Green Households Programme

Country / jurisdiction: Slovak Republic · Year: 2014 · Status: In force · Level: National · Type: Voluntary

Family homes and apartment blocks can apply for support in the form of a voucher for the installation of small installations for the use of renewable energy sources, thanks to a national project of the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) called Zelená domácnostiam (Green for Households).

This national SIEA project is funded by the Operational Programme Quality of the Environment, managed by the Slovak Ministry of the Environment. The support is for small installations for the production of electricity up to 10 kW and for heat generating equipment covering energy consumption in a family house or apartment block.

This project focuses on the use of the so-called small renewable sources in family and apartment homes to increase the share of renewable energy use in households. By November 2018, 17,434 vouchers, worth more than € 38.8 million, were reimbursed as part of the Operational Programme Quality of the Environment. If all currently valid vouchers are used, by the end of 2018 more than 18,600 installations for the use renewable energy should be supported from the project.

The SIEA is preparing a continuation of the “Zelená domácnostiam” project so that vouchers can be issued from 2019. The plan for the new project, with a total budget of € 48 million, has already been approved. As part of the project, an additional 25,000 installations could be supported in 2023 in households outside

In addition to energy efficiency, consideration is given to assess whether the equipment meets the emission limits. Households can use the services of nearly 1000 eligible contractors. In the new programming period, it is planned to continue the Zelená domácnostiam project, also in connection with the objective of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in heating and allowing the energy savings achieved in this way to be set against the 35 % exemption from the energy efficiency target under Art. 7.

The aid is set to give households the incentive to buy high-quality systems with reasonable performance, longer life and higher energy conversion efficiency, and not to underestimate the need for installation expertise. The aid may not exceed 50 % of the eligible expenditure.

The vouchers cover part of the delivery and installation cost of the entire system. The voucher value will be determined automatically based on the type and output of the device. For individual device types, a rate is set per 1 kW of installed power as well as for the maximum amount of installation support.

Total eligible costs will only be apparent from the specific installation invoice. Since the maximum support is possible up to 50 % of the eligible expenditure, the value shown on the voucher need not be fully reimbursed. This is particularly true of less expensive installations. At that point, the contractor should also notify the household that the amount of support will be less than the amount stated on the voucher.

Official source: https://zelenadomacnostiam.sk/sk/category/aktuality/