After the project was completed, the family received a 15% investment incentive grant under the KyrSEFF programme, reducing their overall construction costs.
Thanks to the implemented energy efficient measures, the house saves 22.0035 MWh of energy annually.
In Ak Jar village of At Bashy district, where winter temperatures often fall below −30°C and the heating season lasts much longer than in other parts of Kyrgyzstan, keeping a home warm is essential. That is why 65 year old Turatbek Abdyldaev, a former state farm livestock specialist, decided, following his son’s advice, not to renovate his old house but to build a new one using modern energy efficient technologies.
The family had lived in their previous house since 1987, but over the years it no longer met modern standards. At first, Turatbek planned to carry out a major renovation, but his children convinced him that building a new house from scratch would be a better long term investment.
“I only wanted to replace the windows and renovate the house. But my children said it would be better to build a new one. Now I realize they were absolutely right,” Turatbek recalls.
The old house was demolished in April 2025, and construction of the new two storey, 180 square metre home began at the end of May. By December, the family was already spending their first winter in the new house.
When applying for a loan at KICB Bank, Turatbek learned about the KyrSEFF programme. The bank’s loan officers explained the programme’s benefits in detail, after which he decided to finance the project through KyrSEFF. Engineers from the programme provided free technical advice and recommended a comprehensive package of energy efficient solutions.
“They immediately told me that I should never compromise on the quality of materials. They recommended installing five chamber energy efficient windows and properly insulating the roof, ceiling and floor. I followed their advice,” says Turatbek Abdyldaev.
The new house was equipped with five chamber energy efficient windows, while the floor and ceiling were insulated and the roof was covered with several layers of basalt wool insulation. To ensure a continuous supply of fresh air without losing heat, heat recovery ventilation units were installed in every room. Water saving aerators were also installed in the bathrooms.
Despite the severe winters of At-Bashy, the house maintains a stable and comfortable indoor temperature.
“Not a single trace of mould appeared throughout the winter. The house is warm and extremely comfortable. It feels completely different from our old home,” says the homeowner.
Due to limited electricity supply capacity in the village, the family cannot yet switch entirely to electric heating. Electricity consumption is subject to local limits, so they continue using coal. However, thanks to the high quality thermal insulation, coal consumption has been significantly reduced.
“Our old house was about 100 square metres, and we burned around two tonnes of coal every month. The new house is almost twice as large, 180 square metres, yet we use only about four tonnes of coal during the entire heating season. That is an excellent result for our climate,” Turatbek explains.
He has also noticed the effects of climate change, which are especially evident in the mountainous region.
“When I was a child, there was almost half a metre of snow on the roof every winter. We constantly had to clear it to prevent the roof from collapsing. Nowadays, there is much less snow, while summers have become much hotter,” he says.
Today, the family continues to raise livestock, breed horses, cultivate fodder crops on their 2.5 hectares of land and develop their family farm.
According to Turatbek Abdyldaev, the key principle when building a house is simple:
“Never compromise on quality. Good windows, reliable insulation and high quality construction materials will serve you for decades. It is an investment in your family’s health, comfort and financial well being.”
After the project was completed, the family received a 15% investment incentive grant under the KyrSEFF programme, reducing their overall construction costs.
Thanks to the implemented energy efficient measures, the house saves 22.0035 MWh of energy annually.
For comparison, this amount of energy is enough to supply an average household in Kyrgyzstan with electricity for approximately four to six years, depending on consumption levels.
The project also reduces CO₂ emissions by 13.07 tonnes every year, which is equivalent to:
Turatbek Abdyldaev’s story demonstrates that even in one of Kyrgyzstan’s coldest regions, energy efficient technologies make it possible to build a warm, comfortable and cost effective home that can serve several generations of a family.
