It will get warmer: 80 houses are planned to be insulated in the Vitebsk region by 2021

– These houses are on the schedule for major repairs for 2020-2021. Employees of housing organizations have already held 48 pre-project meetings with their residents, who are offered to improve the heat transfer characteristics of the building through modernization, – said Natalia Selyuk, head of the housing department of the main department of housing and communal services of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

Thermal modernization, in particular, continuous insulation of the external walls of residential buildings, has not been carried out during major repairs since 2016 in accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers. Only partial insulation of individual freezing and drafty fragments of structures is performed. Therefore, residents who want to "dress their house in a thermal coat" will have to pay.

Thermal energy for the population is produced using imported natural gas.

Citizens reimburse about 17% of the costs. Taking into account indexation and tariff growth, this percentage will increase to 20 in the next heating season.

In order to reduce the heat consumption of the housing stock, a draft decree on improving the energy efficiency of apartment buildings appeared this year, which is currently undergoing approval.

According to the draft decree, the consent of 2/3 of the property owners must be obtained for the insulation of an apartment building, and the decision made applies to everyone.

Owners of residential premises will pay 50% of the cost of thermal modernization work – in equal monthly installments over 10 years.

The state covers the other half of the expenses. The amounts will be included in utility bills after the completion of work and signing of the acceptance certificate for the facility, or will be issued as a separate payment. Low-income and other socially vulnerable citizens may be provided with an interest-free subsidy for a period of 10-15 years to pay their share of thermal modernization.

Thermal modernization implies not only the insulation of external walls and ceilings, but also the comprehensive equipping of residential and non-residential premises with individual means of accounting and regulating the consumption of thermal energy, with the possibility of remote reading of data and dispatching.

According to approximate calculations, insulating the walls of a 2-room apartment with an area of 48 sq. m with polystyrene foam will cost 8-14 rubles per month (over 10 years), and replacing the heating system with the installation of a regulator and a meter will cost about 5 rubles per month. The price will depend on the thickness of the material used, the brand and manufacturer of heating devices, and other factors. And the larger the area of the apartment, the higher the payment amount.

"Vitebskiye Vesti". Photo from open sources.