials were concrete blocks and panels. Bricks were started to be used later, in

2000s3. Today, the majority of the newly built residential houses in St. Petersburg has rock or brick walls. A more detailed breakdown of the buildings by the mate-rials of walls and years of construction is given in an Appendix 1.

Ownership and management of residential buildingsBefore the break-up of the Soviet Union, all residential houses belonged to the city. Only exception were the so-called cooperatives, where the flats belonged to the inhabitants. In the 1990s, a process

3 A source of all data shown in charts and tables is official Russian statistic agency “Roskomstat”

of privatization started which lead to the current situation in which there is a mix-ture of privately and state-owned flats and houses in St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad oblast. Often, in one multi-apartment building there are both apartments in individual private and in municipal ownership, plus some-times also apartment owned by compa-nies or other organisations. In 2009, ca. 79% of the houses and flats in this region were privately owned and approximate-ly 75% individual property.4

4 For more information on the ownership structure please see Appendix 2.

The management and maintenance of residential buildings is provided by dif-ferent bodies.

If flats are owned by private persons, the inhabitants are usually organised in non-for profit non-governmental or-ganisations, called Apartment Owners Partnership. These associations of own-ers are the legal entities which sign the contracts with heat, electricity and water suppliers. They either manage the build-ings or parts of the buildings themselves or subcontract managing companies on behalf of the inhabitants.

Flats belonging to the city are main-tained and managed by state companies/

Fig 3. Townhouse in a St. Petersburg suburb. Source: http://olx.ru

Fig 4. A modern residen-tial building

Overview on the building stock in St Petersburg 13 |

organizations which underlie a strict hi-erarchy. These state organizations are controlled by the district authorities, and in each of the 18 city districts of St. Petersburg so called “living agencies” were formed which control and manage the companies responsible for the main-tenance of the buildings.

The mixed ownership and management system results in a sometimes confusing structure. The efficiency of the building management is often low as it is difficult to ensure a productive dialog between different bodies responsible for differ-ent parts of the house. The situation becomes even more difficult regarding those issues referring to common parts of the house, such as yards, water mains inside the building and other facilities which belong to various owners at the same time.

General development of the housing sector in St.

PetersburgThe intensive construction of new blocks of living houses in St. Petersburg can be easily noticed, especially in the Northern and South-Western outskirts of the city. Along with the on-going development of the real estate market in St. Peters-burg, this construction meets the plans and requirements of various programs, adopted by the city government. The re-gional program “Stimulating the devel-opment of the living building stock in St Petersburg”5, is one of the most relevant

5 The full text of the new edition of the program is available at http://gov.spb.ru/law?d&nd=891851679&prevDoc=8918516

governmental programs regarding the development of the residential building sector of St. Petersburg. Its main goals are the following:

1. To ensure that the quantity and quality of the housing stock of St. Petersburg increases, correspond-ing to average European standards, with a mandatory implementation of environmental, sanitary and town planning requirements while conserving the diversity of the ur-ban environment. It is clear, that the provision of the high quality of the houses nowadays goes hand by hand with improved energy per-formance of the buildings accord-ing to the modern trends.

2. To increase the housing stock and the average living space per resi-dent of St. Petersburg up to 28 m²

until 2015 and up to 35 m² until 2025;

3. To create affordable housing for the economically disadvantaged people in St. Petersburg;

4. To reduce and eliminate the obso-lete housing stock;

5. To eliminate the communal settle-ment, including dorms;

6. To increase reconstruction, mod-ernization and reparation of the existing housing stock, increasing its performance to the standards of the European average, while tak-ing into account the specifics of St. Petersburg. The specificity of the

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standards is not defined. The ex-pression “European standards” is commonly used in Russia to define comfortable living conditions and a good quality of flats and houses, serving also for expressing the con-trast to the low quality of the soviet style of construction, especially that of 1960s and 1970s, and to stress the necessity of improvement.

7. To develop new types of housing, including increasing the share of the townhouses, semi-detached build-ings and cottage development.

8. To increase the diversity of the living environment and the used materials, designs and planning solutions that meet the diversity of urban condi-tions and interests of different social groups in St. Petersburg.

State of existing building stockThe total area of the housing stock in St. Petersburg is 110 million m².

Although the experts of the University of Engineering and Economics note in assessments improvements regarding the technical condition of the housing

stock, a significant proportion of the housing stock still needs to be reno-vated. The degree of “wear and tear” is differentiated in three levels: up to 30%, 30-60% and more than 60%. In 2007, the proportion of houses with different worn-out levels more than 60% was al-ready 14.9%. It is obvious that any over-haul and renovation have to include resource-saving measures.

Expected development of new building stockThe construction of new buildings in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad oblast is increasing. In the residential construc-tion in St. Petersburg alone, each year 2,5 million m² of new housing space is built. Figure 3 and 4 present the dynamics of the total living space of private housing.

For 2009, it is estimated that the average living space is 23.1 – 23.7 m² per person6. The Residential Building Development Plan7 aims at increasing the living space per person to up to 28 by 2015.

6 See statinfo.biz7 http://gov.spb.ru/law?d&nd=891851679&

prevDoc=891851679&mark=000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000006580IP#I0

Overview on the building stock in St Petersburg 15 |

Fig 1. Private housing - total space of the living houses, million sq m. by year

0

20

40

60

80

100Leningrad OblastSt. Petersburg

200920082007200620052000

Fig 4. New living space constructed in St. Petersburg 1999-2007 per year in mil-lion square metres (private and state in-vestments)

With regard to further developments in the building sector, it is useful to have a look into the master plan of St. Peters-burg which sets the the key objectives for the development of the city. These are:

> the alignment of the urban environ-ment, the development of the terri-torial reserves of industrial zones and residential districts;

> the formation of a polycentric structure of the city, with reducing the pressure and a load on the his-torical centre due to the formation of several sub-centres;

> the building of compact low-rise housing estates in the suburbs (town houses and cottages), which is considered to lead to an improved living quality in St. Petersburg.

Furthermore, the government of St. Petersburg has started the Regional Program "Promotion of Housing Con-struction in St. Petersburg 2011-2015”. The program aims at providing better quality housing to the city’s citizens, at increasing the demand for flats and houses, and at developing a market for flats and houses in St. Petersburg.

The regional program furthermore sets goals regarding the annual volume of housing construction for the period 2011-2015:


Table 1. Annual volume of housing construction in thousands square metres in St. Petersburg 2011-2015.

Year Annual volume of housing construc-

tion in sqm × 1,000

Share financed from city budget in sqm

× 1,000

Share in %

2011 2,700 428 15.9

2012 2,750 454 16.5

2013 2,850 481 16.9

2014 2,950 510 17.3

2015 3,050 540 17.7

Altogether, in the period 2011-2015 more than 14 million square meters of living space shall be constructed by ac-tivities in the frame of the program. It is mandatory for the newly constructed

buildings to meet the environmental, health and sanitation as well as urban development requirements and to pre-serve the historical and cultural heritage of St. Petersburg.

Energy supply of the building stock in St Petersburg

In this chapter, information on the heat-ing and electricity for the buildings in the residential sector will be provided. The housing sector in St. Petersburg consumes 14% of all electricity pro-duced in the city, 47% of the heat and 5% of the gas.

HeatingCurrent situation

The dwelling houses in St Petersburg are heated with hot water which is prepared at district and block power stations. The

hot water is delivered to the consumer through a network of hot water mains. The heating systems of the individual units (buildings or blocks) are connected to the district heating network.

