With our climate goals becoming more challenging as time passes, the call for homes that don’t depend on significant (or any) fossil fuels is more urgent than ever. Further, all over Europe indications are that a lack of construction workers is looming. However, there is a solution that both makes a step towards better energy performance and drives the economy forward by generating a labour force that puts out more economic value per unit. The solution lies in industrialised prefabricated homes and renovation products. Energiesprong, a revolutionary housing standard and funding approach, is pushing this forward. Construction, productivity and a ticking time bomb Studies show that the construction sector trails other industries when it comes to productivity. A study by McKinsey Global Institute summarised this in the following graphic: Mark Farmer came to similar conclusions in his famous analysis of the building industry in the UK. Farmer also points out the problem of a dwindling workforce: “The real ticking ‘time bomb’ is that of the industry’s workforce size and demographic. Based purely on existing workforce age and current levels of new entrant attraction, we could see a 20-25% decline in the available labour force within a decade.” (Mark Farmer 2016) The same trend is noticeable in Western Europe. Meanwhile we can read in McKinsey´s paper that around $10 trillion a year is currently being spent on buildings, infrastructure, and industrial installations, forming the backbone of the global economy. And demand is rising, by 2025 that amount is projected to reach $14 trillion. Clearly if there are less workers and at the same time a growing demand for housing, productivity needs to be dramatically increased. And it can. According to McKinsley the biggest impact on productivity should come from moving toward seeing construction as a production system: where possible encouraging off-site manufacture, minimising on-site construction through the extensive use of pre-cast technology and assembling panels in factories then finishing units on- site. (McKinsey 2017) The same McKinsey study shows that improvement in seven areas can boost productivity by 50 to 60 percent. The seven objectives are: “reshape regulation; rewire the contractual framework to reshape industry dynamics; rethink design and engineering processes; improve procurement and supply-chain management; improve on-site execution; infuse digital technology, new materials, and advanced automation; and reskill the workforce.” Energiesprong as an answer Energiesprong is an example of how to reshape the industry when it comes to housing. In the Netherlands, a government-funded innovation programme was set up work towards transforming housing stock in the country. In response, Energiesprong was born in 2010, and has already set a new standard in the market. Energiesprong is a revolutionary, whole house refurbishment and new build standard and funding approach. Today over 4.000 net zero energy houses (new build (>2000) and retrofit (>2000)) are already in use in the Netherlands. The first 10 performance guaranteed net/near zero energy retrofits have been built in both the UK and France, and in Germany the first pilot is in preparation. The Energiesprong approach creates a new market where integrated net zero energy products are being developed. One of the keys to a fast and economical retrofit (some can do a whole house in 3 days) is to prefabricate the facades and roof with insulation and solar panels integrated into the modules. An energy module then docks with all of the installations. In this way, construction companies work together with the supply chain to be able to offer a complete product. Robi-One does part of the job An example of such a construction company is the Dutch building group Dijkstra Draisma. They have built a whole new factory to make facades and roofs that only need to be hung/placed/connected onsite. Robi-One, a robot that puts the stone strips on the façade, is part of the production line. This machine saws by itself, it makes the recesses, it frames and it mills. “Dijkstra Draisma is following the automobile industry”, says CEO Dijkstra. The building group has taken on a contract to upgrade 350 houses. “Currently we produce eight facades per day. If we set the machine to maximum capacity, we will complete one facade every 45 minutes.” Due to their new innovative products Dijkstra Draisma is able to produce 4 to 5 times more with only twice as many people as before. So with 100% more skilled personnel, their productivity increased by 250 %. Faster, higher standards and less stress These kinds of production processes for low energy housing lead to prefabrication and faster production with higher standards. The Energiesprong approach also requires a performance guarantee from the builders. When compared to the traditional way of retrofitting (without performance guarantee) the quality of retrofits where monitoring is mandatory is significantly higher. In addition to the speed of onsite construction, working with prefabricated elements reduces the chance of mistakes as everything has already been measured and custom made in the factory. This also has a positive impact on tenant experience, as the refurbishment is fast and aims to minimize impact for the residents. New skills needed Designing and manufacturing these kinds of products demands a new kind of skills. While on site you need less workers, a highly skilled workforce is needed inside the factory like designers, engineers, technical workers and management. British construction company Melius Homes was the first in the UK that built 10 net zero energy demonstrators. They have now committed to refurbishing two houses every week in the coming years and are therefore planning to build a factory in the Nottingham area. David Adams, technical director at Melius Homes: “The new factory helps to industrialise the product which will bring the costs down. In addition, it will create around 20-25 new jobs for factory workers, on-site installation workers, an engineer, designer and managers.” A factory like this will be welcome in the Nottingham area where unemployment is 7.3%, relatively high compared to UK average of 4.5%. Some construction pioneers already see the opportunities in the market, but there is still not enough on offer. That’s why housing association Accord in the UK decided to build their own factory. Alan Yates, Executive Commercial Director Accord: “As a housing association with a strong commitment to sustainable housing, we identified the fact that we need new products with high energy performance standards so we can build high quality homes that offer real value for money, quickly and efficiently. This kind of product was not readily available in the market so that´s why we will set up our own factory to produce offsite manufactured houses that meet high energy standards for both new build and retrofits.” Scaling up It will come as no surprise that scaling is key to Energiesprong becoming a force for transformation within the industry. Although Melius is pioneering its approach, they are also aware that this is only a first step in the UK. “We are very excited to have done the first 10 demonstration homes and now even more excited to do the roll-out program starting with 213 more homes over the next 2 years. The most important step is scaling up so that we don't only make pilots (as too often happens).” What is the Energiesprong standard? Annually, an Energieprong house generates sufficient energy to heat the house, provide hot water and power its household appliances (net zero energy). A retrofit (or new build) comes with a long-year performance warranty on both the indoor climate and the energy performance. Money normally spent on energy bills and maintenance work pays for the upgrade. This way, residents get a refreshed, warm and comfortable home at the same (or lower) cost of living. See also http://energiesprong.eu/net-zero-energy-home-makeovers/ The McKinsey Global Institute has studied productivity in more than 20 countries and 30 industries, including construction. All reports are available in the productivity, competitiveness, and growth section of www.mckinsey.com/mgi. The monitoring of the energy performance by the builder is part of an Energiesprong net zero energy retrofit because all homes have a performance guarantee that needs to be verified. Article link monitoring

Last month Factory Zero launched their new iCEM-i - a smart compact energy module that is integrated in the roof. It´s easy to install, small (less than 1m2) and reduces noise nuisance. Factory Zero continually improves and develops smart energy products. No wonder the demand for their products is rising every day. Founded in 2016 they sold 8 modules in 2017, 350 in 2018 and at present forecast sales of 1,500 modules for 2019. The Factory Zero start-up has been established under the Interreg NWE project E=0 and continually improves and develops smart energy products. Factory Zero is a Dutch based incubator that focuses entirely on the development of components for high energy efficient retrofits and new builds. Their smart modules, such as the energy module, make it easy for construction companies to transition to high energy efficient concepts like net zero energy. Smart, small and easy to fit The recently launched new iCEM (Integrated Climate and Energy Module) is not even one metre square and easy to install. The energy module provides a house with a comfortable indoor climate (heating and cooling) and hot water. The module can also be delivered with solar panels for the roof, and all the energy performances are real time monitored. The model fits any existing or new build low-rise dwelling. In the case of new build homes, the installation would not use more power than a coffee machine, even on cold winter days. Another great advantage of this module is that it is integrated in the roof, and this reduces noise to a minimum. Currently 150 modules are placed and many more are to come The kind of products which Factory Zero make pushes forward a building industry that builds highly energy efficient prefabricated house and retrofits. The investment in development is shared with their partners, who are large companies such as Mitsubishi, Brink, Ubbink, BASF and ABB. In this way they are able to offer their products at the most competitive price available on the market. It comes as no surprise that demand for their products is rising every day. Their modules and products have already found their way into 150 homes in the Netherlands and another 1,500 are on order. Made possible by Interreg NWE Factory Zero participates in the Interreg NWE project E=0 . A driving focus of this project regarding the Netherlands is for homeowner associations to find a solid financial construction for NZE refurbishments with a duration of 25 to 30 years. The other main focus of the NWE interreg project E=0 has been to create the start-up and incubator  Factory Zero . Factory Zero works in close cooperation with innovative players in the building supply industry to develop, produce and deliver smart, complete Net Zero Energy systems. Industrial scale solutions, innovation and smart thinking are necessary to get the costs for Net Zero Energy refurbishments down whilst bringing the quality up. Factory Zero is the first start-up that has successfully built an installation module that is not only smaller, better and smarter, it’s also cheaper and it looks great.

