EEP in Mongolia Technology and Pilots

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Technologies & Pilots

The GIZ project "Energy Efficient Building Refurbishment in Mongolia" (EEP) works with the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) and other stakeholders on public investment management and energy efficiency in the building sector.

Thermo-Technical Refurbishment of Schools and Kindergartens

An important aspect of the project was the possibility to work with all different levels of stakeholders. By implementing pilots in thermo-technical retrofitting at public schools and kindergarten buildings, there was the opportunity to generate real life experiences for stakeholders, data collection and complete training simultaneously. The project refurbished 22 school and kindergarten buildings. The work on those buildings allowed private construction companies to put their newly learned skills into practice, while the municipality could apply new management and budgeting processes.

To enable data collection and comparison of energy consumption, on all objects to be refurnished, before and after renovation, mixing loops and heat meters were installed prior to construction work. The collection of this data allows for the development of a baseline for heat consumption and supply, of public and private buildings in Mongolia. For the first time, theoretically calculated heat demands could be compared with the real consumption before and after renovation. This data showed that thermo technical retrofitting is not only serving the aim of the efficient use of energy, but also improving the learning conditions for children studying in those buildings.

In addition to the pilot buildings improving the current the situation, there were also planning and calculation documents created for many more buildings. Nine building designs blueprints were developed for 117 schools and kindergartens, as well as five design blueprints for 1077 panel buildings. These documents allow MUB to save costs in planning, and enables reliable cost calculations.

Temperature Improvements and Energy Savings

A conducted baseline study has shown that in non-renovated buildings the indoor temperature was as low as 10 – 18°C in wintertime with a clear correlation to the outdoor temperatures. Subsequently children had to wear winter clothes at school. In renovated kindergartens, on the other hand, indoor temperatures stabilized around 22°C regardless of outdoor temperatures.

While increasing the indoor temperature, the project’s aim was also to reduce the heating consumption by at least 40% through energy efficiency measures. The measures were calculated and defined in advance by energy auditors, integrated into the planning and checked again after the refurbishments.

Generally, building energy efficiency can be compared by determining the energy consumption per heated volume / area by either measuring:

1. Demand-related efficiency
2. Consumption-related efficiency

The energy auditing after the refurbishment has shown that by insulating the buildings (roof, top floor ceiling, exterior walls, exterior doors, exterior windows and floor, lower building closure) energy efficiency could be improved by up to 70% compared to the current demand.

This means that the heating energy demand of

• the kindergarten could be reduced from 400 kWh/ (m² *a) to 120 kWh/(m² *a)
• the school from 300 kWh/(m² *a) to 90 kWh/(m² *a)

As the measurements of the indoor air temperatures showed, the buildings did not recieve the amount of heat given in the calculated demand. After renovation the buildings recieved enough heat to create a comfortable learning condition and additionally save 40-55 % of heating energy in comparison to their consumption before renovation.

Costs for Thermo-Technically Retrofitted Schools & Kindergartens

Mongolias extreme winter temperatures are a threat to all buildings. Penetration of moisture in the walls in the heating seasons combined with frost will deteriorate the building structure from the outside, as the expanding structure of freezing water blasts wall structures and low indoor air temperatures with low ventilation will support the growth of mould on the inner walls.

This occurs mainly due to the fact that cold air can hold less humidity than warmer air. Due to the difference of temperatures between inside and outside, the location of the dewpoint, where the air is not able to take more humidity, is a relevant factor for the humidity content of the wall. In non insulated walls, the dew point is located inside the wall structure, allowing frost to deteriorate the wall, while external insulation moves the dewpoint to a position within insulation but outside of the wall, so that extra humidity can not deteriorate the building structure.

Most of the public buildings in Mongolia were built during the Soviet era and do not have insulation. Therefore the average lifetime of masonry buildings in Mongolia is only between 30 and 40 years.

Thermo-technical retrofitting protects the outer wall from humidity, and as a result extends the building’s technical lifetime by a minimum of 20 years after a professional refurbishment. If the insulation work is completed professionally, moisture can not enter the building structure and frost will be kept on the outside of the walls. Masonary buildings can be used for hundreds of years if frost is not able to enter the outer layers, as can be seen in examples from Euroean countries.

The renovation of a building to a high standard costs on average 300.000 MNT/m² . Given this, the costs for retrofitting a 2.000 m² kindergarten building would be 600 Mio MNT or approximately 193.000 EUR. This is very affordable when compared to the construction costs of a new kindergarten, for which costs per m² sum up to 3,5 Mio. A new kindergarten with 2.000 m² would cost 7.000 Mio MNT or 2,3 Mio. EUR. Therefore, it is up to 11 times cheaper to invest in the retrofitting of existing buildings than leave them in their current state, and have to invest into new buildings in 10 –15 years time when the building structure is unusable.

Healthier Children Have a Better Future

Prior to the refurbishment works, indoor temperatures ranged between 10 and 18 degrees in Schools. This caused discomfort, and prevented relaxed play, and concentrated learning. Due to the harsh conditions outside and the low temperatures, teachers tended to seal the windows and ventilation inlets to prevent cold air coming in. Unfortunately, these measures prevented the ventilation and exchange of the indoor air. This led to high humidity, and high concentrations of CO2 in the inside air. The standard for recommended concentrations of CO2 in educative buildings is at 1.000 parts per million (ppm). The measured values in those rooms was up to five times higher than this value. High concentration of CO2 leads to tiredness, and less ability to concentrate. Low ventilation rates, high concentrations of CO2, and cold temperatures are good conditions for viruses, bacteria, and mould to spread in a room.