It is essential to know that approxi-mately 80% of all heating equipment of the district and local power stations have been in use for already 25 years or longer, therefore many facilities need to be repaired and modernized.

The existing heating system in St. Pe-tersburg lacks efficiency. The heat loss in the hot water networks, for example,


accounts up to 30%. Damages and ac-cidents cause massive hot water losses, and consequently the rate of fuel con-sumed per unit of energy produced and transported is high. The peculiarities of the heating system lead to a low quality of the heating service for the consumers in winter and to overheating in spring and autumn. There are no opportunities for the consumers to regulate the heat-ing according to their needs, but they receive what is supplied and delivered. The key area of the energy efficiency program in St. Petersburg therefore is the modernization of the energy gener-ating facilities and the convertion of all coal and liquid fuel power stations into gas power stations. Priority is given to increasing the amount of energy pro-duced at combined heat and power plants (CHPs).

In 2011 the heat supply system of St. Pe-tersburg included:

> 12 CHPs of which 8 city stations be-longed to the the company “TGC-1” (2,854 MW, 12,015 Gcal / h), and 3 CHP (80 MW and 1,634 Gcal / h) which belong to the organisations or the companies, the Northwest CHP (900 MW and 700 Gcal / h );

> 609 boilers of which 454 boilers be-longed to the State Unitary Enter-prise (SUE) “TEC St. Petersburg” (8,682 Gcal / h), 108 boilers to the company “Peterburgteploenergo” (557 Gcal / h) and 47 boilers to JSC “Lenteplosnab” (840 Gcal / h);

> 692 boilers of which the produced heat belonged to the companies or organisations;

> About 7,000 km of heat networks.

The largest producers of heat energy are the SUE “HES St. Petersburg” and “TGC-1”. These heat generating stations provide hot water for heating both to the living sector and to any other consumers.

Summarising, the typical heat supply for residential houses is thus provided by central heating sources. The main source of energy for heat and electric-ity production in St. Petersburg is gas (94% of all energy sources). There is an on-going modernization process of the heating system of St. Petersburg, which is coordinated by the Energy Committee of the St. Petersburg Government.

Current and future developments concerning heat supply

In 2007, the Government of St. Peters-burg approved the Master Plan on heat provision of St. Petersburg until 2015, with the perspective to 2025. As a result of the measures described in this plan, by 2015 at least 51% of all heat consum-ers will be provided with heat produced in combined heat and power plants. This goal refers to all kinds of consumers: the business sector, public buildings as well as residential houses.

In addition, energy-engineering com-panies of St. Petersburg implement pro-grams of reconstruction and new con-struction of boilers and substations with energy-efficient equipment and technol-ogies. One important project is the com-plex reconstruction of the entire heat-ing system of Petrogradsky, Kurortny, Petrodvorets districts of St. Petersburg. These works were undertaken by Co.Ltd

Energy supply of the building stock in St Petersburg 19 |

“Peterburgteploenergo” in the period from 2004 to 2011. Modern high-tech in-stallations (e.g. mini heat stations), fully equipped with metering devices, and thermal networks with improved heat-shielding properties are being installed, replacing old equipment and thermal networks in these districts.

The reconstruction of five more energy infrastructure objects in the Petrodvorets district have been completed in 2011. This shall reduce the fuel consump-tion for thermal power generation from 155.98 kg/Gcal in 2009 to 155.1 kg /Gcal.

The city government also adopted a program for the construction and re-construction of the heat supply in the Malaya Okhta area. The program shall be implemented by 2018. This program will focus on the reconstruction of the “third Krasnogvardeyskaya” boiler room, on building new heat mains and intra-networks, as well as on the con-struction of 15 new substations to re-place the out-dated boilers, which will be destroyed.

According to the Committee on Energy and Engineering, the project will help to improve the quality and reliability of heat supply in the area, significantly reduce the consumption of gas, water and electricity in homes (due to the use of auxiliary boilers when the hot water supply is interrupted), as well as reduce the burden on the environment. As a re-sult, all 43,000 inhabitants of the district will receive uninterrupted hot water in summer, and the reconstruction shall also improve the socio-economic devel-opment in the area, due to the new reli-able power sources.

The adopted programme is a continua-tion of a previous strategy for the com-prehensive reconstruction of the heating systems. The total financial volume of this programme will be $ 2.5 billion, and it will be carried out by the SUE “En-ergy of St. Petersburg” – covering the re-equipment of six areas, or rather the creation of six more energy efficient dis-tricts (Petrogradsky, Kurortny, Petrod-vorets, Central and Admiralty districts of St. Petersburg).

ElectricityThe total annual electricity consump-tion in St. Petersburg by all consum-ers is 12,5 billion kWh. The electricity is produced by gas power stations, of which some are CHP stations. Eight CHPs working within the OAO “TGK-1” produce 1980 MW and three stations which belong to the companies or or-ganizations produce 146 MW.

Some companies, mainly medium and small businesses, are eager to introduce renewable energy sources into the energy system of St. Petersburg. However, these initiatives face the impossibility of sell-ing the energy produced and connecting to the grid as well as legal difficulties re-garding the installation of solar facilities.


Energy efficiency policy: the legal frame

In this chapter the requirements for en-ergy performance in residential build-ings will be presented. These require-ments include, for example, the heat transfer resistance of walls and energy consumption limits. A significant part of this section focuses on the review of the legal documents and orders which were issued by the Russian government and which impose standards for the energy performance in both existing and newly constructed buildings. 8

The multi-apartment dwelling houses of different types (series) built in mass production in Russia up to the year 2000 are characterised by relatively poor thermal insulation, weak air tight-ness and accordingly high energy con-sumption for heating mostly without heat consumption regulating possi-bilities. Information and data available from renovation projects implemented in Moscow indicate that energy con-sumption of multi apartment build-ings before major renovation ranges depending on the type (series) of a building between 198 and 229 kWh/m² per heating season. Due to similarities in construction all over the former So-viet Union countries, in can be assumed

8 The review of the norms and key legislation requirements which regulate energy efficiency, energy audits and passports for buildings, can be found at http://solex-un.ru/energo/reviews/energoaudit-i-energopasporta/obzor-1

that the energy consumption in typical multi storey apartment buildings also in St. Petersburg is similar. The average heat transfer resistance of the walls of the majority of the existing buildings in St. Petersburg, which were mostly built between 1950-1985, is approximately 0.8-1.1 m²K/W. The recently adopted Construction Standards and Regula-tions impose more stringent require-ments to heat transfer resistance: up to 3.0 – 3.5 m²K/W. In cases where these thresholds are not met, as for example in old panel houses, the heat loss can increase up to 90 W/m².

Recently, the energy performance of buildings in St. Petersburg is constantly improving, which is mainly based on a better thermal insulation of new and ren-ovated buildings. In addition, more and more heat meters with climate control are being installed in St. Petersburg which re-duces the heat consumption as well. The potential of heat consumption reduction in houses with thermostats and regula-tors is estimated to be 10-20%.9

All the new construction and moderni-sation measures which are planned to be implemented in St. Petersburg as well as the construction of new buildings which comply with the new energy per-formance requirements have significant potential for raising energy efficiency.

9 www.energoseovet.ru

Energy efficiency policy: the legal frame 21 |

Energy efficiency policy for new residential houses

The legislation on energy saving defines the need for norms regarding the en-ergy performance of buildings and the Law on Energy Saving is concretized by legal documents adopted by the Rus-sian government, ministries and depart-ments. At the same time, practical works to achieve the targets as well as energy efficiency measures should be imple-mented continuously.

