Warmer houses for a cooler planet

Every year Dutch homes pump 24.2 megatons of carbon into the air. While buildings account for 40% of final energy consumption in Europe, residential buildings account for 67% of the building energy consumption. This is a burden on the environment but also problematic in other ways for

1. The Dutch Government’s 2030 carbon emission goals
2. Mortgage and energy providers who need to report on scope 3 emissions and have the ambition to guide customers to net zero
3. And owners of inefficient homes are paying the price for the extra energy they use

But if energy-efficient homes are better for everyone, why are homeowners not renovating?

We asked 500 Dutch homeowners with inefficient homes why they were not renovating – and we were surprised to hear that it wasn’t due to a lack of funds. ¾ of Homeowners want to renovate but only ¼ are renovating. Instead, homeowners are struggling to find renovation information, and struggling to trust the information they find. Homeowners express frustration with the large amount of information available which wasn’t tailored to them, and which they couldn’t trust when it was coming from a commercial party. The most successful support came from non-commercial parties like municipalities and neighbors. Powerful municipal initiatives included informative letters in the post, townhall meetings tailored to the area’s houses, and consultants who visited homes to offer personal advice. Neighbors could increase confidence in new technologies just by making them visible in their neighborhoods, and a small group of homeowners (5% of the market), actively trigger their street to renovate by coming with conducted research and the promise of a joint discount.

Although homeowners have placed more trust in their neighbors and municipality, commercial parties can still bring critical capabilities to aid their transition. Thus, both municipal and commercial parties have an important role to play in the sustainable housing transition. This is why we are helping these organizations increase their impact in supporting homeowners in the renovation challenge, and why we are setting up partnerships across the housing ecosystem- between commercial, and non-commercial parties alike. Connect with us to join our network of partners with a shared goal

For more details on the research read the report or reach out to Marieke Commandeur