Energy renovation of family houses

By increasing energy efficiency of family houses, significant financial savings are achieved

Family houses comprise 65% of the housing stock in Croatia, and their energy consumption accounts for 40% of the total energy consumption at the national level. The majority of family houses in Croatia were built before 1987 and have no or just minimal thermal insulation (energy class E and lower). Such houses consume 70% of energy for heating, cooling and hot water, and energy efficiency measures can significantly reduce their consumption, in some cases up to 60% compared to the current consumption.

The public call for energy renovation of family houses will be published on 25 June 2020, and citizens will be able to apply for energy renovation of family houses at the end of the summer. This is a continuation of co-financing energy renovation of family houses, after the Croatian Government passed the Amendments to that programme on 14 May 2020.
The public call, with all requirements for co-financing, will be published on the website of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, while citizens will have time during the summer to collect and prepare the required documents since the official receipt of online applications will start in early September. 

The percentage of co-financing for all citizens will be 60%, while the renovation for vulnerable groups of citizens will be fully financed. 

18.846.638,79 EUR is allocated for this purpose.

The public call will be open to (co-)owners of existing family houses having a minimum energy class (according to QH,nd) D or lower in the continental part of Croatia, or energy class C or lower in the coastal part of Croatia. The basic requirement is that they were legally built or legalised.

For the purposes of this Programme, a family house means a building in which more than 50% of its gross floor area is intended for residential use, and it meets one of the two following requirements:
  • it has not more than three residential units;
  • it has a gross building area of less than or equal to 600 m2.

 Energy renovation measures

  • increasing thermal protection of all elements of the building envelope of the heated area:
  • energy renovation of the external wall, ceiling, floor, roof (all necessary equipment and works related to improving thermal insulation, including waterproofing, replacement of structural elements for roofs, etc.) - details will be stipulated in the public call);
  • replacement of windows on the building envelope of the heated area with new ones;
  • integrated energy renovation, implying a combination of measures on the building envelope and installation of the following RES systems:
  • systems with solar thermal inverters;
  • wood chip/pellet systems;
  • air/water, water/water, or earth/water heat pumps;
  • photovoltaic systems for generating electricity for own consumption.
More detailed technical requirements will be stipulated in the public call.

Application documents

The detailed contents of documents required to apply to the public call will also be stipulated in the public call, while the documents required for application shall include at least:
  • the energy certificate and the energy audit report before energy renovation, and a detailed estimate of equipment and works. The listed documents confirm compliance with the technical requirements stipulated in the public call;
  • In the case of installing photovoltaic systems, it is required to have the main design pursuant to the Ordinance on simple construction works and works (Official Gazette 112/17, 34/18,36/19 and 98/19);
  • In the case of submitting an application for a family house that is part of a protected cultural and historical unit, it is required to obtain the authorisation of the state administration body competent for the protection of cultural monuments and nature
  • Photo documentation of the as-is situation;
  • Proof of residence, ownership and legality of the construction work - the types of such evidence shall be stipulated in more detail in the public call.