EFdeN and ING Bank Romania launch the first free digital simulator that allows apartment owners to make their own assessment of the energy efficiency of their home and quickly understand what interventions are worth making in their apartments and with what estimated impact on bills.
According to an EFdeN press release, citing Eurostat data, in Romania, almost 95% of people live in privately owned homes, and energy costs directly influence the budget of each household. After a cold season with high consumption and an unstable gas price context, homeowners are faced with concrete decisions: what measures are worth taking and what is their real impact on costs.
The free digital energy optimization simulator is available online and offers in less than 10 minutes an estimate of the energy performance of the home, the interventions that should be made in one's apartments and the impact on bills, as well as an approximation of the energy class of the home before and after the interventions, so that users can analyze possible long-term savings.
"The Energy Efficiency Simulator launched by EFdeN is a step in the democratization of energy efficiency. Through it, we offer free and easy access to all apartment owners who want to understand how they can reduce consumption and bill costs. In partnership with ING, we are building a framework for change, in which every Romanian can make informed decisions and prioritize interventions with the greatest impact. Romania ranks last in Europe in electricity consumption per home, according to Eurostat data, which means that the potential of residential buildings is huge. In the long term, through electrification, homes can be transformed into smart systems that reduce costs and balance the grid, and this simulator was created to help people prepare their homes for this future", declared Dalia Stoian, president of EFdeN.
The simulator is based on the official methodology for calculating the energy performance of buildings (MC-001-2022) and takes into account information such as the year of construction, usable area, type, age and orientation of windows, wall surfaces, apartment surroundings, degree of sunshine, heating source, household appliances used, etc.
The information is entered by the user, facilitating the simulation from any location. Among the concrete benefits for owners are: an approximation of the current energy class of the home (an energy performance certificate costs approximately 200-500 lei), concrete measures for renovation and reduction of the value of bills, as well as a perspective on long-term savings. The user will also be able to see the estimated level of greenhouse gases emitted by his home, as well as the new estimated one after improvements.
"The development of the Energy Efficiency Simulator together with EFdeN started from a clear need that we identified among homeowners: the desire to reduce their monthly costs and increase the value of their home, but also the difficulty of knowing where to start. It is an innovation meant to bring transparency, simplification and support in a field that, although it impacts everyone's life, remains difficult to navigate. (...) The simulator allows us to occupy a new strategic territory: that of a consultant on the quality of the home, complementing our role as a financier. We want this to be just the first step in a broader effort to support clients in the transition to more efficient, more valuable and more environmentally friendly homes," stated Iulia Rusu, Lending Insurance Strategy Lead ING Bank Romania.
The cited source emphasizes that Romania has over 300,000 prosumers, but they represent only a fraction of the total number of homeowners. For the majority of those living in apartments in the existing built stock, the first step is not energy production, but reducing consumption and prioritizing interventions that have a direct impact on bills.
The project builds on EFdeN's experience with the "Sustainable Prosumer's Guide", a material that shows how much a family can save by investing in photovoltaic panels. The simulator extends this approach and transforms it into a free online digital tool.
The main goal of the Simulator is to reduce bills by clarifying the impact of each intervention. In the long term, however, the tool contributes to increasing the energy competence of homeowners, so that decisions regarding housing are based on data and estimates, not assumptions.
The first version of this digital tool is designed for apartment owners. EFdeN will soon launch an updated, expanded version for house owners as well.
EFdeN is a Romanian non-governmental organization, founded in 2013, active in the field of energy efficiency and applied sustainability education. The organization develops and tests concrete solutions for buildings and communities, with a focus on reducing consumption and optimizing costs.
Founded in 1994, ING Bank Romania, part of ING Group, is currently a universal bank, with over 1.9 million clients from three business segments: individuals (retail), SME companies, Mid-Corporate and Wholesale Banking.
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