Sub-sector best prospects: Include the sub-sectors in which U.S. companies would have the best opportunity of exporting.
Last Published: 6/13/2019

Statistics for green building products could not be included as green building products are not distinguished from regular building products.  

Overview 
The residential and building sector accounts for more than 40% of the final energy consumption in the EU.  Energy consumption, and the subsequent carbon dioxide emissions, grow as this sector expands. However, Poland remains below the average energy consumption in Europe. 75% of the energy consumed in Poland is in the housing sector.  
In Poland, there are 13 million apartments (8.7 million in cities) within residential buildings, including single and multi-family houses. While 180,000 new apartment buildings open each year, only 1/5 of all housing in Poland was built after 1990. As a result, the estimated average energy consumption in new and old buildings in Poland is 170kWh/m2 per year.  This higher than the European average of 150kWh/m2 per year.  

A Polish apartment uses 59GJ of energy on average.  Heating comprises 71.2% of all energy use, including water heating, cooking, lighting, and electricity. Heating in Polish housing is sourced from a central heating network or a local boiler, which are fueled by coal, gas, or oil.   
Poland is taking steps to decrease its heat energy consumption. Within the last 10 years, the government has enacted programs which have reduced building energy consumption by 50%, thereby making the country a leader in energy efficiency. In 1998, Poland enacted a thermo-modernization law, which allowed building owners to apply for a refund of 16% on projects that modernize heating systems. Landlords upgraded thousands of windows, doors, roofs, wall insulation, and boilers as a result of this law.  This program has saved over USD 260 million in energy expenditures. 

In June 2018, the Polish government announced it will designate PLN 103 billion, over USD 28 billion, To finance thermo-modernization. The program, called “Clean Air”, will begin in 2018 and end in 2029. The Program will target individual home owners.  Two thirds of funds will be grants and the rest as loans. Grants can cover 90% of qualified costs or a maximum of PLN 53,000, approximately USD 15,000. 
In addition to the Thermo-Modernization Fund, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, provides grants and loans for both individual and institutional investors. Within the next four years, the government plans to spend over $1.1 billion from this fund.  Money from the sale of surplus Kyoto carbon credits will feed into a third fund which will address thermo-modernization and other activities. 

The market for commercial office buildings began in the early 1990’s. Class A and Class B office buildings dominate the market. At the end of 2018, developers built more than 10.4 million m2 of office space in nine major Polish markets.

In the past year, developers have put 744 thousand square meters new office space into use of which almost 233 thousand m2 are in Warsaw. Among regional cities, the highest growth in resources was recorded in the Kraków market (over 155,000 m2). 

Many government and administrative buildings are still outdated; however, developers are focusing on energy savings and thermo-modernization in this sector as well. 
Much like office buildings, commercial estates began to appear in Poland during the 1990s. In 2018, approximately  360,000 square meters of retail space were completed. Almost 19% of this space were  expansion projects. At the end of December 2018, approximately 11.9 million square meters were available on the market. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2018 there were nearly 400,000 square meters of area of ​​shopping centers under construction, of which about 60% will  come on the market in the first half of 2019. 

Traditional shopping centers make up 88% of retail formats, while the retail space density ratio is 303 m2 per 1,000 inhabitants. Among the eight major Polish agglomerations, the highest level of this ratio was noted in Poznan at 862 m2 per 1,000 inhabitants; while Lublin held the highest ratio at 959 m2 per 1,000 inhabitants.

Developers’ activities cover a wide spectrum, including adapting infrastructure for children and people with disabilities, remodeling common space and food courts, implementing free Wi-Fi, modernizing navigation and identification systems, creating interactive information points, building relaxation space, and remodeling parking lots and building facades. 
The Swedish company Skanska has recently announced a housing project in Warsaw that will encompass almost 500 apartments. This will be the first ever residential estate with a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certificate in Poland.   In Gdansk, single-family homes are built in line with heating regulations coming into effect in 2021. Companies in Poland offering ready-made houses, provide a guarantee for responsible energy consumption, improved air quality, acoustic comfort, and optimal use of day light. 
There are already 772 certified buildings in Polandof those 591  are BREEAM and  166 are LEED. Over the past twelve months, the number of certificates increased by over 154 new buildings. The pace of growth shows that BREEAM is consistently more popular, with 70% of today’s green buildings bidding for these certificates.  

Poland promotes energy efficient and sustainable buildings through a system of energy certificates introduced into Polish law from the EU 2002/91 Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. This Directive is the main legislative instrument at the EU level to achieve energy efficiency in buildings. In January 2017, new limits on primary energy use (EP) for new buildings and certain U-coefficients, i.e. penetration of heat, for external partitions of buildings were put into place. These limits also a previous ordinance from 2014, which regulated buildings by their location. It is recommended that buildings should consume a maximum of 120kWh/m2 per year.  In other EU countries, this value is much lower. For example, Sweden only allows 70kWh/m2 per year. The energy performance of buildings directive assumes that from 2021 all newly constructed buildings must have almost zero energy demand. New public buildings must meet this requirement from 2019. This means that the energy demand in such buildings should be minimal and largely satisfied with renewable energy produced on site. 

With EU directives, regulations have gotten tougher. As of March 2015, owners and managers are obligated to perform an energy audit before selling or renting their properties. This also applies to the owners of public buildings exceeding 250 m2 of space. In July 2015, the Ministry of Infrastructure introduced a national plan aimed at lower energy consumption for all buildings.  

Leading Sub-Sectors 
Best prospects for U.S. suppliers can be found in the following areas: 

  • HVAC, including air conditioners with cooling capacity of 470-1750 kW 

  • HVAC sensors that detect CO2 and air contamination  

  • High efficiency heating pumps integrated with solar panels and other innovative RE systems 

  • Roof reflective membranes to reduce air conditioning needs 

  • Solar photovoltaic panels (PV) integrated into the building façade BIPV 

  • Small wind turbines for multi-family houses 

  • Ventilation and heat recovery systems 

  • High-tech biomass boilers 

  • Innovative insulation materials and glass 

  • Energy efficient appliances 

  • Energy rating services as RESNET system 

  • Smart meters and software to mitigate electricity use 

  • Measuring equipment for energy and emissions testing 

  • Small-scale energy storage equipment


     Opportunities 
    Members of the Polish Construction and Real Estate Confederation think the development of sustainable construction on a massive scale is not only possible, but also profitable.   
    The market will grow even more when all regulations for the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EC) come into effect. In two to four years, all buildings should be energy efficient, forcing member states to introduce regulations on new buildings built after December 2020. These new regulations will require new buildings to have “near zero emissions”, energy usage of 50kWh/square meter per year, which will be 2.5 – 3 times less than buildings currently in operation. 
    The EU Commission’s decision to allocate funds targeting energy efficiency for all EU member states will also have a positive impact on the market. 
    Web Resources 
     
    Building Research Institute  
    instytut@itb.pl  
     
    Krajowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. (Polish National Energy Conservation Agency) 
    kape@kape.gov.pl  
     
    Narodowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. (National Energy Conservation Agency)  
    nape@nape.pl 
     
    Polish Green Building Council PLGBC 
    Contact: Ms. Alicja Kuczera, Managing Director 
    akuczera@plgbc.org.pl 
     
    Fundacja Budownictwa Energo-oszczednego “Zielone Domy” (Foundation for Energy Saving Construction “Green Houses”) 
    http://www.zielonedomy.com.pl/ 
     
    For more information about the Green Building and Sustainable Construction Sector, please contact: 
     
    U.S. Commercial Service Poland 
    Commercial Specialist: Anna Janczewska 


  

 
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.