A rent quote shows what the space costs, not what it costs to heat and light. On 1,000 m², the energy gap between an old and a new warehouse can exceed €15,000 a year. This guide covers certificates, heating, lighting, rooftop solar and how to get real consumption data before you sign.
What the energy certificate tells you
Under Latvia's Ēku energoefektivitātes likums (Law on the Energy Performance of Buildings), a building, or a part of one over 50 m², needs an energy certificate to be sold or leased. The tenant may see it, and adverts must state its indicators. Independent experts issue the certificates, which are valid for 10 years and sit in the Building Authority (BVKB) register in BIS.
Classes run from A+ to F. They are calculated for standard conditions, so they describe the building, not your invoice, but they sort a shortlist fast. In October 2026 we matched the register against Latvian warehouses of 1,000 m² or more:
| Year built | Certified warehouses | Median heating, kWh/m² a year | Class A+ or A | Class E or F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1991 | 42 | 123 | 5% | 57% |
| 1991–2009 | 39 | 65 | 13% | 18% |
| 2010 and later | 63 | 45 | 51% | 3% |
Only about 155 of roughly 2,000 such buildings had a valid certificate we could match, so expect to ask for one.
Heating: gas, district heat or a heat pump
- Natural gas. Common in parks outside the district heating network. Ask whether your unit has its own meter or a share of the landlord's bill. Gas is the most volatile line: in August 2026 Rīgas siltums put its gas price rise at about 90% year on year.
- District heating. Rīgas siltums filed a tariff of €82.90/MWh excluding VAT from 1 October 2026; the fuel-linked part is recalculated near November, with a stated aim of keeping the season's rise under 20%. Gas makes around 60% of Riga's winter heat, so district heat follows gas with a delay.
- Heat pumps. Some newer buildings use air-to-water heat pumps, moving the cost to electricity: at a seasonal COP of 3, 40 kWh/m² of heat needs about 13 kWh/m² of power. Ask for the design COP and whose meter it runs on.
The setpoint matters as much: frost protection at +5 °C and picking at +18 °C are different buildings on the same certificate.
Electricity: LED, controls and the connection
Ask which light fittings are installed and whether zones have presence and daylight sensors; if old metal-halide or fluorescent high-bays remain, agree who replaces them. Then check the connection: Sadales tīkls bills per kWh plus a monthly capacity fee set by connection size, used or not, with new differentiated tariffs from 1 January 2027. Ask for the capacity in amperes (three-phase: kW ≈ A × 0.69) and how the fee is split between tenants.
Rooftop solar: the terms that matter
The recast EU buildings directive requires solar on new non-residential buildings over 250 m² from the end of 2026 where feasible, so more parks will sell roof power through an on-site power purchase agreement (PPA) or landlord re-billing. Pin down:
- Price: fixed, indexed, or a discount to the Nord Pool Latvia spot price
- Term: tied to the lease or longer, and what happens at a break
- Volume: pay for what you use, or for all output (take-or-pay)
- Metering: a separate solar meter, so you can check the invoice
- Maintenance: who repairs and insures the panels
If panels are only planned, get the proposal in writing first.
BREEAM in the Riga stock
BREEAM rates design and management. It is standard in new offices and many speculative parks, and rare in older warehouses: of the 155 certified warehouses in our analysis, only 14 hold BREEAM, mostly Very Good or Good, and four are class C or lower. SIRIN Park Dreiliņi is being built to BREEAM Excellent. A rating helps emissions reporting; it does not replace meter data.
EU rules that reach older buildings
Directive (EU) 2024/1275 requires the worst-performing 16% of non-residential buildings to be improved by 2030 and the worst 26% by 2033; Latvia had to transpose it by 29 May 2026. On a long lease in a class E or F building, ask whether renovation falls within your term and who pays.
Worked example: two offers for 1,000 m²
These are comparison assumptions, not readings from specific buildings. Heating follows the register: 150 kWh/m² is typical of class E–F, 40 kWh/m² of class A. Electricity is set at 80 and 50 kWh/m².
| Per year | Option A: older unit, €3.00/m² | Option B: new class A, €5.30/m² |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | €36,000 | €63,600 |
| Heating at €0.11/kWh | €16,500 | €4,400 |
| Electricity at €0.15/kWh | €12,000 | €7,500 |
| Total rent and energy | €64,500 | €75,500 |
Option B spends €16,600 less on energy but €11,000 more on rent and energy together, so energy alone does not cover a €2.30/m² rent gap. Class A earns its premium through clear height, docks and less exposure to the 2030 and 2033 deadlines. For a full budget, add the management fee, around €0.60–0.80/m² a month in modern parks (€7,200–9,600 a year here), in the cost calculator.
How to get a year of consumption data
Before signing, ask the landlord for:
- Twelve months of heat, gas and electricity invoices or readings for the unit itself, not a building average.
- An electricity export from Sadales tīkls' e-st.lv portal, which shows use by 15 minutes, hour and day, so base load and peaks are visible.
- The temperature held, operating hours and the previous tenant's use.
- How each line is metered: own meter, sub-meter or split by area, which hides your savings.
- The certificate number, to check in BIS.
With no data, get a written estimate and agree how the service charge reconciles against actual readings. See the 7 lease clauses to negotiate and the warehouse classes guide.
Sources: Ēku energoefektivitātes likums, sections 7, 8, 13 and 14; Directive (EU) 2024/1275, Articles 9 and 10; BVKB register (BIS), Rentful analysis, October 2026; LSM, 6 August 2026; Sadales tīkls; SPRK decision No 65 of 2023; LIAA.