Moldovan cabinet approves draft law on energy performance of buildings

The cabinet of ministers August 29 approved a draft law on the energy performance of buildings, the government’s communication and media relations department has reported.

According to the bill, private houses, blocks of flats, schools, hospitals, buildings meant for sports activity or trade compounds will be tested as regards their energy performance. Buildings included in the register of local or national monuments, churches, temporary constructions used for a maximum period of two years or buildings with a surface less than 50 square meters shall not be tested.

Thus, a new instrument in the area of buildings’ energy efficiency is to be set, namely periodic inspection of the heating and air-conditioning systems of the edifices.

The Regional Development and Construction Ministry has the right and the obligation to set minimum requirements of energy performance of buildings, via a normative document in constructions.

The new requirements are designed to diminish the energy consumption in the new buildings at least with 30 per cent compared with those that are built now and by 2-3 fold compared to the old ones, meaning cost cuts to heating bill in the new buildings with over 5,000 lei annually for a two-room apartment (60 m2) or savings of over 200 million lei for all blocks of flats newly built from 2012 until 2020.

About 45 per cent of the final energy consumption is up to buildings all over Moldova. About 56 per cent of these have been built before 1975 and other 2 per cent - after 2006, when the standard in constructions referring to thermal protection of buildings was approved.

The draft law on the energy performance of buildings was elaborated by the Regional Development and Construction Ministry, with the support of an international project financed by the SIDA-EBRD Energy Efficiency Technical Cooperation Fund for Moldova.

At the end, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca thanked the team that had been working to improve this important project.

Adapted from MOLDPRES