In Vitebsk, new residents are taught to live wisely in "smart" homes

March 17, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Residents of the first energy-efficient houses in Vitebsk are being taught how to properly use their apartments, the first deputy chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Vladimir Katashuk, told a BELTA correspondent. Two "smart" residential apartment buildings, designed by the Vitebskgrazhdanproekt institute, have been commissioned for the first time in the regional center. The designers were guided by a similar development by NIIPTIS named after Ataev. Thanks to modern engineering communications, the heat consumption for heating a square meter in such a building is reduced by 3-4 times compared to a traditional one. However, as practice has shown, living in a "smart" house requires a smart approach. The largest number of questions from new residents arose with the supply and exhaust ventilation system with heat recovery, which mixes warm air from apartments with cold street air pumped into the dwelling. For this system to work properly, certain conditions must be met. Some of them are elementary: the entrance door must always be tightly closed. Others require recalling school physics knowledge. For example, the ventilation time of a room must be calculated based on the volume of air it contains. After the houses were commissioned, residents were instructed on how to regulate air temperature and air exchange in the apartments, and were given memos. As a commission survey showed, not all new residents follow the rules. "We are not yet used to saving and accounting for heat and electricity. Meanwhile, the proper operation of such apartments allows for the payback of construction costs in six years at current tariffs, and with tariff increases, the payback periods will decrease," stated Vladimir Katashuk. Due to the fact that residents have problems with the operation of energy-efficient housing, there is a need for additional training materials. Currently, two energy-efficient residential buildings are being occupied in Vitebsk, and another one is under construction. Their operation is under strict control of the city executive committee. In 2009, the Council of Ministers adopted a Comprehensive Program for the Design, Construction and Reconstruction of Energy-Efficient Residential Buildings in the Republic of Belarus for 2009-2010 and for the period up to 2020. It provides that the specific consumption of fuel and energy resources for heating such houses at the first stage will be no more than 60 kWh per 1 sq.m per year, compared to the current standard of 86-91 kWh per 1 sq.m per year in buildings of various storeys. The transition to the construction of energy-efficient residential buildings will ensure significant savings of fuel and energy resources, as well as improve the consumer qualities and increase the comfort of residential premises. -0-