During the heating period in many Siberian cities, there is a low quality of atmospheric air. One of the main sources of air pollution is the private sector, since most individual residential buildings, existing and under construction, do not meet modern standards for the thermal protection of buildings, and as heat generators they use furnaces and boilers that do not have an environmental class in terms of emissions of pollutants. Individual residential construction does not require the preparation of project documentation, therefore, each home owner independently decides on the parameters of the building, including its thermal protection. However, in the minds of ""self-builders"" there is often no understanding of how the leakage of thermal energy occurs through the building's enclosing structures and their junctions. In the article, firstly, standard solutions for insulation of enclosing structures of low-rise buildings were considered; secondly, the payback period of these solutions was determined depending on the thickness of the thermal insulation layer and taking into account the cost of additional materials; thirdly, the payback period of various solutions was compared and the most quickly recouped ones were selected. In the course of the study, it was found that the costs of measures to strengthen the thermal protection of the enclosing structures of an individual residential building can be compensated by a future reduction in the consumption of brown coal or other energy carriers, which will also reduce the emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. At the same time, the greatest energy-saving effect is achieved from the insulation of the attic floor and the underground space, since it is not required to use expensive facing coverings as on facades. The results of the study can be used as a recommendation when choosing the optimal thickness of thermal insulation when strengthening the thermal protection of the enclosing structure with the desired payback period.

Keywords: energy efficiency of buildings, energy audit of buildings, heat loss in low-rise buildings, energy saving measures, reconstruction of buildings, problems of coal-fired heating, reduction of air pollution, reduction of CO2 emissions