How solar is transforming residential construction in Bulgaria

The boom in solar project investments in Bulgaria, as well as the ever-changing real estate market, have given rise to a revolutionary change in the country’s housing construction sector.

Among the thousands of “for sale” real estate listings, we are increasingly witnessing apartment towers and complexes with photovoltaic installations on their roofs. The change in business attitudes is largely dictated by the plans adopted by the European Parliament (EP) to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector.

According to said plans, from 2030 onwards all new buildings in EU member states should be zero-emission. New buildings used by or owned by public bodies should be zero-emission from 2028.

Solar panels on the roof

One of the first residential projects in Sofia to install solar panels on the roofs of its buildings was River Park Sofia. It is a complex consisting of over 350 houses located in close proximity to IKEA and Ring Mall.

The solar panels of River Park serve as a supplement to the main heating installation in each home, although the solar system itself is installed to heat water. 

We settled on a partial model so as not to raise the final price for the client and not spoil the aesthetics of the complex. Each homeowner can consider whether to add more electricity-producing solar panels to cover the entire roof," River Park reps explained to Economic.bg.

The company says interest in homes with solar panels is picking up, even if it is not that prominent at the moment.

Although the initial investment may seem high, it is key to significant long-term savings on household utility bills. This complete system solution gives homeowners in the complex greater autonomy and energy efficiency, which contributes to the added value of their property," added the River Park reps.

It turns out that in recent years there has been an increased interest in rooftop solar panels from people who want to improve the energy efficiency of their already purchased property.

Economic.bg spoke with Svetlozar Zhelyazkov, who is a manager in SS-Solar – a company for installing photovoltaic panels. His observations are that in the last two years, interest in these installations has increased significantly. But despite their indisputable advantages, they are not profitable for all users.

The (initial) installation cost for a single-family house is about 12,500 euros. If the household pays up to 25 euros per month in electricity bills, I don't think it makes sense to have solar panels. But, if we are talking about monthly costs of about 250 euros, it is worth it and the installation will reduce the bill to such an extent that it will pay for itself in 4-6 years and from then on (power consumption) will be completely free," says Zhelyazkov.

Actually, an investment in a photovoltaic installation for the needs of a household pays for itself in an average of up to 8 years, according to calculations made by developers and people who have already made this type of investment.

On the one hand, I figured I could recoup my investment over a period of 5 to 7 years. It was clear that everything was going to get more expensive, and I bought it just in time, now all this equipment is worth almost double, after only two years. In the summer I cover 80 percent of my electricity consumption, and in the winter between 30 and 40 percent. This is a huge step forward", says Maxim Behar, PR expert, in a conversation with Economic.bg.

He says his mindset has completely changed since making the solar installation. "I also installed relays on all the sockets, on the lighting fixtures, I started measuring every bit of consumption, already in the first week I changed all the light bulbs in the house with at least three times lower values, and all of a sudden they became energy savers."

He and his wife have also bought second-hand electric cars. "We became different people and I'm very happy about that," says Behar.

Solar panels and apartment buildings

If installing solar panels on a single-family house is a matter of personal choice, then for people who live in apartment buildings and want to optimize their energy costs, it can become a real challenge.

In order to install a solar panel on an existing multi-household building, the consent of all residents is required. This quite often turns into a real challenge. However, there are already multi-family housing projects with photovoltaic plants already placed on the roofs. An example of this is the Modar Suits & Retail complex, located in Plovdiv.

Thanks to the solar installations, the costs of electricity in the shared parts of the building are almost completely compensated, including corridors, elevators, lighting, facade lighting, underground parking, park lighting and ventilation. Batteries have also been added to store electricity until the evening when the stored current can also be used.

Initially, our idea was to satisfy the power needs of every single home. However, our calculations showed that we do not have enough roof area to cover that type of consumption even partially. (So), we made a decision to cover the consumption in all the common areas," Bauland, the construction and investment company behind the Modar Suits & Retail project, told Economic.bg.

The construction sector will have to wait some more time before the technologies develop well enough to generate electricity from facades, joinery, etc.

The developers' plans are to also build charging stations for electric vehicles, which, if possible, will ensure the price of electricity is close to zero during daylight hours or at least that it can be used during the day at preferential prices.

The properties of VM Invest - a construction and investment company that builds mainly on the territory of Sofia - also have photovoltaic plants. That company also bets on solar panels to power the common areas of the housing properties, and likewise, the reason is the insufficient space on the roofs, as well as the increase in the price of the product for the end customer.

"At the moment, there are only a few buildings in Bulgaria that have photovoltaic windows and similar technologies, because these types of installations make what are already expensive properties even pricier. People tend to pay more, but they do so up to a certain percentage. There is still no established culture of paying more to live in these types of buildings. There are only a few people who understand this because there is a general lack of awareness," commented Petar Sotirov, Commercial Director of VM Invest.

Confusion and lack of awareness

There is clearly a great desire among businesses, even residents, to use cleaner energy. On the other hand, the state really behaves like a strict policeman and tries to obstruct everyone with tons of permits, licenses, registrations and whatnot," says Maxim Behar.

According to him, it is very important for the Bulgarian government to start a mass campaign as soon as possible to stimulate citizens to install solar installations and even "subsidize part of the installation cost and buy the excess electricity at higher prices", he says.

If the Bulgarian government and parliament take out a few billion euros and invest them in solar installations to support households and businesses, then this money will not be an expense. It will just be an investment that will return a hundredfold," believes Behar.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov