The Ministry of National Development has undertaken to prepare a National Building Energy Strategy, to be completed by the summer of 2013 with assistance from ÉMI Construction Quality Control Innovation Non-profit Kft. Harmonised with the directives of the European Union, the policy document will record long-term concepts for the energy-efficient renovation of the existing buildings and the construction of new energy-saving edifices. The strategy will be a significant guide to planning building energy improvement projects.

Approximately 70% of Hungary’s 4.2 million buildings require renovation; with every tenth building should be completely rebuilt. 40 percent of the energy used relates to buildings in poor condition, and two-thirds of the additional energy is used for heating and cooling. In Hungary the highest amount of carbon dioxide is emitted by buildings, considerably exceeding both industry and transport. A 30% cut in the heat demand for buildings by 2030 is a government objective asserted on several occasions, as it will reduce Hungary’s prime energy requirement by more than 10%.

The Ministry of National Development and ÉMI Construction Quality Control Innovation Non-profit Kft. will elaborate the National Building Energy Strategy with contribution from renowned university experts well-versed in this field. As a first step, the energy condition of Hungary’s buildings will be mapped on the basis of the available data and specific surveys. Within the framework of the National Building Energy Strategy, an economic impact analysis and a strategic environmental analysis will also be made in order to size up the funding requirements and financial impacts of subsequent renovation projects. As one of the most significant results of the strategy, a building energy register will be set up for the purposes of recording and analysing the surveyed inventory of buildings.

The results of the overall survey of building energy conditions and the establishment of a dynamic building energy database will allow the compilation of an efficient support and financing programme for the next few years. Among other things, the strategy will also lay the foundations of the opportunity for the elaboration of a complex rating system for buildings.

In addition to the efforts made at improving building energy, the document in preparation will underpin the objectives related to energy efficiency in Hungary’s main framework programmes: the New Széchenyi Plan and the National Energy Strategy.

(Ministry of National Development Communication Department)