Project
Domestic Energy Retrofit in the Netherlands
Almost 20% of the energy consumption in the EU relates to the heating of dwellings. Therefore home energy retrofitting of Europe’s current dwelling stock has become one of the major challenges for a transition to a low carbon society. Installing PV panels, floor isolation or an automatic ventilation system can make the difference towards a low carbon society. Gaining more insight in the domestic retrofit practices of homeowners in the Netherlands and the role of intermediaries – as go-betweens between the production and consumption of energy – is important in the realization of these low-carbon housing targets.
In this ethnographically informed research project the focus lies on the domestic energy retrofit practices of homeowners in the Netherlands. I will evaluate innovative strategies which are designed by intermediaries in the field with the aim to activate homeowners to engage in domestic energy retrofit, and I will investigate how these approaches can be improved. The aim of the research project is to provide recommendations for the development of a Dutch national support structure that will guide future domestic energy retrofit by homewoners in the Netherlands.
The project is funded by RVO (State Service for Entrepreneurship in the Netherlands) as part of the social innovation program Cooperation Topsector Energy and Society (STEM). The project collaborates with start-ups KUUB, HOOM BV and Buurkracht, and with the organization HIER Klimaatbureau.