– We had thought about this and arrived at a repayment period of 20 years. But suddenly the repayment period is less than 10 years, says Vegar Heir. Their house at Refstad in Oslo dates from the early 1970s. They noticed that in the fresh, cold air in the living room in winter. – It was a cold house, so I think this will help, says Anne Drømtorp. Including the basement, the house is approximately 200 square meters. The couple has two children. Better insulated walls, a heat pump and water-borne underfloor heating should make the house cozier and reduce heating costs. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Additional insulation and waterborne heat The floor in the hallway on the first floor is covered with protective plastic in connection with the renovation. – Here we have installed water-borne heat. It should provide more even and hopefully more affordable heat, says Vegar. It is important when electricity costs can reach around a couple of kroner per kilowatt hour, even with electricity support. The heat for the floor and tap water comes from a new air-to-water heat pump. They didn’t really intend to re-insulate the house. But they finally decided to replace the panels on the outer walls and add extra insulation at the same time. – Now we are very happy with the choices we have made, says Vegar. – Yes, because it was an expensive electricity winter this year, adds Anne. Vegar and Anne in the kitchen in the house at Refstad. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Only one in five energy upgrades But according to researchers at Sintef, only one in five home owners energy upgrades their house when he or she renovates. Most of the money for renovation goes to other things. – We would like to have a new kitchen, I understand that too. But we therefore have a much higher willingness to invest a hundred thousand kroner in a new kitchen than in water-based heating, says Karen Byskov Lindberg. She is a senior researcher in the Sintef Community and an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She is a specialist in zero-energy houses and their place in the energy system. A zero-energy house does not use more energy than it produces itself. – Why do people prioritize new kitchens rather than measures to save energy? – Well, it’s not so sexy to say that “I’ve re-insulated my wall here”. It doesn’t show. But it shows on the electricity bill, says Karen Byskov Lindberg. Karen Byskov Lindberg is a senior researcher at Sintef Community and a specialist in zero-energy houses. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news – Won’t reach target on energy saving The Storting has decided that the Norwegian building stock must reduce energy consumption by 10TWh from 2015 to 2030. That’s almost as much as all wind power production in Norway last year. Or slightly more than the total electricity consumption in Oslo. But we are not likely to reach this goal with the current use of instruments, write Byskov Lindberg and three research colleagues in an article in the journal Practical Economics & Finance, published earlier this year. On the contrary, energy consumption in the building stock is instead likely to increase by 3 TWh. Karen Byskov Lindberg at home in her own house from the 60s. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news Proposes whip and carrot To speed up energy efficiency, Karen Byskov Lindberg suggests using both whip and carrot in the form of requirements and support for home owners. – When you first change the cladding, you must also re-insulate. When you change the roof, you must also add extra insulation. And if you drain around the house, you add extra insulation to the outside of your foundation, she says. This will entail some additional investment costs. But it also reduces heating costs. – The carrot should be a reasonable loan from the House Bank to cover the extra costs, she says. Byskov Lindberg believes that such loans should be an offer to all home owners who want it. – It will benefit society as a whole if we manage to reduce energy consumption in our homes, says Karen Byskov Lindberg. Extra insulation everywhere She and her husband Bjørn Thorud have completely renovated a drafty detached house from the 1960s in Bærum. The house has received 30 centimeters of insulation in the walls, against today’s requirements for new houses, which is 20-25 cm. The foundation wall also received extra insulation. – The craftsmen asked if we really needed that much insulation, and I said that it was very important, she laughs. The house received heat recovery from the ventilation air, rock heat pump and water-borne underfloor heating. They bought the house in 2016 and reckoned that the extra expensive energy measures in the home would have a payback period of 40 years. – It obviously depends on the electricity price, so if it remains as high in the future, the repayment period will probably be greatly reduced, says Byskov Lindberg. Sintef researcher and specialist in zero-energy houses Karen Byskov Lindberg in front of the family’s own house. It dates from the 1960s, but now produces more energy than it uses in a year. Photo: Kjartan Rørslett / news The house produces more electricity than it uses Before the renovation, the old house was calculated to have an energy consumption of 52,000 kilowatt hours a year. The couple, who have three children, now use 8-9,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year to cover the needs in the house. But the man in the house, Bjørn Thorud, is a solar energy specialist, and they therefore wanted to cover the entire south-facing roof with solar panels. – The solar cells produce 11,000 kilowatt hours a year. Even though they produce most in the summer, the energy account is in the positive if we look at it over the year, says Karen Byskov Lindberg.
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High electricity prices cut the payback period for energy saving measures – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
