Homeowners’ association reduces heating costs by over 40%

Plamen Perenovski, Chairman of the Home Owners Association in Sofia, Bulgaria, endorses REECL financing: “In 2010 we set up an Association of Home Owners (HOA) to get bank financing for thermal insulation and rehabilitation of the house. We developed an extremely good project, however, local banks could not provide financing to our association. In September 2011 we heard about REECL…”

The HOA addressed REECL for financing of its energy efficiency project.

The REECL team verified the investment project, primarily the energy savings potential, financial-technical parameters and risks, and assisted the HOA in obtaining a loan.

The project included installation of the energy efficient windows and thermal insulation of the house.

The €30,536 investment allowed the association to reduce its energy bill by €5,870 per year. It means the investment will be repaid out of energy savings in just five years. The cost savings were generated by the substantial reduction of heat and electricity consumption by the residents.

“After insulating the external walls of the building, our central heating bill has dropped significantly”, – says Mr.Perenovski. “While the roof insulation delivered an unexpected effect – not only the flats on the top floor became warmer, but also the mould disappeared because better insulation prevents condensation on the walls”.

“The programme is very good and we recommend people in condominiums to establish associations and implement holistic building energy efficiency projects, because the results are tremendous: no mould, no draughts, dramatically reduced heating bills”, – adds the HOA Chairman.

The EBRD through REECL supports the sustainable financing and implementation of sustainable energy projects by the residential sector. Together, the residential, private, and public sectors can make a change in the energy consumption patterns and contribute to environmental protection.