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Kindergartens are probably the very first public buildings we actively use in our lives. Therefore, they can be considered as the physical structures that are providing for the very important educational and social function. Additionally, they can also be considered as the specific learning tool for future generations where they can encounter the ideas of green and energy-efficient buildings. One of the results of the research project ?Energy efficiency in public buildings? has been formulated through the development of Serbian National Typology of Kindergartens which was conceived as a specific tool that can be used for improving this portion of building stock. The paper presents the methodology for identification of typical kindergarten buildings, covering various construction periods, building sizes and illustrates the type of analysis performed for model representatives. The potential for energy upgrades covering physical structure, installed technological systems, as well as expected impact on energy performance, has been estimated. The study presents results based on the analysis of the data derived from the National Typology, stressing out that energy retrofits of large and medium-sized kindergartens built during the 1970s and 1980s should be the primary focus of refurbishment activities. Accounting for almost 60% of total buildings and 69.59% of heated area, they are responsible for 75.97% of energy demands. Estimated energy savings of more than 60% indicate the effectiveness of their retrofit. The paper also presents the potential uses of National Typology as a retrofit tool on various scales, from single-building considerations to a strategic approach at the national level.

The analysis conducted in this paper was initiated by the fact that Serbia emitted around 80 million tons of CO2, equivalent in 1990, and in between 85-89 million tons in 2010, which places it among ten countries with the highest emission of CO2 per capita in the world (data by Cener for Ecology and Sustainable Development, Subotica, Serbia). This paper is aimed at making a correlation between the improvement of thermal performance of structural elements of buildings in order to enhance their energy efficiency, which is also economically justified, and reduction of GHG (CO2) emission whose economic benefits are not so easy to assess even though it represents an environmental problem. The case study analysis, presented by this paper, using the example of a select number of kindergartens in the territory of the city of Nis, Serbia, is aimed at determining the correlation of the effects of improvement of their energy performances on the reduction of GHG emission reduction by quantifying the benefits of CO2 emission reduction as a result of energy efficiency improvement reflected through the increase of energy class. The specific review conducted in this paper indicates the environmental importance of improvement of energy efficiency by valorizing the quantitative reduction of CO2 emission as a benefit of implementation of energy revitalization of buildings.