Bringing warmth to the residents of Kyiv

Kyiv Public Buildings Energy Efficiency Project

Modernizing heating systems and preserving artwork in Ukraine's capital city

The new heating system at Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko Museum helps preserve the memory of Ukraine's most famous poet.

Thanks to World Bank funding, the national museum's heating system has been modernized, resulting in the reliable and consistent heat essential  to preserve its precious manuscripts, artwork, and photographs while reducing energy consumption.

Old heating systems led to excess heat loss

In the late 1990s, most cultural establishments, schools, and hospitals in Kyiv faced heating-related problems in winter. The systems were inefficient, and public buildings used much more heat than similar ones in Western European countries.

The low quality of construction materials, poor insulation, and the absence of metering equipment were the problem. As a result, the temperature inside buildings could be extremely uneven, which led, for instance, to more illnesses among schoolchildren and to interruptions in their studies.

Reducing costs, saving energy, and improving heating in schools and hospitals

In 1999, the city authorities pleaded for assistance. This led to a World Bank loan to install or modernize metering systems, as well as to improve thermal insulation in over one thousand buildings in Kyiv, mostly schools and hospitals. The project's energy-saving measures are also being carried out in kindergartens, museums, and administrative buildings.

The project calls for the installation of equipment to accurately determine a building's heating requirements and then supply it accordingly. To prevent energy losses, a number of thermal insulation measures are also envisaged.

The project began in 2000 and is scheduled for completion in June 2005. It uses low-cost measures with quick and easy applications. The total cost is US$30.4 million; US$18.29 million is covered by the World Bank credit, US$2 million from the Government of Sweden, and the rest is met by the local authorities.

Better heating leads to comfortable buildings and fewer illnesses in schools

Thanks to this World Bank project, several positive results are now evident. Authorities will pay less to heat their city buildings, while receiving the same or even better service. The project is estimated to save US$2.9 million annually.

The better heating systems have also eliminated one of the causes of illness in schoolchildren and made the lives of patients at clinics and hospitals, visitors and employees of cultural institutions, and staff of administrative buildings more comfortable. The decreased use of gas and heating oil will also reduce the emission of harmful pollutants.