The PVSYST Foundation's two project managers travelled to Kyrgyzstan to meet the CAMP Alatoo team, who are implementing the PROMEE (Professionals for Energy Efficiency Management) project.

The project aims to :

• Training craftsmen in thermal insulation solutions and techniques
• Help finance a fund to grant consumer credit to households interested in insulation work.

This mission provided an opportunity to take stock of the project's progress after one year of implementation. Most of the fieldwork took place in the Issyk-Kul Oblast, in the north-east of the country.

An encouraging start

Contacts with the CAMP association (Director, project coordinator, technical advisor) were very positive, demonstrating the team's ability to fully grasp the project's challenges, and to support and monitor its implementation.

To date, 13 thermal insulation projects have been launched or completed. The work carried out showed a sound knowledge of insulation techniques, particularly for walls (external insulation). 4 additional files are currently under review.

All the households we met stressed that the credit system (payment spread over 24 months) is a real lever in the decision to carry out the work. At this stage, all the households concerned are on schedule with their repayments.

Lastly, the mission enabled us to monitor the installation of sensors, which will enable us to track the evolution of various data (temperature, humidity) during the heating period. Similar instruments were also installed in houses that had not benefited from insulation work, so that comparisons could be made.

Adjustments ahead

A number of areas for improvement emerged from the field observations carried out with CAMP, including :

• Enable craftsmen to better assess the technical solutions to be proposed to households (calculations, house typology - building material, insulation elements already present, etc.).
• Make craftsmen aware of the importance of prioritizing the work to be carried out: most often, wall insulation is carried out, often in response to requests from households (who also find it aesthetically pleasing), but does not always appear to be the most appropriate solution.
• The substantial investment required for "complete" insulation may dissuade some households from carrying out the work. Simpler, less expensive solutions (roof insulation, window replacement) could have a significant impact at a more modest cost.
• Sequencing the work into different phases would also enable more modest households to make a decision on insulation work, with two successive credits.

The mission summary meeting with CAMP also provided an opportunity to discuss possible changes to the project: commercial approach, pre-construction energy audit to better define solutions and priorities, territorial strategy, extension of the craftsmen's range of action, and so on.

A mission by GERES (Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités) to CAMP will take place at the end of the year. This will enable us to verify various hypotheses and enhance the skills of our craftsmen (energy calculations, pre-work diagnostics). Ventilation issues, which have received little attention to date, will also be addressed.

The Foundation would like to thank the CAMP project and technical teams for organizing this mission and for the fruitful exchanges.