Subsidy allocation for residential building energy retrofit: A perspective of families' incomes

High household end-user services demand of high-income families results in higher energy consumption compared with low-income families, indicating high-income families may save more energy from similar building energy retrofitting (BER) strategies. Therefore, current BER subsidy policies, which consider technique indicators and ignore...

Effectiveness of energy renovations: a reassessment based on actual consumption savings

Energy renovations offer unique opportunities to increase the energy efficiency of the built environment and for the existing housing stock; they are the most important solution. Usually, energy savings are based on modeling calculations. However, recent research has shown that the predicted energy consumption differs largely from the actual...

Actual energy saving effects of thermal renovations in dwellings—longitudinal data analysis including building and occupant characteristics

Energy renovations often result in lower energy savings than expected. Therefore, in this study we investigate nearly 90,000 renovated dwellings in the Netherlands with pre and post renovation data of actual and calculated energy consumption. One of the main additions of this paper, compared to previous studies on thermal renovation, is that...

Effectiveness of energy renovations: a reassessment based on actual consumption savings

Energy renovations offer unique opportunities to increase the energy efficiency of the built environment and for the existing housing stock, they are the most important solution. Usually, energy savings are based on modelling calculations. However, recent research has shown that the predicted energy consumption differs largely from the actual...

Effectiveness of energy efficiency regulatory tools in the housing sector

The urgent need for a dramatic reduction of fossil fuels in the built environment is without any doubt. The energy saving potential of the building stock is considered to be large and to be the most cost efficient sector to contribute to the CO2 reductions. Goals set by the European Union are to build net zero energy buildings in 2020 and to...

Dutch municipalities and the quality of the owner-occupied housing stock

Owners are responsible to maintain their own dwellings in an adequate manner. In practice however all kinds of constraints occur. Lack of financial means and insufficient (technical or practical) knowledge are the most important barriers. Because the quality of owner-occupied housing exceeds the individual interest; there are also general...

Impact of energy efficiency goals on systems of building regulations and control

Considerations of climate change, but also other political and economic reasons urge for the reduction of use of fossil fuels and the minimization of environmental impact by the built environment. The energy saving potential of the building stock is large and considered to be the most cost efficient sector to contribute to the CO2 reduction...

Energy saving goals require reform of building regulations and control

Building regulations and control in the face of climate range

Since a few years the attention for building regulatory systems and enforcement procedures is growing. Various developments in society, politics and the construction industry have influenced changes in the systems of building control in the last 20 years. The influence of climate change and the related demands on buildings will have a very...

Energy regulations require strickter enforcement as response to climate change

Since a few years the attention for building regulatory systems and enforcement procedures is growing. Various developments in society, politics and the construction industry have influenced changes in the systems of building control in the last 20 years. The influence of climate change and the related demands on buildings will have a very...

Quality assurance for passive houses

For newly built houses national ambitions prescribe increasing levels of energy performances, even including achieving net zero energy or carbon neutral houses. This is in large contrast with the lack of quality in many building processes. The building regulations, processes and control will have to be reshaped to support these ambitions, taking...