I bought a roughly 50-year-old uninsulated house with the intention of renovating it and turning it into a modern living space. We decided to buy an old house because subsidies are not available for new ones. I wanted us to live comfortably there without high energy costs, so I used modern technology and tried to do everything properly. Given that there are mines everywhere throughout the area, the house first needed to be structurally secured before I could start the renovation itself.
I used the Green Savings program [operational 2009–2012], which provided relatively good guidance on specific technologies, from high-quality triple glazing and insulation to a heat recovery unit and a heat pump. After calculating the theoretical consumption according to the house’s energy label, our consumption dropped from several dozen megawatt-hours to six megawatt-hours, so the savings are enormous. When the renovation was complete, I decided to invest in my own energy source, namely photovoltaic panels. I also ended up buying an electric car because I was curious to see how the system would perform. After a year, I found that half of the kilometers driven were covered directly by solar energy, which exceeded my expectations. At first, I had to get used to the electric car, get various chips for chargers, which enable the use of charging stations, and so on. I was worried about how much time we would spend at charging stations, but that didn’t happen at all; I usually charge the car at home.
I think it would be beneficial to explain the advantages of electric cars. You hear about range anxiety (that is, how many kilometers the car can go without charging) and the like from all sides, but most people drive shorter distances to work and have nothing to worry about. In addition, it is also necessary to monitor compliance with environmental standards for combustion cars, which are often cheaper to operate simply because they do not comply with regulations. This keeps their price artificially low. I would advise people considering energy-efficient home renovation that it really pays off to do it properly and not just try to save money where possible. If they don’t have the savings right now, they should plan for the future and at least do some preparation, which will make the renovation easier later on. Overall, I would say that we should start to see the green transition as an opportunity, not a threat.