Turkish SME company constructs residential buildings of energy performance Class A

Güney Yapı, an SME company operating mainly in İstanbul, is well-known in the insulation sector, but would like to expand into construction with its young and ambitious owner whose dream is to develop high quality residential buildings.

The company started the energy efficient reconstruction of a 3,771 m² residential building in Maltepe, İstanbul.  The new building is part of the Turkish Government countrywide Urban Transformation Plan (UTP) to prevent any loss of life and property by demolishing and reconstructing buildings deemed unsafe in earthquake-prone areas.

The company was looking for advisory assistance to develop a  renewable energy based building with higher energy efficiency performance.

The TuREEFF engineers advised the company on the necessary adjustments to the initial building design to increase the energy performance of the building from Class C to the highest, Class A, meaning a decrease to the building’s energy consumption and costs.

Adjustments included: increased thermal insulation for façade, roof and floors, argon filled windows instead of air filled windows, a highly efficient condensing boiler instead of a standard one, VSD electric motors for pumps, solar water heaters.

Güney Yapı agreed to the suggestions and applied for the TuREEFF loan. As a result, the building was awarded a Class A Energy Performance Certificate (EPC A) by the official authorities.

The $513,000 investment allowed the company to significantly decrease the building’s energy consumption and offer lower energy bills and improved living quality to its tenants. The future residents will feel these results from day one. The energy cost savings are high enough to repay the investment in just six months after the building’s commissioning. The local environment will benefit from the building’s lower carbon emissions.

This way, the Turkish UTP framework and the TuREEFF loans, suitable for such projects, create a great opportunity to construct new, safe and energy efficient buildings. The TuREEFF advisory package helps the construction companies achieve energy saving goals.