IMPROVING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS: PRIORITY DIRECTIONS FOR UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

Uzbekistan's climate commitments, its continued economic growth, and the vulnerability of its energy system to extreme weather converge on a single practical question: how to make residential buildings more energy efficient, and to do so in a way that also protects people during emergencies. This article is a conceptual and analytical synthesis rather than an experimental study. It draws together the national strategic agenda, the domestic normative base for building thermal performance and energy use, and international evidence on the buildings sector in order to identify the priority directions for improving residential energy efficiency under emergency conditions. Taking the December 2022 to January 2023 cold spell as its starting point, the study shows why reducing the heat that buildings lose is a matter of resilience as much as of cost. Six priority directions are set out and combined into an integrated model that links energy efficiency, renewable supply and energy security, and they are placed within the country's projected growth in gross domestic product and the 35 percent reduction in emission intensity targeted for 2030 relative to 2010. The analysis finds that building-envelope measures deliver the greatest benefit when they are pursued together with renewable generation and emergency preparedness, and it identifies the quantified thermal and demand analysis needed to turn the framework into testable recommendations.