Fear Uninsulated Buildings, Not Winter

Winter Energy Consumption Reduced Through Thermal Insulation, Says İZODER İZODER Chairman Ferdi Erdoğan states that thermal insulation is the key to significantly reducing energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings during winter. Without wasting energy, aiming to live in safe and comfortable buildings, and seeking to achieve savings of up to 50 percent on natural gas bills, it is essential to protect our buildings with thermal insulation, he said. Noting that with increasingly advanced thermal insulation systems today, savings of up to 50 percent on natural gas bills are possible, İZODER Chairman Ferdi Erdoğan stated: Energy savings is a phenomenon that can be achieved through thermal insulation, and as a country that largely imports natural gas, energy conservation must be our first priority. Therefore, in buildings to which we entrust our lives in a sense, thermal insulation is essential for both building safety, energy conservation, and budgetary reasons. The way to reduce natural gas consumption by half while living comfortably in safe buildings is through thermal insulation. Consumers whose buildings are protected with insulation systems benefit from comfortable living through quality thermal insulation, he said.

Caution Against Poor Quality Insulation Materials and Faulty Workmanship

İZODER Chairman Erdoğan warned consumers who wish to have insulation applied to their structures to stay warm through winter about poor quality insulation materials and faulty workmanship. One of the most significant problems encountered in thermal insulation applications is consumer deception. Consumers with insulation awareness should be very careful when obtaining services, he said, listing the path that those having insulation work done should follow: In a successful thermal insulation application that protects buildings for many years, compliance of all products with standards and proper workmanship are of great importance. Applications using qualified building materials that are not thermal insulation materials do not yield results. Additionally, in applications using correct insulation materials, if incomplete materials are used, the achievable savings amounts cannot be realized. Due to growing insulation awareness, caution must be exercised against unscrupulous companies that attempt to capture market share through manipulation and unfair competition. Some qualified building materials are used for this purpose to deceive consumers. For this reason, citizens should demand that products with CE certificates and the İZODER Quality Approval Certificate (İKOS), which can only be obtained through inspection of İZODER member organizations, be used in the applications they commission.

With Uninsulated Buildings, We Are Literally Throwing Energy Away

Drawing attention to the fact that Turkey, as a country importing 75 percent of its energy, consumes 10 times more energy than Europe, Ferdi Erdoğan stated: "The absence of thermal insulation in 85 percent of approximately 19 million residential units in our country shows how we are wasting our energy. Moreover, approximately 35 percent of the energy used in residences is consumed solely for heating purposes. Because of our existing uninsulated buildings, we are literally throwing energy away. For this reason, we waste approximately 10 billion dollars every year. In fact, when all buildings in our country are insulated, we will achieve energy savings equivalent to constructing at least four Keban Dams annually," he said.

We Live in Buildings Lacking Structural Safety, Unhealthy and Uncomfortable

Arguing that Turkey has much ground to cover on thermal insulation, Ferdi Erdoğan said: As İZODER, for 21 years we have continuously explained the importance of insulation in Turkey and attempted to raise awareness on this matter. We will continue these activities in the future, covering the entire country. When we compare per capita insulation material consumption in developed countries with that in our country, we can say we have fallen considerably behind. While per capita insulation material consumption in EU countries is 1-1.2 cubic meters, in our country this figure reached only 0.2 cubic meters after intensive efforts over the past 10 years. That is, we are 5-6 times behind EU countries. This means we are living and working in buildings that are more expensive, unhealthy, lacking structural safety, uncomfortable, and not environment-friendly.

