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As of January 1, 2021, all buildings for which a building permit will be applied for will have to comply with energy class A ++, so architects must hurry if they want to get on another energy class A + train and submit the documents before the end of the year.
Postpone the entry into force of the claim.
Not everyone is satisfied with the procedure that will take effect. Lukas Rekevičius, president of the Lithuanian Chamber of Architects, issued a statement asking the Ministry of the Environment to postpone the introduction of additional requirements and a higher energy class.
“The introduction of new restrictions and the assessment of construction in these times of extreme difficulty due to the situation of the pandemic does not make sense or is not done on time. It would be more appropriate to focus on the balanced improvement of the energy properties of the entire real estate sector, and not only on increasing the energy class requirements for new buildings ”, the letter to the Ministry of the Environment reads.
L to R nuotr./Lukas Rekevičius
According to L. Rekevičius, before taking this decision at the end of 2016, the public consultation was short and incomplete.
“It is believed that not enough information was provided to the public and the new regulations were explained in detail, discussions were lacking and the requirements established by said order were not evaluated and explained in detail,” explains the president of the LAR.
Furthermore, according to the Court, there is no clear and reasonable assessment of the benefits of A ++ energy performance requirements for buildings. It is argued that there is no clear assessment of the benefits of applying A ++ requirements instead of A + to buildings, lack of systematic generalization, no clear assessment of consequences, environmental and human impacts, etc.
Furthermore, the LAR believes that due to the scale of the pandemic and the economic situation in the country, increasing construction cost by imposing additional energy requirements on buildings could pose an additional threat to the survival of small businesses.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Apartments
The LAR also drew attention to a number of directives adopted by the European Parliament, which also pay a lot of attention to old buildings.
In this context, the Court considers that the priority should not be to increase the requirements for new buildings, but rather to renovate existing buildings, i.e. to assess the energy resources of existing buildings and, in the light of the assessments, to upgrade the buildings existing renovating them. (renovating) buildings ”, – he writes in the address signed by L.Rekevičius.
AM sees no reason to delay
Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Environment and its specialists have a different opinion. First of all, it is noted that the requirement that from the beginning of next year all new buildings under construction be almost energy-free and comply with the energy efficiency class A ++ is enshrined in the Construction Law.
Furthermore, this requirement is set out in the 2010 Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council, which stipulates that all new buildings will be near-zero energy buildings no later than December 31, 2020.
The requirement of the Directive was established by transposing it to the provisions of the Construction Law and “Design and Certification of Energy Efficiency of Buildings” in 2012.
“Since then, this requirement has been known in the market and was implemented in stages,” it is written 15 minutes in response to the Urban Planning and Spatial Planning Policy Group of the Ministry.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Ministry of the Environment
Environment Minister Simon Gentville adds that the requirement cannot be arbitrarily postponed because it is necessary in light of the climate crisis.
“This is what the directive required: the European Union has decided that we are going to build a house that consumes almost no energy, and we all had five years to prepare for the upper class. Also, the difference between A + and A ++ is very small “, 15 minutes He explained.
A renovation strategy is being prepared
AM reports that a long-term renovation strategy is currently being developed. It intends to establish guidelines for action, including internally measurable measures and indicators of progress towards the long-term 2050 agenda. The goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union by 80-95%;
“This indicator will be compared to 1990 to ensure that the national economy of public and private residential and non-residential buildings is highly energy efficient and independent of fossil fuels, and to facilitate the cost-effective conversion of existing buildings to near-fossil fuels. Zero energy buildings ”, says the response of the AM specialists.
In addition, they recall that under current legislation, the new buildings built by institutions, establishments and state and municipal companies since the beginning of 2019 are almost energy-free buildings.
“The maturity of the market is sufficient to provide the technological solutions and skills necessary to design and construct such buildings,” say the specialists.
In addition, they note that the dynamics of the change in the number of buildings that already have an A ++ energy efficiency class recalls the beginning of the period from 2018. January 1 (when the requirement that all new buildings came into force under construction are class A +) for 2020. December 10th start:
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2018 January 1 there were 122 buildings certified as class A + in 2020. As of December 10, there were just over 3,300;
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2020 December 10 there were already 85 buildings certified as class A ++.
At the same time, AM specialists note that the requirements of A ++ do not differ significantly from A + in essence: class A ++ is subject to slightly more stringent estimates of the respective indicators.
The main requirement for energy efficiency class A ++ buildings is that buildings of this efficiency must use more than 50%. renewable energy.
Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Apartment on Žemuogių street
“The situation in Lithuania – prior to the introduction of this requirement, district heating providers heat production from biofuels, so more than half of the centrally supplied energy is environmentally friendly and is estimated when designing class A ++ buildings. The preconditions for achieving class A ++ are sufficient. Even with heat pumps, the requirements of class A ++ can be achieved without solar collectors, photovoltaic cells or other similar devices ”, say the experts.
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