Over 12,000 dwellings from new residential projects in Romania have been certified as been ‘green’, according to an analysis conducted by BuildGreen, the leading consultant in the field of sustainable building design, development and certification in Romania.
Overall, approximately 60 local residential projects were certified as being ‘green’. Most of them, 44, obtained the ”Green Homes” certification after the scheme developed by the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC), totalling over 10,000 homes. Another approximately 15 projects obtained or are in the process of obtaining a ‘green’ certification after the British scheme BREEAM, their numbers being also on the rise recently.
”More and more residential projects from Romania are being designed and built according to sustainable development principles and we expect these numbers to grow in the future. Implementing a sustainable certification translates into significant energy consumptions, which makes these projects more attractive. All new office projects from Romania are being designed and developed according to the principles of sustainability included in the various ‘green certifications’ schemes and in the future we will see their expansion in the residential and public segments”, stated Razvan Nica, managing director of BuildGreen.
Dwellings included in a residential project designed and constructed according to sustainable principles, especially for those that adopt the energy criteria included in the international certification schemes, have reduced energy consumption by approximately 25% – 50%, depending on the level of performance achieved and implicitly by the investments related to their implementation. These savings are obtained regarding housing heating and cooling costs, due to high-performance construction materials and techniques, and in terms of energy consumption.
Overall, these energy savings obtained in a residential projects developed according to sustainable principles translate into approximately 10% of the purchasing cost of a new apartment, during the payment of a mortgage loan.
”The local residential market went in recent years through an intense developing stage, especially on specific segments, and buyers became much more educated. We hope that in the following period and n the coming years we will have more and more buyers who will ask for information regarding the energy performances of the buildings and about the existence of a ‘green certification’ for the projects”, added Razvan Nica.
Among the projects that achieved the Green Homes certification issued by RoGBC are Amber Gardens, Aviatiei Park or One Herastrau Park and One Mircea Eliade, all from Bucharest, and Wings from Cluj – Napoca, while among the projects BREEAM certified are Luxuria Domenii Residence from Bucharest and Vox Vertical Village from Timisoara. Most of the residential projects certified as ‘green’ are in Bucharest, followed by those from Cluj – Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov and Iasi.