Historical buildings, moreover the ones of significant heritage value, usually have very poor energy performance in their original condition. The road to energy efficient home is much more challenging for the owners of historical buildings. As the architectural characteristics must be preserved, standard solutions that are feasible for other buildings will be unacceptable for heritage buildings if they bring a change in appearance and character. Built heritage is a cornerstone of the European identity and has an important role in creating and preserving community values and we-feeling.
The LIFE heritageHOME project focuses on the energy performance improvement of residential (single or multi-family buildings) heritage monuments and of residential buildings located within the borders of national heritage protection areas. The aim of the project is to assemble an integrated set of services that effectively surmounts the obstacles impeding energy-efficient renovations for heritage properties.
The project's scope includes the development and customization of necessary solutions for the integrated service, boosting the capabilities of key facilitators who support energy renovations for heritage homes, and creating a userfriendly digital platform. This platform will serve as a client-facing interface, making it effortless for property owners to access essential information and navigate the various steps required throughout their renovation journey.
Objectives
- To align and improve policy measures for deep renovations for heritage buildings currently being exempted from energy performance requirements.
- To set up a coordinated system between different enablers facilitating renovations.
- To develop and institutionalize the necessary user specific toolset
for the integrated renovation service of deep energy renovations of heritage homes. - To empower the owners and enable them to take active part in service design and policy making.
- To sustain the viability of the developed service and branch out to replicate the service.
The project enables homeowners to take active part in service design and policy making. A representative group of 50 owners have been engaged in a series of heritage homeowners’ assembly to co-design the requirements for the renovation service. By increasing support and streamlining procedures the project expects to encourage more homeowners to renovate.
The LIFE heritageHOME project, with a total budget of 1,5 million euros, started in November 2023 and will end in October 2026. The grant is awarded by the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. The partners of the project are the Ministry of Culture, Estonian National Heritage Board, the Ministry of Climate, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), the Estonian Academy of Arts and ICOMOS Estonia.
Quick Guide
Presentation
Outcomes of the LIFE heritageHOME project
By the end of the three-year project period in October 2026 the expected outcomes include:Comprehensive renovation roadmap
- Homeowner info portal
- Service provider database
- Good quality guidelines for public and private consulters
- Renovation passport tool
Best practice dissemination through expert-oriented reports as well as popular videos and articles
- Renovation Atlas for homeowners
- Free to use and adaptable technical drawings
- Proposals for new or improved financial schemes
- Regulating renovation costs by boosting heritage-specific expertise
Press releases, articles and other related materials
Contact
Kadri Kallast
LIFE heritageHOME project manager
The project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.
Last updated: 13.05.2026