The highest priority in Russian legisla-tion have international agreements, fol-lowed by the constitution, then Federal Codes and Laws, Presidential Decrees and Government Resolutions. The sub-legislative level is represented by secto-rial and local orders, acts and norms.

The general legal frame

The following section will list the most relevant legislative acts that determine

energy standards or general develop-ments in energy efficiency in the hous-ing sector. The legislation is rather new, many laws and decrees have been adopted just a few years ago. Their im-plementation in practice still remains to be observed in the coming years.

The most relevant legislative act deter-mining energy standards and general developments regarding energy effi-ciency in the housing sector is the Presi-dential Decree No. 889 of 04 April 2008 “On some measures to increase energy and ecological safety of Russia”. It sets the long-term target to decrease the national GDP energy intensity by 40% compared to 2007 and puts special at-tention to increased energy performance construction sector and the management of residential housing. The Decree aims at addressing the Russian obligations under the Kyoto Protocol and sets the overall threshold for efforts in increas-ing energy efficiency.


There are a number of additional legal documents adopted on national level that specify the efforts that need to be taken with regard to energy efficiency in residential buildings:

> the ”Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation up to the year of 2030”, which was approved and adopted on 13 November 2009, in accord-ance with the Government Decree No.1715-p and identifies energy ef-ficiency as one of the key priority areas for the Russian government;

> the Federal Law No. 261-FZ of 23 November 2009 “Concerning Ener-gy Conservation and the Raising of Energy Efficiency and Concerning the Introduction of Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” which sets the framework for practical work in energy efficiency in various sectors;

> the Government Resolution № 235 of 13 April 2010 which establishes the requirements for design docu-mentation, reflecting the energy efficiency of construction projects;

> the Order № 229 of the Ministry of Economic Development of 4 June 2010 which established the requirements for energy efficiency of materials and elements used in the construction of buildings and structures. These requirements are used in public procurement on different levels - both state and municipal. The government resolu-tion No. 235 and order No. 229 of the Ministry of Economic Develop-ment take a system-wide approach,

but do not establish any specific en-ergy efficiency indicators and data to reduce energy consumption.

> the Order №. 273 of the Ministry of Regional Development of 07 June 2010 which imposes the method-ology of the calculation of energy performance requirements for buildings. This methodology is ob-ligatory to be used when develop-ing and implementing the energy efficiency program in regions and municipalities of Russia. One of the five indocators set in the order refers to the municipal residential housing and buildings.

On regional level, the following legal documents on energy efficiency have been adopted:

> In 2010 the government of St. Pe-tersburg adopted the regional meth-odology “Recommendations for energy efficiency of residential and public buildings – RMD 2009”. This document unites all requirements presented in various standards and sets norms for the monthly and an-nual consumption of final energy of state-owned buildings (residential part of the building), including:

> (a) thermal energy used for heat-ing, air permeability of the build-ing, ventilation, air conditioning, other systems (separately) and

> (b) electric energy which are high-er than Building Standard and Norms 23-02-2003 “Thermal pro-tection of buildings.”

> These calculations should be taken into account as a requirement both for newly built and renovated hous-es. The document does not set strict requirements for the use of specific materials and parts of the buildings. Instead, it sets requirements for the level of energy consumption by the building and its energy perfor-mance which are obligatory for all newly constructed and refurbished buildings, if the works are financed by the city budget. Construction projects, which are financed pri-vately, can voluntary follow these recommendations.

> As the base level of energy efficien-cy, the energy-efficiency class C was adopted for meeting the Build-ing Standard and Norms “Thermal protection of buildings” of 23 Feb-ruary 2003. The indicators of en-ergy efficiency classes for all build-ings are given in the Appendix 3 at the end of the document.

> Order № 262 of 28 May 2010 of the Ministry of Regional Development which establishes the requirements for energy efficiency for buildings and structures. More information on this order can be found below.

The № Order 262The Order № 262 describes in detail the energy efficiency for buildings and struc-tures of various designs and purposes with regard to the region of their utilisa-tion. The set of approved documents aims at considering the standardized energy efficiency of buildings and structures at

all stages of the lifecycle and workflow: from the decision on the construction of the building to decommissioning of the building. It applies to the construction and renovation of residential buildings but excludes listed buildings as well as detached and single family houses with not more than three storeys, country houses and garden houses.

The Order stipulates the levels of spend-ing on heating and ventilation per area for residential and public buildings of various purposes. The rates to reduce the cost of heating and ventilation are set in accordance with the region of operation:

> For regions in which the current level of expenses for heating re-fers to 8,000 heat degree-days, the standardized indicators of energy consumption listed in the tables annexed to the order should be re-duced by 5%.

> Residential and public buildings up to 75 m height (25 storeys) shall transite to energy-efficiency class B and reduce the energy consump-tion for heating and ventilation:

1. Newly constructed buildings: 15% reduction to the baseline level (2007) by 2011, additionally 15% from 2016 and 10% more from 2020 on;

2. Reconstructed buildings and econ-omy-class housing: 15% reduction to the baseline level (2007) from 2016 and additionally 15% by 2020.

The Order recommends to reduce the cost of heating and ventilation. From 2011 to 2016 the following measures shall be taken:


> use of heating units with automat-ed controls, including facade-based sensing;

> increase heat resistance of the ex-ternal envelope of the building with respect to the base level;

> replace windows for energy-effi-cient ones10.

From 2016 on the following activities are recommended:

> use windows with even greater en-ergy efficiency;

10 The federal building codes require that the energy-saving windows of residential buildings should have a coefficient of heat transfer resistance not less than 0.56 K/Wm². But with the adoption of the new federal law on energy efficiency in November 2009, there is a tendency to impose more stringent standards. So from January 2011 better insulated windows of apartment buildings in Moscow have to match the level of 0.8 K/Wm².

> additional increase in heat resist-ance of external envelopes;

> use heat recuperation devices, energy-efficient heating and ven-tilation systems, district heating systems with energy efficiency co-efficients above 0.65, and decentral-ized heating systems.

According this order, commissioned construction, reconstructed and major repaired buildings should be equipped from now on with:

1. energy and water meters estab-lished at the entry of the building, apartments, common and leased areas. The used devices should be able to separate energy metering by time of the day;

2. energy efficient heating devices used in public places (first two classes if these are established);

3. automatic device that controls the heat supply to be installed on entry


to the building, structure, and also on the facade of the building or its part;

4. thermostats and flow meters of ther-mal energy consumption, heating devices installed on the vertical heat-ing systems, thermostats for heating devices and heat flow meters in hori-zontal, door-to-door heating systems for apartments with a total area up to 100 m2, or heat meters in apartments of a larger area;

5. heat exchangers to heat water for hot water supply with automatic regulation of its temperature set at the entry to the building or part of the building;

6. motors for fans of ventilation sys-tems, elevators, water circulation in heating systems, hot and cold water systems, and air condition-ing systems;

7. energy efficient elevators (first two classes if these are established) ;

8. devices, optimizing the work of ventilation systems (air valves in the windows or walls, automati-cally providing outside air supply on demand, heat recuperation; re-circulation);

9. water pressure regulators in cold and hot water at the entry of the building, structure (for multi-fami-ly homes - on entering the building, apartments, common areas);

10. automatic indoor air temperature reduction systems in public build-ings after hours during the cold season;

11. devices to reduce peak load in the cooling system through the use of chilled ceilings for the accumula-tion of cold in the night;

12. energy-efficient lighting fixtures in common areas;

13. equipment, capable of switching off lighting in unoccupied areas

of common use (motion sensors, switches);

14. reactive power compensation de-vices when operating electric mo-tors;

15. door closers (in apartment build-ings - all doors in public places);

16. the second door in the vestibule entrances, ensuring minimal loss of thermal energy, or revolving doors;

17. opening limiters for windows (for apartment buildings - in the com-mon areas and apartments).

