In brief

• The new school in Lääneranna municipality offers better indoor conditions, but electricity and heating costs are noticeably higher than in the old building.
• The mayor points to the modern ventilation system as the likely cause, although this is only a preliminary assessment.
• The municipality is speeding up an energy audit and has set aside additional funds for winter.

Higher bills despite a new building

The new school, which replaced the old facility in Lääneranna municipality, provides pupils and teachers with better indoor conditions, but its operating costs are significantly higher than in the previous building. Both electricity and heating bills have gone up (New buildings may improve air quality but not always lower energy costs – ERR News).

Is the ventilation to blame?

Mayor Tarvi Sits acknowledges that part of the increase is due to higher energy prices. In his view, however, the main cause may be the modern ventilation system, which consumes considerably more electricity. The old, worn-out building had no such system at all, which makes the comparison difficult. The mayor cautions that this is so far only a preliminary assessment (Uus hoone toob kvaliteetsema õhu, kuid ei taga alati madalamat energiakulu – ERR).

Energy audit brought forward

The municipality had already planned an energy audit, but has now decided to bring it forward. Specialists are to review all installations and determine whether the high costs are the new norm or whether they can be reduced through better system settings.

Expert: good climate has its price

Professor Jarek Kurnitski points out that in residential buildings poorly configured ventilation is often the problem, while in schools ensuring an adequate supply of fresh air in line with requirements is simply more expensive. Better air quality therefore does not always mean lower energy consumption.

Additional funds in the budget

The municipality has set aside additional money in its budget for heating and electricity for the school until winter. A similar surprise was experienced by a resident of Tallinn who moved from a panel building in Lasnamäe to a new housing estate, where the electricity bill was twice as high as in his previous, uninsulated apartment.