Nottingham City Homes Energiesprong project won the prestigious UK Housing Award for Innovation of the Year earlier this week. The UK Housing Awards, run by the Chartered Institute of Housing and Inside Housing, are known as ‘the Oscars of the housing world’ and showcase the very best the sector has to offer. The Innovation award was given in recognition of Nottingham City Homes’ pioneering approach to tackling energy inefficiency in older housing stock to address both climate change and fuel poverty. Ground-breaking approach Nottingham City Homes is the first housing organisation in the country to adopt the ground-breaking Energiesprong approach. The project has radically improved the energy efficiency of ten homes in Sneinton. It upgraded homes with new outside walls and windows, a solar roof, and a state of the art heating system, dramatically reducing household energy bills and making homes warmer and healthier for residents. The construction partner has provided a performance guarantees for real life performance for both indoor comfort and energy use for 30 years. An Energy Plan paid by the tenants to Nottingham City Homes helps to pay for the investment, and tenants will pay no more for their energy than before. The construction partners for Energiesprong in Sneinton were Melius Homes , and the project has been supported and part financed by the REMOURBAN initiative that is developing a pioneering model to show how sustainability can be integrated into the regeneration of towns and cities across the UK. Councillor Dave Liversidge, the City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Energy and Sustainability, said: “It’s a great achievement to have won these awards and testament to the innovation and commitment that Nottingham City Homes has shown to ensure its homes are ready for the zero carbon standards required across the UK by 2050. Proud “Many of our residents live in fuel poverty so creating more energy efficient homes to reduce people’s energy bills is a high priority for us. We’re very excited that Nottingham is at the forefront of this revolutionary approach, which can help tackle both fuel poverty and climate change.” Nick Murphy, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes, said, “We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve done in Sneinton, and we intend to roll Energiesprong out to other homes across the city in the coming months and years to make sure that we’re combating fuel poverty and ensuring that more of our residents can benefit from warmer homes.” Ron Van-Erck, Energiesprong’s Head of International market development, said ““A fantastic achievement! We’re delighted Nottingham City Homes and Melius have been recognised for pioneering Energiesprong in the UK - providing desirable, warm affordable homes for life, helping to tackle fuel poverty and climate change. At Energiesprong UK we’re working with social housing and solution providers, policy makers and financers to launch and scale a market for these revolutionary net zero energy homes.” You can find out more about the project by watching this video. https://youtu.be/Es-7k4tl_3Q Nottingham City Homes the arms’ length management organisation (ALMO) that manages and maintains Nottingham City Council’s council homes, also took home the prestigious Landlord of the Year and Outstanding Approach to Tenant Involvement awards. The three awards combined highlight how by embracing new ideas and being tenant led Nottingham City Homes are making a real difference to tenants’ lives.

Good news from the Netherlands regarding the Interreg E=0 project where the MRDH (Metropolitan Region Rotterdam - The Hague) is working together with homeowner associations to forge solutions to finance net zero energy retrofits for people who are members of a homeowner association. Recently the Ministry of the Interior, several provinces and local governments signed a statement of intent to develop a financial model that will help such homeowners to finance the retrofits. This is an important step towards establishing more sustainable housing stock before 2050. In the Netherlands 1,2 million out of the 7 million homeowners are members of a homeowner association. Energy use in these homes covers 20% of national CO2 emissions. Retrofitting these homes to net zero energy will contribute significantly to climate objectives whilst simultaneously boosting and revitalising the urban environment. Building-linked finance Pilot projects in the Netherlands (most of them supported by the  Stroomversnelling ) show that residents are willing to choose a net zero energy retrofit if their cost of living would be the same after the retrofit. This is especially true when it improves their comfort of living and increases the value of their apartments. Building-linked finance can meet all of these criteria with the additional security that the apartment owner will not have to carry the debt if they sell the house before the investment is paid off. These loans are paid for by the costs that are included in the service fee of the homeowner association and are transferrable to future owners in exchange for very low energy bills and great comfort. Breakthrough Several pilots in the Netherlands have already proved that this model is possible. The most difficult aspect to date has been that the finance needs to be guaranteed by local government. The signed statement of intent and resulting development of a financial model with building-linked financing is a big breakthrough. The goal is that homeowner associations are able to get a loan with a national guarantee for a period of 30 years. Such long term loans enable apartments apartments to be retrofitted without increasing the cost of living for homeowners.