Standards and requirements for old housesRegulations aimed at energy efficiency in buildings in Russia appeared in the mid-1990s. In 1995, fundamental amend-ments were added to the federal code on building thermal engineering, provid-ing for a 20% reduction in energy con-sumption for heating, and 40% starting from 2000. From 1998 to 2003, regional

building energy codes in more than 50 regions of Russia were developed. Uti-lizing the experience of energy efficiency of housing in developed countries as well as the experience gained in the re-gions of Russia, a new national building code, the SNIP 23-02-2003 “Thermal Per-formance of buildings”, was developed and adopted in 2003 defining federal energy efficiency standards. Also the accompanying design manual Code of Practice 23-101-2004 “Design of thermal performance of buildings”, and the new code SNIP 31-01-2003 “Multifamily resi-dential buildings” with a section entitled “Energy efficiency” were adopted.

The thermal and energy performance of existing buildings is also regulated by the National Standards GOST 31166-03, GOST 31167-03 and GOST 31168-03.

According to the Russian Federation State Committee for Construction, Architectural and Housing Policy De-cree Nr. 18-11 of 02/02/1998, buildings which are built in 2000 or later will not be taken into operation if the building does not meet the heat transfer resist-ance requirements.

Table 2. Specific estimates of the heat consumption for heating of living houses, per sq. m, at outside tH

o = –25 °C, qo, W/m2

Number of stores 1–3 4–6 7–10 11–14 >15

If the building is built before 1995 185/135 80/70 75/65 85 85

If the building is built after 2000 85/65 55 50 45 40


Table 3. Norm of consumption of thermal energy for different types of multi storey dwelling houses (kWh/m²/y)11

The types of the residential houses (multi-storey houses)

Norm of consumption of thermal energy,

KW/m² of total area of residential premises in

a month

1. Houses built before the Revolution, with major overhaul

252.6

2. Houses built before the Revolution, without major overhaul

255.36

3. Houses built in 1918-1930 category of “Constructivism”

295.92

4. Houses built in 1931-1956 Category “Stalinist architecture”

263.76

5. Houses built in 1957-1970. Category “Khruschevkas brick”

233.04

6. Houses built in 1957-1970. Category “Khruschevkas panel “

228.48

7. Brick Houses built in 1970-1980. 226.08

8. Panel Houses built in 1970-1980 219.12

9. Homes built in 1980 -1999. Category “New construction brick”

237.24

10. Homes built 1980 -1999 years. Category “New construction panels”

219.12

11. Old worn out wooden houses 307.08

12. Houses built in 1945-1948. so called “German” 307.08

13. Homes built after 1999. Category “New construction brick”

209.28

14. Homes built after 1999. Category “New construction panel”

212.16

11 These norms are calculated on the basis of the comfortable inside temperature and are used for the level of heat supply. The source - http://gov.spb.ru/gov/admin/otrasl/energ_kom/12_1/17_3/23_22 - the order of St Petersburg Tariffs Committee No 196-r, 07.12.2009.

Estimations of the energy consumption of buildings in EU countries with simi-lar climate conditions show much lower

energy consumptions as those shown in the above tables. This shows the huge


potential for improvements of the energy performance of the buildings in Russia.

Energy auditsMandatory energy audits including the issuing of an energy passport are car-ried out for buildings and facilities of organisations, which are financed by the state budget (including municipalities) and supply energy resources. Audits are also mandatory for organisations with bills for all energy sources exceeding 10 million rubles per year (approx. 250,000 Euros in spring 2013). This rule applies to industries, service companies (includ-ing residential housing management companies if the scale of their activities is big enough), retailers and companies which own a lot of premises of different kinds, sometimes including residential houses. It was foreseen that an energy audit should be held in these organisa-tions until 31.12.2012. A follow-up sur-vey of the energy use should be carried out at least once each 5 years.

For other categories of buildings and fa-cilities energy audits can be conducted on a voluntary basis (according to ch.15. p.5, federal law 261). However, a state supervision and control should take place for checking whether the multi apartment house of a certain energy per-formance class meets the requirements of energy efficiency when being used.

The State Housing Inspectorate defines the energy performance class of audited multi-storey apartment houses, based on the current values of the energy per-formance, and later on checks if the en-ergy performance of the buildings still

corresponds to the defined class. The re-quirements for energy efficiency are be-ing revised and corrected every 5 years. From 1 January 2010 on, only companies that are members of a self-regulatory or-ganisation for energy surveying are al-lowed to carry out energy audits.

According to an energy audit expert interviewed during the preparation of this brochure, despite the positive inten-sion to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, there are some obstacles and disadvantages in the auditing process. First, the price for energy audits is high or undefined. There is no guarantee that the audit costs will pay-off, and conse-quently the organisations who plan to audit their energy consumption do not see the audit costs as an investment that will be “returned” by the future energy savings and the consequently lower costs. Secondly, the formal requirements for the format of the energy passport, which has to be registered and kept in the Ministry of Energy, are complicated. More than 30 different forms need to be filled and there a lot of formal require-ments, which do not allow any room for flexibility for different types of organisa-tions. As a result, some passports do not meet the formal requirements and thus cannot be registered. This long and bu-reaucratic process and delays jeopard-ized the compliance with the require-ment to carry out the audits by the end of December 2012.

Stakeholders in the energy efficiency process 29 |

Quality control and enforcement of

requirementsThe Russian Federation Government Or-der № 318 of April 25 2011 sets the rules for State control over the compliance with the legal requirements on energy conservation and improving energy effi-ciency. It also amends certain acts of the Russian Federation Government related to the incorporation of energy efficiency

requirements into building codes and norms. The monitoring of the imple-mentation of legislation on energy sav-ing and energy efficiency improvements shall be performed by the authorised federal executive bodies and executive authorities of the Russian Federation in the form of planned and unplanned documentary and on-site inspections. The order determines the frequency of routine inspections (2 times in 3 years) as well as the reasons for unscheduled inspections.

Stakeholders in the energy efficiency process

In order to increase energy efficiency of residential buildings, different stake-holders need to be involved. This is also highlighted by the Energy Efficiency Law of the Russian Federation from 23 November 2009 No. 261-FZ which sets the requirements to manage the energy efficiency of buildings and structures. The law includes indicators for the en-ergy efficiency of the whole building, the energy efficiency of architectural-planning decisions, the energy efficiency of elements of the building and design as well as determined materials and technologies to be used in the overhaul. From these aspects, the responsibilities of the stakeholder regarding the work on energy efficiency are derived.

Different stakeholders have different opportunities to influence the increase

of energy efficiency in the living houses sector. The majority of the living houses in St. Petersburg, for example, are not equipped with heat meters or thermo-stats, so the citizens and even the as-sociations of the flat owners have no opportunity to regulate or manage the heat consumption, thus a potential for energy saving and energy efficiency is at the moment mainly seen in the field of generation and transportation.

AuthoritiesNational and regional

authorities

Different national ministries adopt legisla-tion regarding energy efficiency aspects:


and an owner of the house have to place the information about the class of energy efficiency on the façade of the house.

