Nine floors, four entrances, 142 apartments, and two non-residential units. The building managed by the HKh-20 homeowners association in Lviv is 41 years old and has undergone significant changes in recent years. By participating in the Energy Efficiency Fund’s programs, the co-owners have comprehensively modernized the building, halved its energy consumption, and installed a solar power system. It now powers the elevators, video surveillance, and lighting in common areas.
The story began in 2020, when the HOA applied to the Energodim program. The co-owners decided to undertake a comprehensive package of improvements: insulate the building, upgrade its utility systems, and enable residents to control the heating in their apartments.
The work included external wall insulation, as well as the insulation and replacement of heating and hot water pipes in unheated areas. The heating system was balanced using automatic valves to distribute heat more evenly throughout the building. The improvements also covered pipes and radiators inside apartments, windows and balcony door units, and the insulation and glazing of balconies and loggias.
Temperature controls and heat cost allocators were installed in the apartments. This enabled co-owners to set a comfortable indoor temperature and manage their own energy consumption.
The modernization resulted in an actual reduction in energy consumption of 50%. According to Tetiana Afanasieva, Chair of the HOA Board, savings in some apartments reach 70%.
“We carried out a comprehensive package of improvements, from insulating the building to installing heat cost allocators in the apartments. Support from the Fund and the city helped us significantly reduce the financial burden on co-owners. Residents are very satisfied with the results. After the thermal modernization, we went a step further and installed a solar power system, which now supplies electricity for the building’s shared facilities,” says Tetiana Afanasieva.
Key Financial Figures
- Total project cost — UAH 14.1 million
- Energy Efficiency Fund grant — UAH 9.9 million
- Reimbursement from Lviv City Council — UAH 1.0 million
- Co-owners’ contribution — UAH 3.2 million
Economic and Environmental Impact
- Reduction in energy consumption — approximately 50%
- Annual savings on building heating — approximately 630,100 kWh, or UAH 795.4 million
- Average savings per apartment (60 m²) — UAH 4,300 per year
- Reduction in CO₂ emissions — 200.8 tonnes per year
A loan was used to finance the co-owners’ contribution. According to the HOA, the monthly payment for a three-room apartment is approximately UAH 300. This allowed co-owners to spread the costs over time while already benefiting from the completed improvements.
The next step was to install their own power generation system through the GreenDIM program. The building was equipped with solar panels with a total capacity of 57.33 kW, a 50 kW inverter, and batteries with a storage capacity of 81.92 kWh. The panels generate electricity for shared equipment, while the batteries store it for use during power outages.
According to the HOA, the system has already generated 33.79 MWh of electricity, saving the association UAH 145,973. These savings come from supplying electricity to the elevators, pumping equipment, video surveillance, and lighting in common areas.
The total project cost under the GreenDIM program was UAH 2.8 million. The Energy Efficiency Fund provided a grant of over UAH 1.8 million. The HOA also used a municipal program that reimburses 30% of the cost of work and materials. By combining these two sources of support, the co-owners reduced their own expenses to UAH 210,000.
Tetiana Afanasieva explains that solar power had been sufficient to meet the building’s shared electricity needs since April. It was only in October, following a prolonged outage and an overcast day, that they had to recharge the batteries from the grid for the first time during that period.
For residents of the GH-20 HOA, modernization has already become part of everyday life: they can control the heating in their homes and use less grid electricity thanks to their own power generation.