At the 29th and 30th of May partners participating in European Energiesprong projects Interreg NWE E=0 and H2020 Transition Zero will gather in Berlin to bring net zero energy a step closer towards a mass market in Europe. The first pilots in the UK and France are completed and further pilots in the UK, France, Luxembourg and also Germany are under development. Volume deals are in progress both in new built and retrofit. But there is still much to be done. All actors are aware of the major changes needed in the building sector to deliver NZ homes. For example the current chain from the contractor to sub contractors to wholesalers to product suppliers and material suppliers has to be streamlined. This disruption of the business as usual creates a big opportunity for forward thinking actors. Once the demand for net zero solutions grows the building supplies industries than can start to specialize on components fit for net zero. As volumes increase prices can drop and the solutions get better tuned for net zero and get stronger guarantees. The major obstacle faced is getting from a small demand for net zero homes at high prices to a tuned supply chain that will deliver net zero retrofits and new build at the right price and quality levels. To bring the European partners together will help to make a next step into an international mass market for net zero energy products. Overall Objectives The overall objectives of the meeting will be: How to get costs down, get monitoring in place, get long term performance assured in an affordable and credible way and make sure solutions are scalable within Energiesprong countries and on EU-level. During the two days partners attend several knowledge and working sessions. The 29 th will be a dedicated international Transition Zero working day while the 30 th will be an international E=0 working day. For more information contact Harmke Bekkema, harmke@energiesprong.eu or Sanne de Wit, sanne@energiesprong.eu

The current state of market, with first demonstration projects under development in UK and FR, is in need for more OEM-like solution providers especially outside NL. Within the programme there is opportunity for a solution integrator to develop E=0 retrofit in a multidisciplinary group of component suppliers. The solution integrator should develop and showcase a new E=0 retrofit design which has potential to be replicable, built bottom up with a view to industrial produce them, developed to enable to bring costs down. Given the state of the various markets, we seek for an (aspiring) OEM in UK. Download the vacancy

On the 22 nd of February around 200 people came to witness the placing of an E=0 facade over one of the first 10 houses to receive Energiesprong retrofits in France. After the retrofit the tenants will have a much more comfortable house at no additional cost, as thanks to the Energiesprong approach their old energy bills will pay for the retrofit. Annually, their ‘new’ homes will generate sufficient energy to heat the house, provide hot water and power the household appliances. The launch of the first 10 retrofits in France is an important milestone because it shows that the Energiesprong approach, which originated in the Netherlands, is also applicable in a French context. Positive impact on the neighbourhood At about a 20 minutes drive from Lille you will find the small town of Hem. Big villas and even a gated community stand side by side with a neighbourhood where the houses would obviously benefit from a make over. The experience in the Netherlands (where hundreds of these retrofits have already been realised) shows that such projects can breathe new life into a neighbourhood such as this. Besides the upgrade to how the homes look, the process itself encourages social cohesion. Already, in this first French project, residents are busy talking and gesturing, maybe about the new kitchen or bathroom that are also part of the big retrofit. Or is about the more than 200 people that have come to see the placement of the new facade in their street? A milestone: Energiesprong retrofits do fit the French system A new facade gliding through the air towards one of the houses makes for an inspiring image, and confirms that Energiesprong retrofits are possible in France. Housing association Vilogia and solution provider Rabot Dutilleul are the first to get an Energiesprong project realized in France, with the financial support of the Europese Interreg NWE-programma , Caisse des Dépôts and ADEME . Romain Ryckbosch, project manager at Rabot Dutilleul, is enthusiastic: “It is providing us with opportunities to work together in new ways as we embrace the Energiesprong approach, including providing a long term performance guarantee. The ultimate satisfaction of the tenants and especially prefabrication are challenges for the future. Thanks to the demonstrator project in Hem we are up and running and we can´t wait to start another project and develop these practices to the next level.” The first 10 homes in Hem mark an important milestone for Energiesprong France. It shows that the Energiesprong approach, originating in the Netherlands, is also applicable within the French legal and technical framework. The French Energiesprong movement is really here. Housing association Vilogia has already sent out a call for tender for another 160 houses, and another demonstrator project is underway in Longueau, involving 12 houses from the housing corporation ICF Habitat North East. Europe is moving The Energiesprong approach has been picked up by other European parties as well, as they begin to see that it is the way to go in the urgently needed energy transition. The European Commission has financed Energiesprong in France and the UK through the Transition Zero-project , a H2020-programme. Within this framework a deal was signed last year in France between 9 housing associations, 20 solution providers and 7 facilitating organisations. These 36 organisations will work together to create the right market conditions for Energiesprong retrofits in France. Meanwhile Germany and Italy are also opening the way for similar projects. But we are not there yet… The fact that Energiesprong has caught the attention of so many players in the field proves that a supportive culture is arising to pave the way for these retrofits. However, we are not there yet… To be truly effective, the movement needs to scale up to the level of a mass market. These projects will only keep developing if the movement keeps on growing. Sébastien Delpont, associate director of Greenflex (the party that hosts Energiesprong France ): “The Energiesprong movement will be financed by the European commission until the the beginning of 2019, by which stage some 50 houses will have been renovated. We need to think about ways to scale up after this, and in the Netherlands it took 5 years to reduce the costs by 50 percent. Our aim is to contribute to the climate objectives and combat fuel poverty in France. Therefore it would make sense to keep supporting this emerging sector with (decreasing) fundings towards pilot projects in each French region."