Flat owners

The owners of buildings, structures and facilities are required to keep those indicators of energy efficiency of the house during the house’s lifespan, and they also have to improve energy ef-ficiency performance. This is also the responsibility of the person or the or-ganization, which are responsible for the maintenance of a house. Energy ef-ficiency standards for the house should be reviewed every five years and the improvement has to be planned. The person/organization which is respon-sible for the maintenance of a dwelling house has to notify the owners of the proposed energy efficiency measures, and has to develop appropriate plans and activities. During the heating sea-son heat input has to be adjusted ac-cording to the outside conditions, to achieve the savings.

Interest of an owner of the premises is aimed at reducing inefficient loss of resources to ensure more comfortable living conditions, or reducing the pay-ments for utility services, or both. The main costs of energy resources paid by the households are related to the pay-ments for heat (in most regions of Russia the share of district heating service fees in 2009 ranged from 50% to 60% of the total payment for public utilities. One of the examples is given here http://www.kzn.ru/page11770.htm/show/21427, but a simple analysis of a utility bill just proves this figures.

But the greatest effect on reducing heat consumption can be received by activi-ties undertaken on a scale of the entire building, not just a separate apartment. The implementation of such measures requires a joint decision and joint fund-ing by the all owners of the premise.

The difficulty is that the owners of apartments in tenement houses with-out homeowners association are frag-mented, unable to assess the technical condition and energy efficiency of their homes, respectively, cannot themselves pose the issue of energy efficiency as a matter of a common interest of the own-ers. Homeowners associations, where apartment owners share a common con-cern about the house, organize activities to reduce heat losses across the house, which are far more effective than inter-ventions in their own apartments.

The most common example of the en-ergy efficiency effort by the flat owners in their own flats is only a replacement of the equipment and various devices with more energy efficient ones, install-ing new light bulbs etc. This helps to reduce electricity consumption, to some extent. But any effort to improve insula-tion or to improve efficiency of the use of thermo power, made within the flat, results only in improving the comfort in the flat. As there are no in-flat thermal energy meters and heat regulators, it is impossible to find out if any improve-ments have been reached.

The problem, however, is that the imple-mentation of measures improving energy performance of buildings requires special professional knowledge, which the mem-bers and chairmen of homeowners asso-

Fig 5. Finding an agreement among home owners is one of the biggest challenges for major refurbishment projects.


> The Ministry of Industry and Trade imposes rules and regulations in the field of production and devel-ops and implements the measures of the governmental support for the production of more energy ef-ficient goods and products.

> The Ministry of Regional Develop-ment imposes the requirements for the energy efficiency level of build-ings and develops recommenda-tions for energy saving and energy efficiency measures for different common infrastructures.

> The Ministry of Economic Devel-opment adopts the requirements for the energy efficiency of prod-ucts used in the structural elements of buildings.

> The Ministry of Energy imposes the requirements for energy pass-ports, based on the mandatory en-ergy audits.

The Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervi-sion is responsible for monitoring the compliance with the energy efficiency requirements for design, construction and reconstruction.

On regional level, the Regional State Construction Supervision authorities play an important role, defining the en-ergy efficiency class of a building and verifying if the buildings that have start-ed to operate comply with the energy ef-ficiency requirements. Regional authori-ties adopt the energy conservation and energy efficiency measures related to common property of the flat owners in an apartment house.

Local authorities

An important role in the process to-wards more energy efficiency is played by the city authorities. They run system-ic programs to undertake the moderni-sation of district boilers and centrals, so that they use gas instead of liquid fuels to generate both heat and electricity. The city authorities work in partnerships with the generating companies and heat suppliers. As currently the heat pro-duced and delivered to the consumers is measured only partly, currently the most important aspect for them is to install meters at the distribution heat mains. Without meters there are no incentives and possibilities for the companies to optimise their cost-benefit balance and even if the efficiency was increased and energy saved it would not be possible to evaluate this.. When a system of meas-urements and modernisation will be in place, there will also be an opportunity for the citizens to contribute with their own efforts. It is expected that the cost for energy will grow, which would lead to more economic incentives for energy saving measures.

Both for the existing housing stock and for new buildings the focus regarding en-ergy efficiency measures is by the city au-thorities put on energy generation. How-ever, the authorities as well as the energy companies understand the necessity to motivate citizens to reduce their energy consumption. Therefore, starting from 2012 the new buildings will be equipped with heat meters in the apartments.

The state control bodies (Rostechnad-zor) define a class of energy efficiency of an apartment building, and a developer

Stakeholders in the energy efficiency process 33 |

ciations usually do not possess. Existing experience of the individual condomini-ums and housing cooperatives, which are trying to reduce unnecessary costs for utilities in the interests of its members, include the installation of the meters for common resource consumption and im-plementation of specific separate meas-ures for energy and resource savings. Usually these associations and coopera-tives use own money of the members, or the money saved by reducing consump-tion of resources as a result of previous work. This experience suggests that:

> firstly, the apartment owners may be motivated to invest in the re-source efficiency when they see the economic effect - reducing the cost of utilities,

> and secondly, that the energy effi-ciency measures made with the use of own money of owners / home-owners associations can be made only " step by step", doing small bits and pieces which can be af-forded. A comprehensive energy efficiency upgrade of the house can be made only with an access to the bank loans or large fiscal subsidies.

House management companies

The managing company is also an im-portant stakeholder in the process of in-creasing the energy efficiency. The man-aging companies may also have their own interest and motivation in improv-ing energy efficiency, for example in the optimization of lighting of public areas, reconstruction of heating system of the

house. The optimization of resource consumption for the house’s common use can reduce the cost of utilities, while increasing the amount of funds allo-cated for maintenance of common prop-erty and increasing the payments for the management company’s services. Re-source saving in each multi-apartment building has a great economic poten-tial for the development of professional housing management.

Energy suppliersThere are different types of energy sup-pliers which work with the residential houses and provide their services to the managing companies and associations of the flat owners. First of all, different suppliers supply heat and electric power to the districts of the city.

As a result of the recent reforms, 3 sepa-rately functioning types of companies were established with regard of electric-ity supply. They are electric networks, generation companies, and distributing companies. This has been done as a part of the preparation to improving electric energy market, and hopefully in the future allowing the various producers to sell the energy to the grid. The sup-pliers of electric power are developing their new services in the area of energy efficiency. The suppliers are interested in raising energy efficiency of their own equipment, but also on the consumers’ side. The companies can consider the en-ergy efficiency activities and energy ser-vice contracts as a way of diversification of their services and selling new service products on the market.


Difficulties regarding energy efficiency in buildings

The expression “energy efficiency” is re-cently used more and more often in Rus-sia and in various contexts, such as leg-islative, practical, financial and techno-logical. The market of energy efficiency goods and services is developing rapid-ly in Russia, and there are many interna-tional and domestic actors working on this issue. However, there are different barriers to improving energy efficiency in the residential housing sector and the efforts of the authorities, businesses and inhabitants.

Public awarenessBesides the appropriate legislative framework, the awareness on energy ef-ficiency issues of stakeholders is of high importance to increase energy efficiency. There are a lot of information sources on different aspects of energy efficiency available on internet that address dif-ferent stakeholders, from professionals to the general public, and are provided by authorities, commercial companies or NGOs.

In principle, citizens are aware about the necessity of energy efficiency and perceive energy efficiency measures as unavoidable. However, the necessity for a complex approach in refurbishment seems not very well known. Further-more, a general mistrust in the authori-ties can be observed and therefore a lot of people expect rather losses than ben-

efits from most of the changes. Reasons for this assumption are, missing or not successful dialog and public discussion about the energy efficiency law, and the fact that the benefits are not obvious to the citizens.

