Chitic family in Călmățui halved wood use last winter thanks to FEERM
A large family from the village of Călmățui in the Hâncești district significantly reduced their heating costs and improved the thermal comfort of their home last winter. This positive change was the result of energy-efficiency work carried out on their house with support from the Moldovan Residential Energy Efficiency Fund (FEERM).
The Chitic family is raising nine children, ages 3 to 16. For over nine years, Natalia and Mihail Chitic have been foster parents for six children, continuing the family model in which Natalia also grew up.
Mihail works as a welder, and the family's income is carefully managed to cover daily needs.
Through the FEERM program, the family's home underwent energy rehabilitation, including soil waterproofing, wall thermal insulation with mineral wool, and roof insulation. These interventions reduced heat loss, allowing the house to maintain a stable temperature.
The results are visible: if previously the family consumed approximately 12 cubic meters of wood per season, last winter the amount was reduced by almost half.
“The wood we bought last year was enough for us and we still have some left for the next season, because the heat is maintained much better. The hardest part is the financial part. There are many needs - from clothes, studies to medicine, but after the renovation we also manage to make savings”, says Natalia Chitic.
For a household with nine children, these savings have a direct impact on the budget. The renovation process began after the family found out about the program and was visited by experts from the National Center for Sustainable Energy (CNED).
“At first, we couldn’t even believe that such programs existed, but we were informed and decided to try”, says Mihail Chitic.
The works were completed in about a month and were financed at 50% by the European Union and the German Government, 45% by the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund, and 5% by the family.
The Moldovan Residential Energy Efficiency Fund (FEERM), a national program with a budget of 1.4 billion lei, was launched by the Government in 2024 and is intended to finance energy renovation projects in the Republic of Moldova.
The program supports both multi-storey buildings and individual households, aiming to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions from the energy sector.
The FEERM program aims to renovate at least 507,000 square meters of housing, of which 50% will be in multi-family residential buildings.
Currently, CNED collaborates with 72 Condominium Owners Associations, of which 17 already have financing contracts. For 2026, a budget of 200 million lei is planned for 44 Condominium Owners Associations (APC).
At the same time, over 40 rural households have already made their homes more energy efficient through the same program.
The initiative is developed by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, implemented by CNED and the Ministry of Energy, with the support of the "Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies for Moldova" (E4M) project, funded by the Government of Germany and co-financed by the European Union, Norway and Denmark.
