Possibilities to use energy performance contracting for financing the renovation of old apartment buildings in Slovakia

Renovation of old apartment buildings could be financed through energy performance contracting (EPC), especially if they have a single owner, for example, a municipality. However, studies on the feasibility of using EPC for the renovation of apartment buildings are lacking. In the present study, the feasibility of financing the renovation by EPC was studied for various scenarios of economic development. A sample of five apartment buildings was chosen to represent a wide range of buildings constructed several decades ago in Slovakia. Each building was renovated in the past to some extent, which helped reduce energy use, but these renovations were not complex and did not realise the full savings potential. The results showed that EPC as a financing method may not be preferred in a favourable economic situation with lower investments and relatively low energy prices, but it becomes more attractive when economic development is negative, that is, when increased investment costs combine with increased energy prices. Renovation measures in technical systems were shown to be more suitable for EPC than the measures in the building envelope. Therefore, to make a complex retrofit, it may be necessary to subsidise the renovation of the envelope or combine EPC with other funding.