There is a number of NGOs working on energy efficiency and energy saving targeted at the citizens. These programs mainly refer to electricity saving (e.g. by using more efficient appliances, optimis-ing of the use of devices etc.) and to shar-ing practical tips on personal level on how to insulate a flat or a house. How-ever, the incentives for people to do so are low, and therefore the NGOs need to focus on raising the awareness and feel-ing of responsibility of the citizens. The Housing Committee of St. Petersburg also promotes energy efficiency meas-ures by the citizens through its website (www.gilkom-complex.ru), where a separate section on energy efficiency tips has been created.

Ownership structure and management of buildingsAnother obstacles regarding increased energy efficiency is related to the own-ership structure of flats and houses and the relationships between the owners and managing companies, which are responsible for providing the services to the houses. It is hardly possible in Rus-sia to find an apartment building with

Difficulties regarding energy efficiency in buildings 35 |

just one form of ownership, i.e. where all premises are owned by the state or municipality, or by citizens only. Practi-cally every apartment building has both private and municipal apartments. The multiplicity of owners and their differ-ent financial possibilities make it dif-ficult to develop common solutions for managing the house.

Until 2005, almost 100% of the housing management and services was provided by governmental and municipal insti-tutions and enterprises. Business com-panies dealing with the management of residential real estate were practi-cally non-existent. Until the end of 2009, 32% of the apartment buildings own-ers in Russia had chosen to outsource the control of the houses to managing companies. Up to 8% of the apartment buildings established a partnership of flat owners. The remaining houses are managed by the owners themselves or the owners of premises have not chosen a control method yet.

The new management agencies are still at the initial stage regarding their professional development. The lack of expertise and experience leads to a management approach which is domi-nated by short-sighted solutions and a lack of longer-term planning in the management of the apartment build-ings. Besides, the companies providing services in the residential housing sector are not specialized enough. Thus, the as-sociations of flat owners as well as the managing companies usually solve only the most burning problems necessary “to survive” and often do not show any interest in energy and resource saving

which is neither an immediate problem nor leads to short-term benefits.

At the same time, apartment buildings have a significant potential for reducing the energy consumption. If this poten-tial will used, the managing organisa-tions and flat owner associations could benefit financially as they would be able to pay less for the utilities and reallocate the money for a better maintenance and the prevention of problem.

Socio-economic aspectsIn contrast to more economically devel-oped countries, where the residential space is often owned by persons who have the financial opportunity to main-tain the buildings in good conditions, in Russia a significant proportion of dwell-ings is owned by people or organisa-tions with low incomes, who are unable to use own money for maintaining and improving the conditions of the apart-ment buildings and for improving their energy efficiency.

Up to now, the existing very low "politi-cal" tariffs for utility services for the pop-ulation lead to little economic incentives, or too long payback periods for energy efficiency measures. If the tariffs remain at the current level, the average payback time can be assumed to be 20-30 years12. The tariffs for citizens of St. Petersburg in 2011 were:

> electricity: 2,8 RUB (0,07 Euro) per 1 kWh,

12 http://confident.spb.ru/engineering/news/182/


> heating (according to the norms and depending on the type of the building): 15-20 RUB (up to 0,5 cents) per sq.m per month,

> gas: 33 RUB (0,78 Euro) per person per month.

There are no effective modern financial loan instruments, which could be used by owners of the premises (and house owner association management com-pany) and provide good results in the current economic climate.

Additionally, a significant uncertainty in almost all areas of economic and social life as well as the not clear or little ben-efits from energy efficiency measures for the inhabitants do often provide little incentives for implementing such meas-ures A contributory factor is the fact that a significant proportion of residential premises in St. Petersburg belong to low income households who often do not have the means for modernising and re-furbishing of apartment buildings. This also leads to thinking in rather short-terms in which energy efficiency does not play a major role.

A lot of house owner associations has been created with the aim of receiving a subsidy for an overhaul, as foreseen by the Federal Law № -185 “About Fund of assistance to reforming hous-ing and communal services”. The most active owners have the possibility to get up to 95% of the costs of the major re-pairs back from the state (at least 5% of the costs they are obliged to contribute themselves). However, the application procedure for receiving the money from the municipalities is difficult.

Although the privatisation process started already more than 20 years ago, a lot of people are still more used to the perspec-tive of being renter of a flat than its owner. This leads to a limited feeling of responsi-bility and a certain passivity regarding the residential living space which is partly en-couraged by the state authorities.

Material and technologies In addition to and the above mentioned socio-economic and organisational bar-riers to energy efficiency, there are some technical obstacles which make it diffi-cult to promote and implement energy efficiency programs. These refer mainly to older houses, especially those built in the 1970s-80s, as new buildings are be-ing built considering the recently intro-duced Energy Efficiency Law and are made of the modern construction ma-terials with appropriate insulation and meters (at least on the level of the whole house). In older buildings, the quality of the house and an efficient use of resourc-es was not a high priority. The low price of natural resources contributed to the low attention paid to energy efficiency.

In the past years, a big quantity of new houses have been constructed in Rus-sia. This extensive construction activity allowed to provide many people with their own living space. However, the quickly conducted construction at a time when energy was very cheap also led to negative consequences: For the construction the available materials, i.e. mainly concrete panels and blocks, where used, but often no proper insu-lation was done. Due to the low prices of energy the level of heat-shielding of


the building envelopes were built much lower than in countries with similar climatic conditions asRussiaThe aver-age heat consumption of buildings in Finland and Sweden, for example, is estimated as 139.5 kWh/sq.m per year, while in Russia it is 290.5 kWh/sq.m per year13 (. Although the fast construction of new buildings

The inhabitants that nowadays live in these flats have significant expenses for heating and waterand are are confronted with bad insulation, little possibilities to change this situation and no possibilities to regulate the heat energy consumption (i.e. neither to adjust the room tempera-ture to their needs, nor to pay according to the actual heat consumption) due to the old heating system.

Experts of the St. Petersburg Universi-ties, such as the State University of Ar-chitecture and Civil Engineering and the Polytechnic University have developed methodologies for insulating the old inefficient buildings, and in this way reducing heat losses. These methods are used for the renovation of older house blocks (e.g., “khrushchevka” houses), however they are not used on a large scale yet.

Among the reasons for not implement-ing the new standards of thermal insu-lation and applying the latest achieve-ments for increasing the energy efficien-cy of buildings are the following:

> The production of heat-insulating materials per capita in Russia is 4-5

13 This figures were presented by experts of the S. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

times lower than in countries like Sweden, Finland, Germany and the United States.

> The construction industry in Russia has long been focused on industrial manufacturing of building enve-lopes, where the main material used was lightweight expanded aggregate concrete. Today, due to a lack of natural resources, the pro-duction of lightweight expanded clay gravel is extremely limited.

Insulation

One of the ways to improve energy ef-ficiency of the building envelopes of residential, public and industrial build-ings is to use effective insulation in the construction of exterior walls, coverings, ceilings and walls. Very good results can be achieved by placing high quality insulation material on the outside clad-ding, when designing new and renovat-ing existing buildings. The insulation of individual flats from inside is more problematic and may lead to mold in the flats. A complex refurbishment, in-cluding the improvement of insulation, a change of the heating system, instal-ment of ventilation and other aspect brings the best energy saving results. A thermal upgrading of old buildings re-quires a quite high financial investment, that needs to be applied once, but can also be stretched into several stages. It is estimated that in average the costs for a thermal upgrading of an old building are between 5-10% of the value of the house, and the economic effect after the implementation of the measures are sav-ings of the heating of ca. 50%. The costs


for upgrading the thermal background in this category pay off after 5-10 years. There is the possibility to receive subsi-dies for these works by the municipali-

ties. Criteria for receiving such subsidies are the necessity of the repairs, the com-plexity, level of self-organisation and fis-cal discipline of the owners

Example for the cost calculation of a comprehensive energy-efficiency overhaul in St. Petersburg

The 12-story panel apartment buildings in St. Petersburg (Russian-German pilot project) consists of 214 apartments with a total area of 10 700 square meters. The major repair works include: roof repair, insulation of facades, attics, basements, re-placement of pipe and other common equipment, installation of metering devices and control units and installation of new windows in the stare cases.

