Improving the energy efficiency of buildings has been one of the priorities of the governmental energy and housing policy in Estonia. The amendments of the Building Code, which transposed the main elements of Directive 2002/91/EC, came into force in October 2006. However, the regulations transposing all the EPBD requirements were finalised in January 2009, and the main regulations, in compliance with Directive 2010/31/EU, came into force in January 2013. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications adopted updated and stricter energy performance requirements in 2018, which were enforced from the beginning of 2019. Before the EPBD requirements, there were no specific legal obligations, e.g., thermal transmittance values, or requirements for technical building systems.
In May 2024, the recast of EPBD 2024/1275 was published in Official Journal. Ministry of Climate is responsible for transposing EPBD 2024/1275 recast by May 2026. Ministry has taken first steps and includes sector stakeholders in the process from the very beginning of the process to provide as much transparency and clarity to the sector as possible.
Grants to support renovation of buildings
KredEx (renamed as Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, EIS) supports individuals in improving their living conditions. EIS offers guarantees for home purchases and loans, guarantees, and grants for increasing the energy efficiency of homes through building renovations.
In 2015, a new renovation grant scheme started for apartment buildings. During the 2015–2018 period, a total of 102 MEUR was used to renovate existing apartment buildings in Estonia. Due to the Covid pandemic, extra funds were provided so that in 2020 a total of ca 56 MEUR were granted. In 2020, the factory reconstruction grant for apartment buildings was opened (ca 15 MEUR and 20 buildings). Since 2021, Estonia has provided over 105 MEUR of apartment building renovation grants resulting in over 375 apartment buildings and 11 300 dwellings renovated into cost-efficient C energy class.
In October 2024, Estonian state launched a record-breaking 185 MEUR application round for supporting renovating apartment buildings, with estimated impact of around 400 renovated apartment buildings and 12 000 dwellings renovated by the end of 2027. To date, more than 1600 apartment buildings have been renovated with the help of support measures.
LIFE IP BuildEst project
The EU has set a target to develop a sustainable, competitive, secure, and decarbonised energy system by 2050, and the built environment has a major role to play in accomplishing this goal. The majority of the existing European building stock originates from the period of low requirements on energy performance that followed World War II, and at present about 75% of buildings are highly inefficient, consuming about 40% of total energy produced in Europe. Existing European building stock has a large potential for energy performance improvement, especially in colder regions. The strategy ’A Renovation Wave for Europe – Greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives’ was published in 2020 and aims to double the rate of building renovation in the EU, from 1% to at least 2% annually, by the end of this decade. In Estonia, even faster rates of renovation are required because of inefficient construction quality and energy performance of old buildings and due to a large renovation deficit. Estonia’s LTRS was developed according to the EPBD with the aim of providing a strategical plan for transforming all the existing buildings into highly energy efficient and low carbon buildings by 2050.
Through the LIFE IP program, the EU funds projects for environment and climate action. LIFE IP BuildEST project goal is pursuing Estonian national climate ambition through smart and resilient renovation. During the project, long-term renovation strategy of Estonian buildings (now NBRP) will be updated and BuildEST has a crucial role implementing the strategy. LIFE IP BuildEST objectives are to raise capacity, increase experiences, and develop the necessary toolset for improving energy performance and reducing carbon emissions of Estonian building stock in the required rate and depth set in LTRS. This project will also provide a national framework and starter mechanism for carrying out the EU Renovation Wave Initiative on a national level. Sectoral capacity building foreseen in the LIFE IP project will help adoption of the initiative effectively by avoiding negative consequences (possible market failures and negative environmental impacts), establish a national framework for fast adoption of the regulations and financing. The larger goal of the BuildEST project is that environmental and climate issues are closely linked to the development of the built environment - it must be holistic, sustainable and in view of the long term.
LIFE IP BuildEST project started in 2022 and runs until 2028. The grant is awarded by the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. The total budget of the project is about 16.3 MEUR, of which the European grant is 9.5 MEUR.
Implementing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2020
Information about the conditions and process for application to the different grants and other services related to energy efficiency measures in apartment buildings are available on the KredEx homepage. This report presents an overview of the status of implementing and improving the EPBD in Estonia. It addresses certification, minimum requirements, and inspection systems as well as quality control mechanisms, training of qualified experts, information campaigns, etc.