Participating schools reported high absence rates of students, and teachers, on regular occasions throughout the year, prior to refurbishment. The air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, which is among the highest in the world, further aggravated this problem. Children, in particular suffer from lung and respiratory problems that often lead to pneumonia and other severe ilnesses, requiring medical treatment for many days or even weeks, each winter. This does not only lead to suffering and medical costs, but also requires parental care, and therefore produces high absence rates from economic activities.

Following the thermo-technical refurbishment, some beneficiaries stated that the direct costs for medical care, and lost work opportunity decreased by up to 65% (amounted to approx. 100-200 EUR depending on household social and economic status). According to a study to determine the social and health benefits of thermal refurbishment of schools and kindergartens, that was conducted in 2019 on the first refurbished buildings; the number of sick children had decreased by up to 48%, when compared to the previous year.

The survey also reported improvements in the children’s behaviour and learning performance. Children in renovated schools showed higher motivation to attend classes and participated more actively in the lessons.

Due to the fact that the study was based on the results of surveys, interviews and one-on-one interactions, the data can not be generalized. General results in direct correlation with specific health benefits must be further investigated by scientific research. Since the closing of the schools at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in January 2019, there were no children in Mongolian schools for more than two years. The children gradually started to return in the fall of 2021, and full class activities have only resumed in spring 2022.

Even though the direct monetary terms are dificult to define, the study showed a significant impact of thermo-technical refurbishment in terms of reducing/preventing illnesses and improving learning environment and physical performance of the children. 83% of the beneficiaries have actively expressed their contentment with the improved conditions, such as a comfortable room temperature, a clean and renovated living space, and a safe and attractive external environment.

CO2 Reduction Contribution

Through the implementation of the thermotechnical measures, the heating consumption of the buildings has been sustainably reduced, leading to a significant reduction in heating costs in the national and local budgets and also to a strong reduction in CO2 emissions, which serves as an example of how to achieve a positive impact against climate change.

By implementing the refurbishing measures, the project shows that an average of 400 tonnes of CO2 could be saved in an average school, and 170 tonnes in an average kindergarten. Across all 18 buildings renovated until the end of 2021, a total of 4,227 tonnes of CO2 is saved every year.

If the lifetime of the measures implemented is assumed to be 30 years, a total of 127.000 tonnes of CO2 will be saved. If the results of the project are implemented in all 117 schools for which planning documents are available, CO2 emissions reduction can reach 8,300,000 tonnes of CO2. This number equals the obligation of Mongolias NDC commitments for reduction contribution in the building sector.

126 Refurbished Buildings Supersede 20MW Coal Heating Plant

The project has shown that EE buildings can liberate heating energy, desperately needed in the fast growing City of Ulaanbaatar. Based on the existing energy system new coal plants are planned to be installed every few years. With thermo-technical refurbishment of old buildings, energy can be used more efficiently so that the construction of new coal based heating plants can be super seded. The thermo-technical retrofitting of just 126 public buildings, such as schools and kindergartens, can replace the new construction of a 20 MW coal heat only boiler.

Lessons Learned

Due to the current heating system, the energy saving is only partly reflected in the state budget. In cases where public buildings have their own boiler system, the reduced costs for fuel (coal or wood) can be directly measured. If a flexible budget system is provided for these buildings, the saved costs can be allocated to other needs and can be spent more effectively to further promote learning conditions and a child friendly environment.

Unfortunately, in the case of the buildings connected to the centralized district heating system, the energy savings are not presently directly reflected in the government expenditures. This negative fact is due to a tariff system that lacks any incentive to save energy. The tariffs are based on the volume of the building, not on the actual consumption of energy. Therefore, measures need to be undertaken to support energy-saving actions for speedier results.

Each building requires a heat regulating system to allow better control of energy consumption at all levels. This will make the thermo-technical renovation more effective and enhance its cost saving results. By the end of the implementation of the project, a total of 22 buildings will be thermo-technically refurbished, setting the base for a strategical implementation of energy efficiency in buildings of Ulaanbaatar and the whole of Mongolia.

The Schools and Kindergartens

Happy and healthy children who study in a positive and supportive learning environment are the most future oriented “output” of the project. Thanks to the initiative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the funding of construction work was implemented into the project concept at the initial phase of PIE. The stakeholders were able to demonstrate changes in conditions on real buildings, that could be monitored before and after refurbishment. They generated real time data, and experienced the improvements in air quality and comfort first hand.

All those experiences were included in the planning of the new project, combining PIE-2 and EEP. Thanks to the commitment and active cooperation of the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) a shared financing for the construction work of 22 schools and kindergartens could be developed and implemented. 60 % of the costs of the construction work was covered by the SDC, and 40 % by the MUB.

Each of the buildings is therefore an example for many more to be implemented in the near future in Ulaanbaatar, and other cities throughout Mongolia.

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