The total estimated costs of the repairs are 63.13 million rubles (1,58 million euros). If the repairs will be supported by the budgetary subsidy, the cost for 1 sqm will be 295 rubles, i.e. the costs for a flat of 50 sqm will be 14,750 rubles (370 euros), or 1,229 rubles (30 euros) per month, if all payments are made within one year.

The potential saving of water and heat can be up to 50%. The heat savings as a result of energy-efficient upgrade can be up to 60%. The reduction of a monthly payment for energy can be about 17 euros (627 rubles) per apartment. (http://www.techemenergy.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140:2011-01-24-11-19-44&catid=47:2011-01-24-07-44-11&Itemid=84).

Financing and fundingA comprehensive modernisation of the building usually involves the modernisa-tion of all equipment and infrastructure in the house. As a result, the maintenance costs can go down and less accidents and emergency situations will occur. The owners of premises pay a monthly fee for the maintenance of the building. As the maintenance costs usually decrease after modernisation (according to examples after modernisation the costs are only 20-37% of the previous fees), the savings can be used to repay the modernisation of the house. Examples show that often

this way of refunding the credit taken up for the modernisation is chosen. This is in particular the case for houses which are managed by associations of flat owners. Management companies less often re-duce the management and maintenance fees as this would also mean a reduction of their profits.

Another way of financing the implemen-tation of resource efficiency measures is renting parts of the common property of the apartment building. This option is only available to owners of buildings, which have non-residential premises in the common property and are attractive


for tenants, or which have the possibility to offer there outside walls for advertise-ment. This way of funding is easier for owner associations as here the owners can easier control the expenditure of their funds.

A comprehensive modernisation can only be conducted if the owners receive a loan with acceptable conditions and if there are is budgetary aid, e.g. targeted subsidies or grants, as a comprehensive modernisation is in general too cost in-tensive to be paid by the owners alone. If there are no other financial resources, the energy efficiency mostly needs to be increased by low-cost individual ac-tivities, planned over a long period (10 years at least). This, however, can lead to problems in the flats later, such as mould and poor ventilation.

In order to get funding, bank loans or subsidies, the home owners usually need to make an own contribution, which they can in most cases only do if they have the possibility to save some money.

According to the Housing Code (Clause 5 Part 2 of Art. 145) associations of own-ers can create a fund to restore and re-pair the common property in an apart-ment building and its equipment. This possibility does not exist for houses managed by management companies. The creation of a fund as a mechanism for financing (or co-financing) energy ef-ficiency and modernisation measures by an association of owners, needs to be ap-proved by the general meeting of mem-bers. The money paid into such a fund is subject to tax exemption. The possibility to create funds is a clear advantage of

condominiums and associations of the flat owners.

The following factors limit the range of possible financial models for improving energy efficiency in apartment buildings:

> A cumulative model, in which the funds for major repairs and energy efficiency are created through ac-cumulating parts of the monthly payments of homeowners, allows only limited major repairs and does not solve the problem of increasing the energy efficiency of residential buildings, as the sums accumulat-ed are not sufficient and collected only slowly.

> The existing measures of state sup-port for the overhaul do not stimu-late the owners of residential build-ings to contribute with their own funds as the procedure of applying for the subsidy and receiving the money is very complicated and re-quires a full agreement by all asso-ciation members. Besides, there are now good practice examples for the people to learn from.

> The managing companies in the housing sector are currently not interested in investing their own money in improving energy effi-ciency of the houses. There are no positive practices of energy service contracts yet, partly due to a long period of return on investment (low utility resources’ cost) and a lack of experience.

> Some Russian banks are interested in providing loans for energy effi-ciency, but the proposed terms are


mostly unacceptable for the poten-tial borrowers, i.e. the owners of the premises, due to a high bank inter-est and a lack of financial literacy by the association of house owner.

The models of financing energy effi-ciency measures in apartment buildings should be designed specifically for dif-ferent kinds of ownership and manage-ment, i.e. firstly, for owners of premises of apartment buildings and, secondly, for companies that manage apartment buildings. The most important thing is to create an acceptable financial model so it is possible and interesting for the owners to upgrade the housing stock. Both owner associations and manage-ment companies are in most cases not able to implement energy efficiency measures on their own expenses, there-fore, financial models should include loan mechanisms as well.

Many homeowners regard energy effi-ciency not only as an investment project with specific indicators of return, but as

an investment in a better quality of life and in the capitalisation of their own property. For management companies, on the contrary, implementing energy efficiency measures is solely an invest-ment project, where the critical indica-tors are return and risk.

In order to increase the energy efficiency of residential buildings, the following aspects should be considered:

> First of all, strict compliance with the new energy efficiency standards imposed for buildings is necessary.

> The system of data and informa-tion collection, on how much and where energy is used needs to be improved and the information must be distributed among the stakehold-ers, including the premises owners.

> Good effects might be received also from performance-based con-tracts, in which the home owners associations or managing compa-nies are involved

Current practice and good cases in St. Petersburg

The following three examples shall give an impression of currently chosen meth-ods and approaches for improving the energy efficiency of St. Petersburg hous-ing stock.

Case 1: Re-development of residential areas in St Petersburg.In May 2008, the city government of St. Petersburg adopted a programme for the improvement of existing residential

Current practice and good cases in St. Petersburg 41 |

areas14 which has the aim to improve the living conditions of hundreds of thou-sands of the city’s residents by provid-ing modern and well-functioning living space and in this way also have a posi-tive impact on the city’s social and de-mographic development as well as its attractiveness for investment. The sig-nificance and high-priority of this reno-vation programme was included into the city law.

An official city auction to redevelop more than 900 hectares of city land with prefabricated panel housing (so-calles “Krushchevkas”) was launched and won by the company “SPb Renovation”.

“SPb Renovation” developed a plan for these blocks, and is creating new principles and standards of residential construction. The prefabricated panel housing blocks will be replaced by new engineering and social infrastructure, new buildings, which shall lead to a new style of life. The contract between the company and the city administration has been signed until March 2019 when 8 million m² of housing will be build. 35% of the housing will be given to the city for resettlement and the rest will be sold on the real-estate market.

The main characteristics of the new housing renovation project are:

1. 1. The form-building is reinforced/prefabricated monolithic. The main objective of the renovation program is to create a simple, yet functional living space which al-

14 http://gov.spb.ru/gov/admin/otrasl/komstroy/kvartali

lows feeling safe and comfortable. The new flats will have functional and practical layouts (subject to high requirements for insulation and ergonomics), comfortable and spacious common areas (halls with a quality finishing, stairs with natural lighting, etc.).

2. 2. For the buildings, state-of-the-art engineering systems are used, including purge ventilation with heat recovery, sound-proof tech-nologies in sanitation, floor-based horizontal layout of pipes, apart-ment-based metering and all-house dispatching equipment. Particular attention is paid to energy conser-vation and efficiency. The company aims at design solutions that will reduce the energy consumption of buildings up to 40%, which in turn is relevant in a sustained trend to harness energy costs.

