Badly in need of renovation, the Social Assistance House in Stegna was under threat of being shut down in 2004. The building, today housing 135 residents who are mainly old and disabled people, had not been renovated since its construction in the 1970s. Residents were suffering from a cold and unhealthy indoor climate, and the institution was paying a very large environmental fee, due to the high emission of pollutants from an old and inefficient coal boiler.
Improved energy efficiency
In 2007, Norway provided the necessary financing to overhaul the building. Walls and roofs were insulated, old windows and doors were replaced, and the central heating installations and the ventilation system were modernised. The half a million euro in support from Norway also allowed the institution to replace the old coal boiler with a biomass boiler and introduce solar heating panels. Today the heat demand is in its entirety supplied by renewable energy and the CO2 emissions have been reduced by 100%.
The renovation, finalised in September 2009, have decreased the heating demand with more than 60 % and removed the costly environmental penalty the institution previously paid. For residents and staff, the reduced humidity and draught have provided a better indoor climate and improved well being and health.
Part of the Environment Protection Program
The overall objective of the project has been to protect the environment by reducing the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. The project is part of the Environment Protection Program in the municipality of Nowy Dwór Gdanski, where one of the major challenges is the deteriorating air quality due to high emission of pollutants through a high heating demand of buildings and low efficiency of heating boilers.
Photo credit: COWI