Buildings Classified from A to G with 'Energy Identity Certificate'

Stating that the Energy Performance Regulation, enacted with the goal of Turkey achieving insulated buildings, is a very important application for both newly constructed buildings and existing buildings, Ferdi Erdoğan said: "According to this regulation, all existing buildings were required to obtain an 'Energy Identity Certificate' by 2017. The application that entered into force on 1 January 2011 can be described as one of our country's most important energy and environmental policies. Now when buying, selling, or renting homes, people look not only at location, view, and number of rooms, but also at the identity certificate. The 'Energy Identity Certificate', which shows how much energy buildings consume, also determines their class. With the 'Energy Identity Certificate', buildings are classified from A to G, just like white goods. The first condition for owning a home in the A group, symbolizing the highest class, is having thermal insulation that reduces the building's heating and cooling expenses by up to 50 percent. We believe the Energy Identity Certificate, which should be further developed and implemented, should be requested at the construction permit stage and construction should begin accordingly," he said.

Important Project from ÇATIDER

Paints and Coatings, Building Chemicals, Insulation Magazine / January-February 2015 The Roof Manufacturers and Businessmen Association (ÇATIDER) launched the 'Project for Establishing and Developing Roof and Roofing Training Systems', supported by the European Union, with the aim of increasing trained workforce in the roofing sector, developing and making roofing training attractive, and increasing awareness about occupational health and safety. The project is being implemented within the scope of the 'Improving the Quality of Vocational and Technical Education in Turkey Operation (IQVET)' grant project of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security European Union Coordination Department. The Roof Manufacturers and Businessmen Association (ÇATIDER), which has made it its mission to increase public awareness about roofing and develop the roofing sector, launched a comprehensive project contributing to the development of roofing training and the profession under the slogan "Good Education, Proper Roofing." The project aims to: 'make roofing vocational and technical education attractive', 'support roofing application systems technical vocational education programs both theoretically and practically with current methods and materials, helping to employ trained workforce that the sector requires' and 'increase awareness about occupational health and safety'.

Sector Workforce to Be Supported with Vocational Training

ÇATIDER Chairman M. Nazım Yavuz expressed his belief that the project, in addition to contributing to the development of the roofing profession, will serve as an example for solving the problem of trained workforce in Turkey. Yavuz stated: Parallel to sector growth, the need for technicians increases every year. However, due to insufficient career presentations and curricula not covering current information, demand for the roofing master field in vocational schools falls short of sector expectations. Making technical vocational education programs attractive by supporting them theoretically and practically with current methods and materials also constitutes an important goal for the roofing sector. Additionally, recent work accident statistics in Turkey show that insufficient importance is given to occupational health and safety. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security aims to make certification mandatory for all workers by 2015, particularly to reduce work accidents. Along with work accidents, roof masters who, although carrying out the roofing profession individually, were trained through apprenticeship relations, do not have serious education, thus both disadvantaging consumers and having difficulty finding work. For this reason, roof masters serving the sector in accordance with a certain education standard emerges as another goal that the roofing sector should reach. As the largest organization representing the roofing sector, the Roof Manufacturers and Businessmen Association (ÇATIDER), is implementing a very important project that will provide solutions to these problems.

Private Sector and Educational Institutions Moving Forward Together

The project includes two Partner Organizations (İSOV Zincirlikuyu Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Ankara Mimar Sinan Technical and Industrial Vocational High School) and one participating organization (Germany Dachdecker Verband NordRhein). Additionally, an Advisory Committee composed of ÇATIDER representatives, education experts, academics, technicians, and masters was established to assist in project work. The following work will be conducted within the project scope: • E-learning materials compatible with vocational education curricula will be created. • Applied training will be supported through roofing workshops established in schools. • Site inspection opportunities will be provided. • Seminars with participation of private sector representatives will be organized. Managers of leading sector companies will share their knowledge and business opportunities in the sector. • Sector representatives will provide one-to-one information support to students. • In-service training will update the knowledge of roofing teachers and master instructors teaching in technical and vocational high schools. • Through information activities for students, sector needs will be explained and the attractiveness of the sector emphasized. Roofing Masters to Be Certified Additionally, through this project, the vocational technical education curriculum for masters without a Roofing Certificate will be reviewed and updated. Those who succeed in the training will receive a Success Certificate in accordance with the protocol signed by ÇATIDER with the Ministry of National Education on 29 March 2013, in accordance with Ministry of Education approved Vocational and Technical Education provisions.