Energy poverty in Hungary
70 per cent of Hungarian homes are not properly insulated, and 40 per cent of the country’s 9.5 million people live in households that can not afford proper heating or insulation. Two-thirds of these are family homes, and most of them are located in the countryside. Over the past decade there has been very limited EU funding and other grants available for energy saving or efficiency improvements in family homes.
And although the government has claimed to address energy poverty through several general energy price cuts, these reductions have had a very limited effect on those facing energy poverty. Furthermore, these measures discourage energy efficiency investments. In the spring of 2017, the government launched an energy efficiency loan programme that is helpful for middle class households but is practically inaccessible for energy poor families without upfront capital.
Building a straw bale network
The good news is that there is a significant amount of straw bale generated each year in the Hungarian countryside. Straw bale has a small ecological footprint, it is cheap (with low costs for both installation and operation), and it has excellent insulation qualities. It is also compostable, making it an ideal, sustainable material in the fight against energy poverty. Furthermore, straw bale walls and insulation technology require local work and materials, and thus support the local economy.
EKA has developed a blueprint plan for straw bale houses that households and communities can use and adapt to their needs. It contains a range of different types of 100 m2 straw bale houses, all of which can be adapted to existing architecture and heating systems. The plan also includes a newly developed, very simple insulation technique whereby straw insulation blocks are attached to the wall by means of ‘rachel’ mesh and wires.
Modern straw bale houses have been built in Hungary since 2000, although the technique also makes use of traditional knowledge. Although the national political environment is not overly supportive of the method, regulations and standards do exist, and it is possible to obtain a building permit for straw bale insulation or a straw bale-walled house without running into excessive administrative hurdles. This is partly due to the efforts and advocacy of EKA, but also because the straw bale method does not (yet) compete with other insulation and building techniques.
The beauty of the straw bale approach is that it integrates environmental and social concerns by simultaneously tackling urgent energy issues and developing the local economy. The programme aims to create a network of straw bale housing communities, and in the long term an alternative building sector in Hungary that will develop the local economy and fight energy poverty.
Cooperation with municipalities
Within the framework of the EU-funded COPOWER (www.communitypower.eu) and the EUKI project (www.just-transition.info), EKA and FoE have been promoting the straw bale concept to local governments and communities and offering them collaboration and trainings. In this way, the municipality or a consortium of interest groups leads the project, with EKA and FoE playing an active role in the implementation. For example, the NGOs provide trainings for municipal workers to become straw bale construction workers and experts, and offer help in identifying and applying for financial resources for local projects (for example from EU funds, through crowdfunding or by establishing a social cooperative).
There number of progressive municipalities in Hungary interested in initiating straw bale housing programs or projects is growing. Some of these may take place within the framework of social cooperative systems, with the municipality as creator or participant and members buying shares. These social cooperatives can apply for external funding (such as EU funds), or can crowdfund for projects that benefit the public (such as straw bale insulation or walled buildings). In this model, unemployed energy poor locals join the cooperative and instead of buying shares, are retrained to insulate or build houses with straw bale. These homes may be for cooperative members (at a reduced price) or for the wider community.
Since 2012, the number of straw bale houses on Hungary has been increasing exponentially. Encouragingly, the trend is also having an effect on the country’s Roma population, who often live at the outskirts of villages and are even more affected by energy poverty than the national average. In the summer of 2016, two Roma communities (one in Borsod and one in the Southern Great Plain) insulated their houses with EKA’s architectural and construction expertise and the involvement of local municipalities. In the coming years, FoE Hungary plans to continue to promote EKA’s straw bale techniques and trainings to interested communities and families.
Possibilities for financing
At first, straw bale project implementation was predominantly financed through NGO grants, and pressure tests for the bales were financed through crowdfunding. Currently, the income from trainings and payment from construction labour covers most of the financing needs. The simple and low-cost straw bale insulation technique can be applied by local volunteer groups, and materials cost 50 per cent less than those for conventional insulation.