3. 3. An important aspect is also the aim to improvement the living sur-rounding, i.e. ensuring their safety and creating good conditions for the inhabitants’ comfort by includ-ing quiet green courtyards with small architectural forms, space for walking and exercising, pedes-trian zones with social services and shops in walking distance.


Case 2: Energy efficient construction.In the district Primorsky of St. Peter-burg, the company “NCC Real Estate LLC” is currently developing a mul-tifunctional residential project called “Swedish Krona”15 with 10 monolithic brick buildings of 9-14 storeys to be situ-ated in the northern part of the Udelny park, near the metro station Udelnaya. The construction project won the first prize at the Green Awards 2010 as the best residential building project.

15 A description of the house and the flats can be found at the project website http://swedishkrona.ru/en/house/ .

This project not only demonstrates an example of modern energy efficient con-struction, but also suggests the tenants a more responsible lifestyle. According to NCC representatives, most of the con-struction materials used for this project are produced locally. The tenants will be able to manage energy consumption and the level of comfort in their flats. As the majority of St. Petersburg’s inhabit-ants do not have experience in operating the new heating and electricity equip-ment which is installed in the flats, the company runs a Housing School for the new owners of the flats. The knowledge shall help people to maintain the heat-ing, ventilation and electricity systems in good working conditions while en-suring the comfort of living.

Case 3: Renovation of “khrushchevka house” at

Torzhkovskaya str., 16In 2000, a renovation project for a five-storey panel building built in 1962 (Tor-zhkovskaya street, 16) was realised in St. Petersburg.16 Effective insulation and other energy-saving technologies were used. This has reduced the energy consumption for the entire heating season by 51% com-pared to the other houses of this type .

The pilot project was funded by the Dan-ish fund for roof houses in Russia as part of the technical assistance program to sup-port economic and social reforms in Rus-sia. The reconstruction works included the insulation of walls (stone wool PlasterBatts 80 mm was used for thermal insulation of the facades, LightBatts 200 mm for the at-tic), the repair of windows and doors, a partial replacement of plumbing, the instal-lation of engineering systems control and metering devices as well as the repair of drainage. An attic was built on top of the house as additional sixth floor, with 524 m² more living space (i.e. additional 20% to the residential area of the house). The attic was divided into nine apartments andsold to the administration of Primorsky region. The reconstruction was carried out without evacuation of residents.

16 h t t p : / / s p b . g d e e t o t d o m . r u / e x p e r t /tendencies/1833751/

Fig 6. Images showing the process of building an energy efficient building by NCC Company. The pictures are provided by NCC ex-perts during EEFIRUS study visit.


Despite the renovations and modern appearance of the building, real-estate buyers have not shown more interest in the house on Torzhkovs-kaya, 16 than to the ad-jacent panel buildings. The apartments in the house in Torzhkovskaya street, 16 were in 2011 on sale at prices not differ-ing from the apartments sold in prefabricated houses in the neigh-bourhood. The highest-quality apartments in this building are located in the attic as the other apartments have not been re-planned and are still small, but there is no elevator to reach the sixth floor.

Fig 7. The building before (above) and after (below) reconstruction

(http://spb.gdeetotdom.ru/ex-pert/tendencies/1833751/)

Conclusions 45 |

Conclusions

The new energy efficiency law in Rus-sia is at least a first step towards an in-crease in energy efficiency and might be able to lead to a higher awareness on the amount of resources consumed. Part of the legislator’s plans is to achieve the en-ergy efficiency standards used in the EU.

However, in order to successfully imple-ment the provisions of the new law, it is necessary to inform both consumers and producers, as well as to provide educa-tion and training to officials who cur-

rently often lack the necessary knowl-edge and specialisation..

Furthermore, the process of developing and adopting legislation regarding the enforcement of the new law should be more open and transparent. It would be important to ensure the immediate publication of draft documents on all relevant Internet resources in order to give stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the discussions and in an open dialogue with the representatives of the authorities.


Annexes

Annex 1Table 4. Distribution of dwellings (individually defined buildings)

by material of walls (2009)

Wall materialRock, brick

panels blocks wood monolit Mixed material

Other material

Leningrad Oblast 17,303 322 4,122 145,182 8 4,344 4,473

St Petersburg 4,311 31 1,086 16,150 33 862 1,957

Table 5. Distribution of multi-apartment houses (individually defined buildings) by material of walls (2009)

Wall materialRock, brick

panels blocks wood monolit Mixed material

Other material

Leningrad Oblast 12,798 6,350 1,661 28,551 25 314 1,579

St Petersburg 14,632 5,403 1,294 2,324 435 223 426

Annex 2Table 6. Structure of housing stock by ownership

State ownership

Municipal ownership

Private ownership

Rate of indi-vidual prop-erty within

private ownership

Other

Leningrad Oblast 2.2 18.2 79.3 74.7 0.3

St Petersburg 20.3 - 79.7 75.5 0.0

Annexes 47 |

Table 7. Private housing - total space of the living houses, which belong to the citizens (inhabitants) million sq m. by year

2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Leningrad Oblast 18 26 28 30 31 32

St Petersburg 31 67 72 76 79 83

Table 8. Urban housing stock owned by citizens in million square metres

2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009


Table 9. Rural housing stock owned by citizens in million square metres

2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

North-West Russia 37 45 46 48 49 51


Annex 3Table 10. Classes of energy efficiency of buildings

Class Designation The deviation of the calculat-ed (actual) value of specific consumption of heat energy for heating the building qh

des from the norm (in %)

Recommended measures

For new and renovated buildings

A Very high Less than 51 Economic incentives

B High - 10 to - 50 Economic incentives

C Normal + 5 to - 9 –

For existing buildings

D Low From + 6 to + 75 Renovation is needed

E Very low More than 76 Serious insulation is required as soon as possible


Annex 4List of information sources used and some references.

> http://confident.spb.ru/engineering/news/182/ > http://www.ng.ru/energy/2010-05-31/11_potencial.html > http://www.rusrev.org/eng/content/review/default.

asp?shmode=2&ids=27&ida=937 > http://www.energosovet.ru/entech.php?idd=37 > http://www.rockwool.ru/press/news/news_viewer?docid=1438 > http://gov.spb.ru/gov/admin/terr/r_frunz/otdel/rayonnoye_hoziaystvo/pro-

gramma_energoeffektivnosty > http://open.energyland.info/news/en_interview/none/56805 > http://energetika.lenexpo.ru/ > http://gov.spb.ru:3000/noframe/law?d&nd=891851679&prevDoc=89185167

9&mark=000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000008OQ0LQ#I0

> http://www.bellona.ru/news/news_2011/1311166515.85 > http://eg.energosovet.ru/pilotnyie_proektyi.html > http://www.spbinno.ru/novosti/seminara_promyshlennost_sankt-peterbur-

ga_dlya_povysheniya_energosberezheniya_v_gorodskom_hozyajstve/ > http://www.irn.ru/news/48536.html > http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat/rosstatsite/main/ > http://www.energohelp.net/articles/learning/62734/ > http://www.buildup.eu/ > http://maenrf.ru/ > http://www.energosovet.ru/bul_stat.php?idd=40 > http://www.ifc.org/russian

for your notES

Baltic Environmental Forum Deutschland e. V.www.bef-de.org

Baltic Environmental Forum Latviawww.bef.lv

Center for Transboundary Cooperation – St. Petersburgwww.ctcspb.ru

This publication was prepared with financial support of the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt) and the European Union.

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