Ukrainian homeowners association improves heating system and decreases utility bills

Installation of a new heating system allowed Kotelnikova 31, a Ukrainian Homeowners’ Association (HOA), improve the management of its heating system and optimise energy use through precise calculation of individual energy consumption.

Kotelnikova 31, is an HOA that unites co-owners of 80 apartments in a multifamily building located in Svyatoshyn district, Kyiv, Ukraine. It’s management team decided to improve energy performance of the building by installing heat metering system based on heat cost allocators, devices attached to individual radiators in buildings that measure the total heat output of the individual radiator.

In order to finance the project, Kotelnikova 31, reached out to OTP bank to secure a loan of UAH 491,000 (equivalent to €16,087) under the EBRD’s IQ Energy programme. Thanks to the loan, the HOA contracted PLASTICA, a provider of engineering systems and services to install heat cost allocators on 340 radiators in the building.

IQ Energy team performed the project feasibility analysis by reviewing the application, confirmed that planned energy efficiency project is eligible and in line with program requirements. The team also provided technical, administrative and financial planning support to the HOA. Once the equipment was installed, the IQ Energy team verified the quality of installations.

Thanks to the projects, 80 households can now monitor and analyse their energy use. Monthly heating bills are based on individual consumption, therefore there is a strong incentive to be more efficient when it comes to using energy. The residents responded rapidly to the changes and now keep some radiators turned off, preserving energy.

The manager of Kotelnikova 31, Mykola Kostyuk, explained: “Through this project, we identified all the illegal interferences with the building’s emissions subsystem, and now everyone pays solely for the heat consumed and sees their own costs entrusted to implement the next energy efficient measures.”

An additional benefit of the project is that the homeowners learned about the impacts of illegal individual-level interventions such as increasing radiators’ capacity and installation of the floor heating systems connected to the central heating system and can make better decisions that ensure energy efficiency for all the residents.

The project allowed the HOA to reduce energy consumption by almost 10 per cent.  This translates into savings of UAH 78 200 (equivalent to EUR 2,652) each year.

IQ Energy was developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and is supported by the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund (E5P)  and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.