Refurbishment of Residential Buildings According to the

Serbian Policy: Case Study in Belgrade

Vladimir Jovanovic, PhD student Karin Stieldorf, Ass. Prof.
Institute of Architecture and Design, TU Wien Institute of Architecture and Design, TU Wien
Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria
jovanovic.vlad@yahoo.com karin.stieldorf@tuwien.ac.at

ABSTRACT
The First Serbian National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) point out the residential buildings built in the
1970’s and 1980’s are the biggest problem regarding the energy consumption in the country. In recent years, energy
efficiency policy in Serbia has been changed exceptionally. However, further clarification of the legal requirements is
necessary to encourage house-owners to invest in retrofitting. The goal of this paper is to asses policy-driven
refurbishments through environmental, economical and social evaluation for a typical Serbian home from 1980’s.
Dynamic simulations were performed for one house model analyzed in Belgrade. Retrofits were designed according to
the 2011 Regulation on Energy Efficiency in Buildings; the First NEEAP targets; the incoming Second Serbian
NEEAP; and the passive house standard. Designed retrofits improved overall environmental impact of the building and
reduced heating demands from 32% to 90%. The refurbishments improved thermal comfort in the building but also
showed some of the disadvantages. In addition, long pay off period appeared as one of the obstacles for retrofitting. Due
to the sampling procedure, the findings could be used as a first step for refurbishment of similar houses in the country.
A greater understanding of pros and cons of the refurbishment could contribute to the increase of future retrofit rates in
Serbia.