Within Westvoorne, located in the south of the Netherlands a whole area is set to transition to net zero energy, resulting in 68 home renovations. Most of the homes belong to Woonbedrijf, one of the last social housing organisations in the Netherlands to be operated by local government. However, there are also some private homes in the mix, and this has been a challenge. The solution: a lease contract for the facade. First a demonstrator house Westvoorne Council wants to make its housing more sustainable. As Councillor Van der Meij:says “Sustainability shouldn’t just be about written policy, it should be tangible.” Renovating 68 buildings to net zero energy will set a great example in this area. On 18 September 2017 the Councillor, together with residents, cut an enormous green ribbon tied to the first renovated home to announce its completion. This first demonstrator house will enable residents who aren’t yet to be convinced what their home would look like if they went with a net zero energy refurbishment. The demonstration house can also be used as a ' resting spot ' during other renovations. If the renovation process proves too inconvenient for other residents, they can relax, cook or shower in the demonstration home. Now that the first demonstrator house is complete, it is time to get started on the first block of five houses. This first block will be converted to net zero energy within one month. The residents were enthusiastic from the start, and registered immediately to be the first block renovated. Quite a puzzle After the renovation, tenants sign up to an 'energy plan' requiring them to make payments to Woonbedrijf which are comparable to their current energy bills. In this way the living expenses for tenants remain similar to what they were before. Woonbedrijf uses the income from the energy plan to finance a large part of the renovation. But Woonbedrijf had also sold homes to tenants under a separate initiative to encourage home ownership*. It was a challenge to resolve the financing for these homeowners. As Rozemeijer says: “We had to put our thinking caps on for this one. Residents wouldn't or couldn't participate if they had to invest too much, which is understandable. It was quite a puzzle.” Leasing the facade Woonbedrijf, together with their legal team, went looking for a way to finance the €75.000 renovation costs for private homeowners. Eventually a solution was found by creating an 'independent right to structure' ('onafhankelijk recht van opstal' in Dutch) for a part of the building. This is a legal structure that enables a part of the building to be owned by an third party. “The facade of the home became the property of the Council, Woonbedrijf” Rozenmeijer explained. “The Council 'leases' this to the homeowner for approximately the same amount as the 'energy plan' that the tenants of the other houses pay.” This finance arrangement is coupled to the building. Therefore, if people sell their house the 'lease contract' is passed on to the new owners. This arrangement can also be applied to private houses in the area independent of the housing association, making it a versatile financial tool. In Completion of the project in 2018 Over the coming months all the residents on the estate will be able to can come and take a look at the demonstrator home. “We are assuming that eventually everyone will become enthusiastic and next year we can get on with renovating the rest of the area,” said Rozenmeijer. This net zero energy project was partly funded by Transition Zero , a project funded through the EU’s H2020 programme under grant agreement 696186. * Through this arrangement the housing association sells the house to the tenant at a discount. If they want to sell it again they have to sell it back to the housing association, which is obliged to buy it.

