İzocam, Turkey's largest insulation manufacturer, drew attention to the Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) concept during the January 11-18 Energy Savings Week, and discussed the updates made to the Regulation on Energy Performance in Buildings in 2023 in detail.
Turkey's largest insulation manufacturer İzocam assessed Turkey's energy scorecard during the 11-18 January Energy Savings Week. Drawing attention to the Near Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) concept to save energy, İzocam also discussed the latest updates made to the Regulation on Energy Performance in Buildings, which entered into force as of January 1st, 2023.
Turkey's energy imports make up the most of our foreign trade deficit. Emphasizing that the way to reduce our excessive dependence on foreign energy is through insulation, İzocam General Director Mr. Murat Savcı said, “The most important reason underlying Turkey's current account deficit is energy imports, which has a significant share of 20-25 percent in all imports. As Turkey, we buy the energy we use from abroad by paying billions of US dollars. 40% of the energy we consume is used in buildings, whereas approximately 30% is used in industry, and the rest is used in areas such as transportation and agriculture.
According to the data published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), Turkey's energy imports amounted to 8 billion 695 million US dollars in the first quarter of 2021. The total cost of energy imports to the country's economy in the last 10 years is over 450 billion US dollars. We import more than half of the energy we consume from abroad.
We still have to go a long way in terms of savings in energy consumption, which we are so dependent on foreign sources. Buildings that are insulated with the right material and appropriate thickness represent a major step to be taken to save energy. The contribution of insulation to our country's economy, even when only residences are considered, is huge. Accordingly, insulating 300 thousand households (flats) each year in accordance with current regulations will lead to potential natural gas savings of a total of 4.8 billion cubic meters at the end of 5 years. The monetary equivalent of this savings exceeds 60 billion TL.
“We should aim above the minimum limits in insulation”
Noting that more than 60% energy savings are achieved in a building insulated in accordance with the minimum limits set by the regulations compared to an uninsulated building, General Director of İzocam Mr. Murat Savcı emphasized that our ultimate goal as a country should be to achieve Near Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB) by ensuring insulation above the minimum limits imposed by the regulations. Stating that an important step has been taken in this regard recently and that the minimum limits set forth in the Regulation on Energy Performance in Buildings have been updated as of January 1st, 2023, Mr. Murat Savcı has said: “With this regulation, it has become obligatory for all buildings with a total construction area of more than 5 thousand square meters in a parcel to be constructed with an energy performance class of at least 'B' and at least 5 percent of the energy to be used in these buildings must be met from renewable energy sources. The regulation brought about an increase in the thickness of the insulation material used in thermal insulation, roughly 3 cm on the facades, 5 cm on the roofs and 3 cm on the floors. As of January 1st, 2025, the total construction area limit in a parcel will be reduced from 5 thousand square meters to 2 thousand square meters, the scope of the nearly zero-energy building concept will be expanded and the renewable energy requirement will be brought to 10 percent.”
“The scope of NZEB applications should be expanded”
Expressing that we need regulations covering all buildings and aiming to improve energy efficiency by more than 20 percent in order to reduce our dependence on foreign energy, Mr. Murat Savcı said: “Since 2019, all public buildings in the European Union, and since the beginning of 2020, all new buildings are being built as Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB). The insulation in these buildings are designed to ensure an annual energy consumption of 30-50 kWh per square meter for heating and cooling. In comparison, the new regulation introduced in our country aims that the energy consumption is reduced to the level of 100-120 kWh in a limited number of buildings with a total construction area of more than 5 thousand square meters.
Buildings that are insulated with the right material and appropriate thickness represent a major step to be taken to save energy. In addition to contributing to the national economy as well as household economy, the contribution of insulation to reducing harmful gas emissions and to the environment cannot be ignored. For this reason, expanding and disseminating the scope of Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB) applications will be one of the greatest legacies we will hand down to next generations.”