Secondary abstract: |
Nowadays, our own existence heavily depends on energy. The ever growing dependence is showing its dark side when it comes to exploitation of non-renewable energy sources, energy dependence and environmental pollution. By being aware of these negative effects, through various programs, the European Union’s (EU) energy strategy actively pursues prevention of excessive emissions of greenhouse gases and increase of energy efficiency.
Buildings are among major energy consumers, as they consume almost 40% of the total energy. In order to reduce their energy consumption and minimize negative effects of consumption one of the EU’s priorities is energy-efficient refurbishment of the existing building stock. EU member states have committed themselves to increase the energy efficiency by 20% until 2020 with respect to 1990. Moreover, by the end of 2020, all new buildings will classify as nearly zero-energy buildings.
A large part of the population in Slovenia lives in older buildings, which are uneconomical. At the time of their construction, there were no stringent regulations in place regarding thermal insulation. Therefore, from today’s perspective these buildings are too poorly thermally insulated or not insulated at all. The poor legislation about thermal protection on one hand, and the socio-economic change in the nineties, which led to changed ownership of the housing stock and the mentality of owners on the other hand, resulted in a vast amount of outdated buildings. The main reason for insufficient renovations of multi-dwelling buildings stems from a lack of suitable funding, the ignorance of construction work’s payback periods in the field of thermal protection, and the lack of suitable relationship between the apartment owners and building managers.
The revised Housing Act in 2003 introduced the reserve fund in Slovenia, an instrument that should provide necessary funds for the maintenance of multi-dwelling buildings. The reserve fund, which is a common property of all owners that are obliged to participate, is now legally required for all buildings with eight or more individual parts, older than ten years, and with two or more owners. The monthly payments into the reserve fund of an individual residential buildings ensure and improve the maintenance of that building, as well as they distribute the financial burden on owners over longer period of time.
The aim of this master thesis is to find the interconnection between the energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings and the reserve fund, as one of the most widely used financial instruments of building renovations in Slovenia. We have examined the effectiveness of this instrument in ensuring the necessary conditions for the implementation of energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings and its role in promoting such renovations. Our research was done in the context of other findings, which show that the energy-efficient refurbishment brings positive effects, reflected in reduced energy consumption, increased comfort of living, increased value of buildings, and increased number of jobs at the national level.
Energy efficiency and housing policy are very extensive and related areas, yet there remains much confusion as to how to optimize their interconnectedness. Such optimization is especially important for the reserve fund, the main instrument enabling energy-efficient refurbishment of multi-dwelling buildings. Its usage in the last twelve years has demonstrated positive effects, such as increased rate of building maintenance, as well as some deficiencies with regards to its legally required minimal amount and other legal requirements of its establishment. The purpose of the empirical part of this master thesis, therefore, is to demonstrate the weaknesses of the reserve fund and to propose its improvements. The suggested changes could increase the energy efficiency of buildings and lead to sustainable development of Slovenia. |