This post was automatically translated into English
Although interest in energy class A housing is growing, only 4 apartment buildings of this type have been built in Lithuania so far. The first one went up in 2012, and three more appeared last year. All of them were built in Vilnius – in Bajorai and Santariškės – by two major real estate developers.
Although interest in energy class A housing is growing, only 4 apartment buildings of this type have been built in Lithuania so far. The first one was built in 2012, and three more appeared last year. All of them were built in Vilnius. – In Bajorai and Santariškės two major real estate developers.
According to representatives of the real estate development company Eika, the number of houses with higher energy class will start to grow in 2016, when all newly built apartments will have to meet the European Union (EU) requirements for class A. This year will be particularly intense for both real estate developers and designers, as it is the last year for class B houses.
Martynas Žibūda, development director of Eika, says that there are several reasons why there are only a few high-energy class apartment buildings. First of all, higher costs discourage more intensive construction of energy class A.
“The construction costs of class A apartment buildings are up to 10 percent higher than class B. Higher requirements are imposed on the construction of such residential buildings – for tightness, insulation, and ventilation efficiency. Therefore, the price of more energy-efficient housing is higher, and only a portion of buyers are willing to pay more for it,” says M. Žibūda.
Information about Class A is missing
It is still difficult for Lithuanians to assess the benefits of class A apartment buildings. This is due to the lack of information about high-energy class housing. Only individual real estate developers, but not state institutions, are engaged in disseminating information about the energy classes of buildings.
“Next year, all apartment buildings designed in Lithuania will have to meet the requirements for class A apartments. Therefore, targeted and reliable information about such buildings is important today,” says M. Žibūda.
One of the main advantages of the new generation of apartments is lower heating bills. Currently, residents of class A apartment buildings in Vilnius pay just 0.3 EUR per square meter for heating. In other newly built apartments, the average heating price is about 0.5 EUR per square meter, while the overall average for the city of Vilnius is 1.41 EUR.
Another important advantage of class A apartments is a healthy environment and quality of life. The apartments are equipped with a ventilation system with a heat exchanger (recuperation), which ensures fresh air circulation in the rooms and also prevents the formation of mold. This is especially important for those who have respiratory problems. The air in the rooms remains constantly clean and fresh, even without opening the windows. This ensures comfort without losing heat, because the warm indoor air warms the fresh, colder air coming from outside.
There are no A+ class apartment buildings in the country.
Although the number of class A apartment buildings in Lithuania is small, there are no class A+ apartments at all. The number of buildings of other purposes belonging only to these classes is gradually increasing in the country – individual residential buildings, administrative buildings, warehouses, scientific and cultural buildings.
Currently, there are 11 individual residential buildings in the country that are classified as class A. Nine of them are located in Vilnius. The first residential building of the higher A+ class in Lithuania was built three years ago in Merkinė. A year later, another A+ class building was built in Kaunas, and last year, 4 more residential buildings of this class were built in Lithuania. According to statistics, Kaunas is in the lead, with 4 out of 6 residential buildings that meet the A+ class.
The second place in terms of the number of class A buildings in Lithuania is occupied by warehouse buildings. There are 9 of them in the country. One or two each in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Kėdainiai, Ukmergė and Šilutė. “The warehouse building in Panevėžys was the first A energy class building in Lithuania. In addition, buildings being built for storage currently occupy the largest usable area in the country,” says M. Žibūda.
There are 4 science and culture buildings in Lithuania built according to A+ class requirements. One of them is in Vilnius, the other three in Jurbarkas, Alytus and Molėtai. All of these buildings were built last year. The least construction of high-energy class garages, production, industrial, administrative and commercial buildings is taking place in Lithuania.
About the Eika group of companies
Founded in 1992, Eika is one of the largest real estate development and construction groups in Lithuania. The group of companies consists of: UAB Eika – a leader in the real estate market, valued for its innovation, reliability and responsibility; UAB Eikos statyba – a construction company with extensive experience in the construction and renovation of administrative, public, commercial, industrial and residential buildings.
More information:
Vitalija Roče
Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +370 5 2553 324
Fax: +370 5 2514 256
Email: [email protected]