The housing association De Goede Woning, together with general contractor Dura Vermeer, are planning to renovate 120 homes to net zero energy in the neighbourhood of Palenstein in Zoetemeer, in the Netherlands. An 'information market' about the project was held for residents on a Wednesday evening in July 2017. There was a great atmosphere and the turnout was high. Before residents left the market, they filled in a card where they shared their first impressions about the proposed renovations. Their reactions were almost completely positive with only one or two tenants expressing doubts about the scheme. What is the secret to this success? Residents' committee makes home visits Prior to the information market, members of the residents' committee visited approximately 80% of the 120 involved households. The committee had already been involved in the choice of the solution provider and was therefore well informed about Dura Vermeer's net zero energy concept. Committee members' discussions with residents flushed out many of the concerns, desires and needs that tenants had. De Goede Woning and Dura Vermeer were able to put this knowledge to good use by addressing these issues during the information market. The presentation: communicating clearly and efficiently The programme for the information evening consisted of an initial half hour presentation followed by an information market with various stalls. This format was repeated three times (at 15:00, 17:00 and 19:00). Residents could choose which time suited them best. Visitors were asked to save any questions they had during the presentation for the market. This made it possible to get the basic information across clearly and efficiently. Topics covered in the presentation included: the motivations behind the project, the objectives of De Goede Woning, the information gathered from residents to date, the nature of renovation, the approach, the planning and finally a short explanation of the 'energy plan' that residents would be expected to sign up to after the renovation. A few tips: At the beginning of the presentation take the time to go over the information that has already been gathered from residents. What are their known concerns and hopes? If people can recognise their own issues in the presentation then they will retain the information better. Clearly state the advantages of net zero energy for residents. Be careful with terms like net zero energy, energy plan, level of support, participation, etc. It is important to either explain these terms well or not to use them at all. You can download the presentation used at the information market  here (in Dutch). The information market After the presentation, the team from De Goede Woning and Dura Vermeer spread themselves out over the various market stalls in the hall of De Goede Woning's office. At these stalls residents could see examples of the fixtures and fittings they would receive in their home. Things like: the colours of the tiles, the new kitchen cupboards, the new facade and window frames, the electric stovetop and new pan set, the exterior design and technology behind net zero energy. This provided a more relaxed setting to raise questions about the renovation of their homes. On a large flip chart residents could note any specific issues that they had so that they can be addressed as the renovation proposal was developed further. There was also a separate stand where people could ask questions about the energy plan they would be asked to sign up to after the renovation. And finally, residents could drop ideas and suggestions in an ideas box. Happy green and angry red emoticons When they left, residents were presented with a goodie bag to take home and asked to fill in a 'first impressions card' about how they saw the renovation. They could choose from four emoticons ranging from a green smiley face to an angry red face. This process also captured important additional information as the back of the cards were used to note down concerns and impressions. The majority of the cards collected displayed a green smiley face. Some chose yellow, as they still had technical questions. These questions will be addressed as the proposal is developed and during home visits. Two of the 120 cards displayed an angry red face. Both found the exterior renovation OK, but didn't want the difficulties of an interior renovation (in one case due to a sick partner). The cards are a great instrument to get a feel for the level of support in the community. Does this process work in every case? In the Netherlands large scale housing renovation projects of this kind are growing in number. Is an information market like this a good idea in all cases? Amongst other things, this depends on the relationship of the housing association with its tenants, the atmosphere in the neighbourhood and the general level of support for net zero energy. Are these things predominantly positive? If the answer is yes then an information market can be a good way of reaching many people at once. It is important to get a feel for any burning issues residents have and the dynamics of the neighbourhood. You can read about how to go about such processes at bewonerscommunicatie.com (available in Dutch only). Alternatively, things maybe predominately more negative e.g. if there is a lack of trust in the housing association and/or the project or a painful history? There may even be unrest or social problems In such situations it is better to first attend to the problems at hand and/or to use individual home visits or small gatherings to disseminate information (such as meetings in individual housing blocks) before considering an information market. The information market was a good choice for the Palenstein project. This was because the residents were generally enthusiastic about the project and wanted their house to be included in the renovation scheme. In addition, the residents generally had a good relationship with their housing association and they had already received much information from both the residents' committee and an informative letter. This net zero energy project of De Goede Woning was partly funded by Transition Zero, a project funded through the EU’s H2020 programme under grant agreement 696186 If you want to read more about tenant engagement and communication in net zero energy projects you should take a look at www.bewonerscommunicatie.com (available in Dutch only).

