Building insulation

In Tavros, Athens, a decades-old refugee apartment building is being transformed to generate double the energy it consumes. This project, called Passivistas: The Tavros Project, retrofits the building to Passive House standards - a model minimizing heating and cooling demands by 90%.

In Bulgaria's real estate market, recent trends highlight a significant shift toward new construction. The latest data indicates that Bulgaria ranks second out of 56 countries surveyed by Knight Frank for price growth. This surge in prices coincides with a high rate of construction in major cities and a slight rise in home loan interest rates.

The energy upgrade of the existing building stock - especially residential buildings, with 90% of them having been built before 2000 - will be a particularly difficult challenge given the insulation specifications and heating systems.

Dragia built the house according to all the energy efficiency rules, and when he started construction back in 1983, there were only a few solar houses in the former Yugoslavia.

An annual increase of 5.78% was recorded in the price index for construction materials for the period January-June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to data published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat) on Tuesday.

The price index for construction materials for June 2023 reached 135.28 units (base year 2015=100).

Starting on Monday, the "Energy Saving at Home" program will accept applications through the platform https://exoikonomo2023.gov.gr. The application period will extend until September 15. It is estimated that around 20,000 households will participate in the program, which has a budget of 300 million euros.

Buildings in Turkey above a certain size will be required to use renewable energy starting January next year to meet their energy consumption.

Manufacturers are sounding the alarm over the increase to costs of new building construction, due to the recent price hikes in building materials.

People with knowledge of the situation talk about an average increase of 10% which in some cases can even exceed 15%, expressing their anxiety about the future and the way things are going.

On 22 November 2018, Knauf Insulation, Slovenia, had a double celebration — the 60th anniversary of its Škofja Loka plant and the official opening of a new, pioneering, sustainable building, the Knauf Insulation Experience Centre (KIEXC).

The regional governor of the Northern Aegean has approved a budget of 6.25 million euros aimed at improving the energy efficiency of private homes.