May 21, 2019

The bureaucracy of Greek data may have made the energy audit of buildings the last wheel of the car, but the understanding of its importance can bring significant benefits at national, economic and social levels. The Energy Efficiency Certificate (API) process during a commercial real estate transaction, except for a few exceptions, is a legal obligation on the part of the parties, according to the Greek legislation that has complied with the European Energy Saving Guidelines for the Building Sector. The Greek State, the Ministry of the Environment, and the public sector bodies handled this process in such a way as to fully deprive the PEA of the mechanically-permanently and temporarily suspended energy inspectors and all those involved in the commercial transaction (sale, ). The energy audit (building, boiler room / heating installation, air-conditioning systems) instead of acting as a tool for improving the energy behavior of buildings, with all the obvious indirect and immediate benefits to the economy, has resulted in one more bureaucratic unfinished, to the goodwill of the energy inspector to issue it on the basis of proper study and – until the passing of the recent bill – to patriotism of the owner to declare it to the Tax Office. The statutory boiler room inspection, postponed for 2016, has several ambiguities and a problematic legal framework in shared systems.

Energy Upgrade – There is hope But there is hope and it is very simple to become a reality, as long as all the owners, engineers and banks involved decide that energy upgrading and energy saving are to the benefit of all of us and, by ignoring the dysfunctional state, proceed to three simple actions: Owners decide that a substantial reduction in the operating costs of a building goes through proper planning of specific energy savings interventions that vary across buildings and that only skilled engineers know how to calculate, rather than their plumbing or energy store in their neighborhood. Energy engineers will produce complete energy savings economics studies that will include the right energy audit to convince owners of the efficiency of their investment in energy upgrading their building and its depreciation in relation to the annual savings will achieve. Banks create relatively simple borrowing products (a simple form of energy efficiency agreement) that, based on the economical engineering study of energy engineers, will link the repayment of the loan to the amount of savings to be achieved by the owner. Although we live in a more friendly climate, the consumption of our buildings is relatively high per square meter. Therefore, we can easily and without any subsidies implement energy-saving interventions with a short payback period of no more than 3-5 years. In addition, if self-power plants are involved, under conditions, we can go directly to buildings with a very low or zero energy footprint, within the time limits provided by Community legislation. As far as state involvement is concerned, all that is needed is to provide for real tax deductions for real estate energy upgrades, which in part is now arbitrarily stated and it would be more fair to extend to legal property! It could also contribute decisively by associating ENΦΙΑ with the annual total energy consumption per square meter of the property in electricity and gas / solid fuels.

The Econometric Savings Study (OME) From the results of energy inspections, we find that most residential or business buildings can achieve a significant percentage of energy savings if we increase the efficiency of installed heating / cooling systems and improve their management and control. The improvement of the systems concerns both the space of the boiler room (production area) and the areas of use of the building (network, terminal units). Therefore, before the owners proceed to savings and purchases / installations of related equipment, a detailed Econometric Saving Conservation Study (OEM) is required for the owner to be the road map for overall improvement of the Environmental Impact of a building and upgrading Its Energy Identity, with minimal cost and maximum performance. OME is particularly necessary in office buildings and warehouses that are fixed assets or fixed income investments and the depreciation time of the investment is permanently at the center of interest. The fall in the commercial value and rent of real estate and the increase in the holding and exploitation tax has drastically reduced the depreciation ratio, so owners feel trapped in fixed assets that best serve their business, provided that it generates profits. The abilities of the above properties in the Greek climate are very large because they have large surfaces and ceilings for passive and energetic interventions respectively and operate with a limited daily program that significantly facilitates efficient energy management.

Which serves: 6 Reasons

To fulfill the present and future obligations of the owner in relation to the state.

For the right financial planning of the Energy Upgrade of the property.

To reduce the cost of running a property.

To upgrade the commercial value of the property.

For the future reduction of property tax.

To move to a more sustainable low environmental footprint model.

How it Works: 4 Steps

A detailed record of the assets and liabilities of the property is made.

The property data recorded are complemented by energy consumption data that will highlight the consumption profile, pathogens in the operation of the systems and the daily practice of the occupants.

The possibilities of upgrading existing systems are explored and good energy management practices are proposed.

The optimal combinatorial solutions to the passive and energetic characteristics of the building are proposed and evaluated in relation to the payback time, aiming at the vertical improvement of its energy category.

How Funded: 2 Directions

Use equity in stages and priorities proposed in the study, depending on the potential of the owner who does not wish to proceed to borrowing. Use specialized bank lending for energy upgrades. Indicatively, for a good economic owner profile, energy upgrades of up to € 15,000 are funded without a pre-registration at a relatively low interest rate.