Relevant for home buyers: requirements for buildings, which will make construction more expensive, will change starting this year

We will build other buildings

As of January 1, 2021, all new buildings under construction must have the A ++ energy efficiency class. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, Darius Kvedaravičius, says that this means that all buildings must be built in such a way that they do not use energy at all.

“These are very high-energy buildings with almost zero or very low energy consumption and most of the energy used comes from renewable sources, as well as local and nearby renewable energy,” explains D. Kvedaravičius.

According to the interlocutor, these changes were initiated by the European Union, which has set itself an ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80-95% by 2050 compared to 1990. The emission reduction targets greenhouse gas emissions have also been transferred to the Lithuanian Government program.

“It just came to our notice then. First we went to Class A, then A + and now A ++. In addition to the economic benefits, such as significantly lower energy costs, there are benefits less clearly and unequivocally measurable, such as cleaner air and the prevention of climate change, ”said the Vice Minister of the Environment.

There may be problems finding qualified professionals

These changes are relevant to developers, designers, builders, and residents alike. According to Dalius Gedvilas, president of the Lithuanian Builders Association, the changes that came into force in the construction sector did not scare me, as employees began preparing for the requirements that came into effect this year five years ago. According to him, today there are qualified and competent builders on the Lithuanian job market. However, according to D. Gedvilas, problems can arise in finding specialists who can install and install complex technologies in buildings. The need for such experts has already been felt recently.

“I think the main challenge is for the builders and designers. Because construction starts with the terms of reference first, building design and builders can implement individual constructions and are preparing for it. <...> Designers must choose the optimal power generation system, because the building is actually 50 percent. energy must be self-sufficient. I think this is a great challenge to design a building efficiently so that it does not become more expensive, operating costs do not increase and what we do not hear and see today is the complexity of building engineering systems. have someone to supervise those engineering systems ”, emphasizes D. Gedvilas.

The interviewee goes on to say that probably all buildings will become an electrical system or power generator in the future, and if each building produces electricity or thermal energy, then each of them will also need qualified maintenance.

“The construction community, if there is a well prepared work project, a designed building, can build an efficient A ++ class building today. However, there are other requirements, such as the obligation to do a structural leak test, customers still do not understand what to do here, but really the building test will become the norm and we will all have to do it, ”says D. Gedvilas.

In addition to the new requirements for the tightness of the building, this year more changes in the construction of buildings came into force, for example, we will have to pay attention to the roof, windows, doors, walls.

“We have built class A + buildings and the thermal conductivity of the partitions is higher than those of the A ++ classes, which means that the roof structures must have a lower thermal permeability, as well as partitions, windows and doors . All these elements must be more hermetic and less conductive of heat. In this case, if we design a building well, it consumes less energy, it does not require the classic large radiators, it will have smaller heating equipment and a more efficient recovery system, and also, as I mentioned, it requires special maintenance equipment for the operation of these buildings ”, explains D. Gedvilas. .

Construction prices will rise and house prices may change slightly

All the changes, according to D. Gedvilas, will require builders to open their wallets more widely. The president of the Lithuanian Builders Association points out that for buildings to meet the new requirements, they will have to buy more expensive building materials, install more expensive and smart systems to generate thermal energy in the building, hire more qualified and better paid specialists . On the other hand, depending on the interlocutor, it will be possible to save in some places.

“After all, we will use less thermal energy, which will definitely save us here. <...> All the changes that I have listed, in any case, should not increase the price of the building by more than 7-10% “, notes D. Gedvilas, adding that when residential buildings are built, apartment buildings are supplied centralized heat, the price per 1 square meter should not grow significantly.Price changes will affect more those who plan to build individual houses.

Mindaugas Statulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA), says there are fears about a possible rise in construction prices. According to him, developers still remember the period 5 years ago, when the transition to the design and construction of buildings of energy efficiency class A in Lithuania increased significantly.

“Investors are comparing investments in energy classes, and when there was a transition from energy class B to energy class A 5 years ago, the investment jump was high, in our estimate the investment should have been 10-15 percent. higher. This also reduced the affordability of housing, so we are very happy to have been listened to, the parameters sought were reviewed and a rational solution was found ”, recalls M. Statulevičius.

According to the interlocutor, in this case, when the designed buildings are to be class A ++ as of this year, the growth of investments should be negligible, it should not reach 5%, of course, depending on the purpose of the project.

“Residential buildings can have the same commercial and commercial buildings, due to rising prices for engineering systems, a slightly different and larger change in investment amount. <...> What may be relevant to home buyers is probably the cost of a repossession system. The recuperators will be more expensive, although otherwise they are not mandatory for the construction of A ++ buildings, the same parameters can be achieved in a closed building and allowing the premises to be ventilated by opening the windows. But recuperators have already become the standard for saving heat, ”explains M. Statulevičius, adding that builders of commercial and commercial buildings or residents of apartment buildings where central recovery equipment will be installed will feel the increase in cost. recovery system.

A puzzle for those who plan to build an individual house.

The LNTPA president goes on to say that those planning to build a gas-heated building will have to turn their heads. Starting this year, the projects that will provide gas heating (especially those that must be coordinated with the city or district municipality according to the technical building regulations) will not see the light of day.

“It will take a lot of effort for the residents of individual houses to understand and switch to another type of energy. Even, for example, the air-water system, <...> It will also not be easy to achieve the energy efficiency class A ++, additional solar panels will have to be used and so on. But the goal is to have sustainability and benefits that will be felt for a longer period of time. That initial investment will pay off in 5 to 10 years, ”says M. Statulevičius, adding that the developers evaluate the changes positively.

I think we could have postponed the change

The developers who built the A ++ energy efficiency class buildings say the challenges were really there. Agnius Tamošaitis, head of Inreal’s property management department, says that at the end of last year, he completed a commercial object with an energy efficiency class of A +, although the developer originally planned that the building’s energy efficiency class would be A + +.

“We modeled several times to make the building’s energy efficiency class A ++, but we noticed that to achieve this, we would have to change the solutions for the building’s walls, roof, windows, and ceilings. We should also have changed the ventilation system. <...> It would be a little more expensive to build a building of this type, around 10-15%, but considering that the current building, which we have now built in class A +, is very efficient from an energy point of view, we simply did not see a lot of sense in continuing to improve their properties, “he explains. A. Tamošaitis adds that perhaps Lithuania had to wait a few years and not rush to increase the requirements for buildings.

“Technologies are evolving very fast, those technologies for which we should now pay more, in a few years it is likely to be considered mandatory and irreplaceable, and it would not cost much more,” says the expert.

On the other hand, according to the interlocutor, the energy efficiency class A ++ should not be considered unnecessary. According to the expert, first of all, devices that perform the same function should consume less electricity.

“Another advantage of class A ++ is the promotion of renewable energy sources. <...> In both commercial and residential buildings, the higher the energy class of a building, the higher its energy efficiency, so, for example, residents would have lower bills for heating and electricity consumption, ”explains A. Tamošaitis.

The interviewee continues that the company has already calculated how much it will cost based on the new energy performance requirements for buildings, which came into effect this year. According to A. Tamošaitis, costs are increasing by 5 to 10 percent.