Renovation of a Moroccan traditional house in Marrakech

Joel Gestion is a company that owns and manages a number of riads, which are traditional Moroccan houses of two or more floors with a central courtyard and a fountain or a swimming pool. Recently, there has been a surge of interest to renovate these riads and turn them into hotels in touristic areas of old cities. However, historically these traditional buildings were renovated with no focus on energy efficiency.

Joel Gestion contacted MorSEFF for financing and technical assistance for the energy efficient renovation project of three old Riads located in Marrakech.

The project included thermal insulation of floors and walls, installation of two removable roofs at patios, heat “pumps and solar panels to produce hot water and under-floor heating, a heat pump to heat water in the indoor pool and Jacuzzi, twelve air conditioning units with inverter technology, and 334 LED lamps.

The MorSEFF team performed the analysis of the proposed technologies, their potential of energy savings, financial-technical parameters and assessed profitability of the project.

The € 53,848 eligible investment allowed Joel Gestion to reduce the building’s energy consumption by 150 MWh per year (66%), leading to substantial cost savings, and reduced CO2 emissions by 61 tons per year. The investment has been repaid out of energy savings in less than two and a half years, turning the cash-flows into company’s income for the years to follow. In addition, the comfort and living conditions of the buildings were significantly improved, increasing their ability of customers’ attraction.

This project demonstrates that investments in energy efficiency are profitable and lead to enhanced attractiveness and as a result, improved competitiveness.

For the successful implementation of this energy efficiency project, Joel gestion was awarded a €5,384 grant, representing 10% of the loan amount.

Morocco Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MorSEFF) was developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in cooperation with the French Agency for Development (AFD), and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and supported by the European Union and the multi-donor account SEMED.