Lirie Berisha

Abstract

This Capstone Project addresses the important problem of low energy efficiency in residential buildings in Kosovo. The building sector is one of the biggest energy users and therefore a cause for being a CO₂ emitter. According to the Kosovo Statistical Office of the Ministry of Public Administration, the total number of households in Kosovo is 370,000, of which 10% or approximately 36,400 are apartments. This percentage of the housing stock consists of privatized apartments from the formerly public rental housing and new apartments’ buildings block, and the other 90 % is individual housing. Based on the information of PHE of Prishtina [18] the privatized housing stock is up to 50 years old and not refurbished, due to the lack of funds and longtime absence of complete legal framework. Also, after the war the new housing construction has increased, increasing home ownership and therefore electricity consumption. In Kosovo, concrete initiatives regarding energy efficiency are limited both from the public and private sector. Actually, the Government of Kosovo has approved several laws and regulations for energy, but there has been very little research and development activities undertaken to show energy efficiency importance and especially the direct impact of housing and construction regulation on the energy efficiency. The construction sector of Kosovo over the past ten years was not working based on a defined construction norms and regulations. This is besides the fact that Construction Law 2004/25, proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning was approved since 2004. The Law on Construction Products also was proposed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. These two laws create the legal bases for approval of advanced norms and standards for construction sector. The rules however related to the energy sector in Kosovo are regulated by Energy Law Nr.2004/8. The Ministry of Energy and Mines is responsible for implementation of provisions of this law. It defines the basic principles for an energy strategy and energy programs in Kosovo and promotes the efficient use of energy and the use of renewable energy sources. Clearly defined institutional and legal framework, and improved energy efficiency in the housing sector in Kosovo can contribute to improving energy efficiency and environmental protection. It can also help to avoid social exclusion, as an increasing number of low-income households can no longer afford the costs of heating. This is often the largest part of total expenditures on housing. This project provides a tentative road map for responsible government structures on the future policy decisions regarding energy efficiency in housing.

Publication Date

2010

Document Type

Master's Project

Student Type

Graduate

Department, Program, or Center

Professional Studies (CMS)

Advisor

Bowen, Brian

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works in February 2013.

Campus

American University in Kosovo

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