Before Renovation
“As a matter of fact, the one who lives on the fifth floor understands what a leaking roof is. On the other hand, the one who lives on the ground floor does not care at all.”
Average thermal energy consumption for space heating of multi-family buildings build from year 1940 till 1992 are 160 – 180 kWh/m2 per year, which is two till three times worse than in Europe (Zvaigznītis, 2014).
Renovation
The most common criticism towards LIAA (Investment and Development Agency of Latvia) during drafting of the project is related to the fact that they function only as a control mechanism after the project is drafted, while do not help in any other way.
”I came to observe and see that railings are not painted. I asked the girls why it has not been done, and they reply that nobody had given orders, and it is not included in the project either. I said, wait, the repair of the stairway is included in the project, and you want to tell that this is not included in the repairs?”
After Renovation
Often, the renovation project specifically brings people together and makes them think of the building as a shared responsibility.
“In the beginning [it is difficult]. However, one adjusted in the end”
Would you like to see what happens when you renovate your home?
Summary
Decisionmaking in the residential apartment building sector is one of the main obstacles, why apartment building renovation is not actively happening in Latvia. This is important not only in the context of a potential housing crisis, but also because the renovations can make a significant contribution to climate change reduction: on average 30% of the total energy consumption is related to households, that are the biggest consumers of energy Renovation of the apartment buildings is an effective solution to reduce GGE emissions and has a huge potential, but it is not used, because apartment building renovation in Latvia is a very slow process.
The aim of this study is:
To develop specific recommendations to policy makers in order to improve and facilitate the decision- making process model in the multifamily residential buildings population in the prerenovation period.
To carry out an analysis about the use of contracts for the renovation process between citizens and service providers, or renovation implementers, and the investments made and the results achieved in this agreement.
It is necessary to put emphasis on a comprehensive and indepth study of apartment buildings sector, combining social and environmental engineering research methods. Buildings and energy conservation office, together with their partners will seek answers to the following questions:
How to motivate the Latvian people to renovate their homes so that they are comfortable, safe, sustainable and their exploitation creates the least possible impact on climate change?
What business models should be used to defend the interests of the population, and what climate change reducing (energysaving) to introduce as a package of measures to apartment buildings to achieve maximum GGE emission reductions at optimal cost?
In order to achieve the goals, the project will be carried out through the following main activities: conducting interviews, coding and analyzing transcripts, energy consumption monitoring data analysis, report preparation and publicity events.