The rehabilitation of homes implies an improvement in comfort, their value, and savings for the owners. What is it, why is it done, or what criteria should be taken into account?
According to the GBCe's Working Group on Rehabilitation (WGR), more than half of the dwellings in Spain were built before 1980 and at least 6 % are in poor condition. The national stock of buildings is very old; rehabilitation is first and foremost a matter of necessity. But rehabilitation also entails a series of advantages that we will see here. In this article, we will also discuss why rehabilitation is done, what criteria should be considered, and the main aspects of the housing to be improved.
What is housing rehabilitation? Objectives
Housing retrofitting is an activity aimed at improving the energy efficiency of energy efficient buildings in the building sector. It arises from the need to reduce the energy consumption of our buildings and make them more efficient and resilient. Refurbishment reduces final energy use and CO2 emissions in the existing real estate stock.
This retrofitting of existing buildings requires the participation of multiple agents. Homeowners, residents' associations, administration, contractors, manufacturers, banks... all must act in a coordinated manner, to make it easier for homeowners to take the decision to improve their homes from an energy point of view.
Why rehabilitate the real estate? Advantages
The benefits of housing rehabilitation are clear; among the most important are:
- Improving the energy performance of buildings. These consume 30 % of the total energy in Spain. With the rehabilitation, the aim is to achieve at least a 30% saving in non-renewable primary energy in each building.
- Incorporate renewable energies. To achieve the 2030 horizon objective: 32% minimum renewable quota.
- Reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources responsible for about one third of carbon emissions.
- Greater comfort and habitability for its occupants.
- Improve accessibility conditions.
- Improve the state of conservation of the façade of the house.
To the previous advantages, the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE) adds the generation of sustainable employment. The intervention of some 250,000 dwellings per year - from minor renovations to complete refurbishment - can lead to 135,000 direct jobs, according to data from the Infrastructure and Urban Planning Commission of the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Employers' Associations). Reducing energy poverty or decreasing our dependence on foreign energy are other important benefits in social and economic terms of housing retrofitting in our country.
Boost to rehabilitation. Aid programs: PREE 5000
The main problem with housing rehabilitation is financing and return on investment. Stimuli and incentives are needed. This gave rise to aid programmes for the energy retrofitting of existing buildings, such as PAREER-CRECE and PAREER II, carried out between 2013 and 2018, whose budget has enabled the energy retrofitting of 80,000 Spanish homes.
The current* Retrofitting Programme for Buildings 5000 is a continuation of the PREE Programme, which ended in July 2021. With a budget of 50 million euros, the PREE 5000 aims to promote the sustainability of building in municipalities with demographic challenges (municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants) through the following actions:
- Changes to the thermal envelope.
- Improvement of the energy efficiency of thermal generation facilities. Substitution by facilities based on renewable sources (solar thermal, geothermal, biomass, heat pump).
- Improved energy efficiency in lighting.
[Video] PREE 5000: Building #Energyretrofit programme
10 million dwellings should be rehabilitated in the next 30 years, according to GTR reports. Energy retrofitting a house makes it more resilient to possible changes. The price of energy is not expected to decrease in the coming years —quite the opposite—, so now is the time to take advantage and reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Housing rehabilitation, say the IDAE, is "a priority and an opportunity for everyone".
*Deadline for submission of applications in the Autonomous Regions until 31 December 2023.
