Varma | Houses

Varma is moving over to heat pumps as the main source of heating in the majority of its housing properties. Heat pumps and solar panels are being fitted on 36 apartment buildings, which will result in a reduction in emissions of 48 percent across Varma’s entire housing portfolio by 2023. During 2020 – 2022, energy overhauls have been carried out on 20 of Varma’s housing properties in the capital area, Turku and Tampere. The overhauls have created 1300 carbon neutral homes in terms of heating.

Varma’s energy overhauls have been designed and implemented by LeaseGreen. As a result of the energy saving actions, Varma’s properties are now using geothermal heating, solar energy panels and property-specific heat pumps that capture the heat from exhaust air. The new energy solutions replace the use of district heating.

The energy overhauls will improve the energy efficiency of the buildings, cut energy costs, as well as reducing the emissions from the properties.

“The energy saving actions are justified not only by their cost-effectiveness but also by their impact on the environment. In certain cases, the reduction in emissions can be a full 100%, that means the residents get to live in a house that is carbon neutral in terms of its energy use,” says Varma’s Property Manager, Matti Lindfors.

Varma is one of Finland’s largest property investors and owns over 60 apartment buildings consisting of about 4 200 homes. As of autumn 2021, Varma’s property portfolio is valued at 5.2 billion euros.

Before beginning the overhauls, Varma mapped out 60 of its apartment buildings with LeaseGreen in order to find areas with the most potential for the energy overhauls. The research found 36 apartment buildings that would benefit from installing heat pumps and solar panels.