European Union funded Switch Off Air Pollution project, creating quality assured insulation market in Ulaanbaatar and providing certified insulation to ger area residents, starts its promotional campaign offering different types of insulation options for detached houses in the ger area of Ulaanbaatar. 

Switch Off Air Pollution project aims to contribute to the reduction of the air pollution in Ulaanbaatar by properly insulating detached houses with the aim of reducing energy consumption. 

Based on the needs and financial availability of the households, the project offers different insulation options from low cost to the full package versions.  Households can start with ‘roof insulation’ that can bring 30% of energy efficiency and then continue with full package insulation composed of wall, foundation and ventilation to save up to 70% of energy consumption. 

Saving energy is not a sole benefit that households can get from the the project insulation. Once insulated, fuel consumption will decrease as much as heat loss in the house and household’s contribution to air pollution in the city will decrease. Since households use less coal, the particulate matter pollution caused by burning the coal inside will reduce, which in return will have benefit to health of the household members with indoor air quality improvement. 

One of the insulated houses, expressed their happiness of seeing their grandchildren playing barefoot in their house in mid-winter when they even haven’t started up the fire yet. The grandparents also stopped burning coal 3 times a day and burning it only once in 2 days, which make their lives much easier and give time to concentrate on other important tasks at home. 

Although it is understood that insulation is supposed to be done in warm weather, there are specific types of insulation such as insulation with eco and rock wool, can be done at any time of the year. 

If you want to insulate your house, process will be as follows:

House will be assessed by the energy advisors, who then will give insulation price offer depending on tailor-made options for the house. The household can choose to pay from their own savings or apply for Xac bank  green loan at 8% of interest rate. If the person is eligible for the loan, the contract will be signed to indicate the beginning of the insulation work. Quality assured suppliers will supply the materials and craftsmen will conduct the insulation work within a week. Once the insulation work is done, energy advisor will do the quality check and energy auditor will compute the energy audit for total percentage of energy saving achieved. The person is eligible for green loan if he/she can prove her income by their social insurance book or tax record. 

In order to simplify the process, families can go to www.dulaalga.mn to enter their house measurements and receive preliminary cost calculation of desired insulation and place an order for technical assessment by the energy advisors. They will be then contacted by our call center officer for confirmation of request. 

About the Project

Switch Off Air Pollution Project is principally financed by the European Union’s Switch Asia Program with additional support from the Abbe Pierre Foundation, the Czech and French Development Agencies.  From 2018 to 2021, the Project is led by Geres Mongolia INGO in collaboration with the Building Energy Efficiency Center at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, the Mongolian National Construction Association, and People in Need INGO.

About Geres Mongolia

Geres is a French NGO with expertise in energy and development, with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Africa, and Asia improving living conditions for the most vulnerable and fighting the impacts of climate change.