Homeowners from a private apartment building in Assen have wanted to go to net zero energy (NZE) for three years now. Now that they have secured finance they are finally set to realise this goal. Their homeowner association is the first in the country to finance a NZE project with financing that is building-linked. These types of pilots are essential for developing a nationwide financial product for these projects. Such a financial product would represent a great step forward in realising energy transition goals, as it would enable more private apartment buildings to adopt net zero energy. And the good news is: building-linked finance has been included in the recent coalition agreement of the Dutch government. How Assen got the ball rolling Three years ago Assen Council put out a call. They were looking for pilot homeowner associations interested in renovating to net zero energy levels. The manager of Ellen's homeowner association quickly registered their interest and this was the beginning of a long collaboration between Assen Council, Ellen's homeowner association & its residents, Segon consultants, the Province of Drenthe, the Drenthe Energy Organisation, the Triodos Bank and builder Renolution. Assen Council became inspired to pursue NZE after a housing corporation in Drenthe which was involved in the ‘deal Stroomversnelling’ took the initiative to go to NZE. The ‘deal Stroomversnelling' was a deal made in 2013 between Dutch building contractors and housing associations to refurbish 111,000 homes to NZE. These days the step to NZE is relatively easy for social housing associations in the Netherlands due to a new regulatory tool that allows landlords to charge extra service costs (an “energy plan”) to tenants for a Net Zero Energy building. A NZE renovation (or new build) is financed in two ways: through energy cost savings and by reduced maintenance and repairs costs. Both are part of the business case. The objective is that tenants have the same monthly expenses – they now simply pay the housing association an energy service fee instead of their former energy bill to an energy supplier. The housing association can now use this new income stream to pay a large part of the renovation. Whilst the business case for NZE renovations is clear for social housing associations in the Netherlands, it is a different story for private homeowner associations and individuals. There were, and still are, no long term loans (>25 years) available to them to invest in NZE. Therefore, for a homeowner association, loan repayments would be significantly higher than residents’ current energy bills and the costs to residents would go up. From financial stumbling block to solution The key for Marco Attema, project leader from Assen Council, was to find a building-linked financial solution. Together with Joost Schretlen from the consultancy firm Segon he generated what at first glance seemed like a 'simple solution'. Attema describes “I thought, why can't we link the mortgage to an object instead of a person? In this way the financing becomes transferrable in the event of the sale of a home, and there would be no risk to investing in NZE. The basic thinking was: instead of the individual owner, the homeowner association takes a loan to retrofit the entire apartment complex as a whole. They then collect the loan repayments and interest via the service costs that residents pay to the association. In this way (just as in the case of social housing) the residents would trade their old energy bills for extra service costs. However, the problem was that homeowner associations could not secure loans as they had no collateral. The Province of Drenthe was very enthusiastic about exploring a guarantee fund as a possible solution and keen to work on it together.” Net zero energy for net zero cost Only SVn (a support fund for housing) and the National Energy Saving Fund have experience lending to homeowner associations in the Netherlands, and this is with a maximum 15 year term. Fortunately, the Triodos Bank was prepared to step in and provide long term finance for Ellen's homeowner association. Attema: “For the banks, extending a loan to a homeowner association with a duration of 30 years is totally new. Many questions must be answered, such as: How do you determine the creditworthiness of a homeowner association? How do you determine the quality of the building product? How are the details arranged legally? What are the risks for homeowners? Everything needs to be doubly tested. We need to demonstrate that it is possible.” Finally it proved achievable. Triodos Bank has provided a loan with a term of 30 years, with the Province of Drenthe providing the security. The intention is that this security will eventually be transferred to a yet to be established guarantee fund.” The longer loan term brings the loan repayment costs down to a level comparable to the current energy bills for the residents. In this way the retrofit comes as close as possible to net zero cost for residents. Their 30 year maintenance contract is also worked into the costs, so it is nicely organised. Moving forward In the Netherlands there are currently multiple homeowner associations working towards achieving Net Zero Energy for their building complexes and they all experience the same financial stumbling block. Assen Council is now actively involved in seeking solutions to facilitate a broader rolling out of the Assen Service Cost Model, jointly financed by the Dutch Municipalities Association. A broad group of stakeholders, banks, advisors and governments have acknowledged the urgency of this issue and begun compiling a list of the points that are holding back progress to be forwarded to the Social and Economic Council. A Taskforce has been created within Stroomversnelling that is oriented towards finding uniform and scalable financial solutions that make Net Zero Energy renovations possible for homeowner associations throughout the Netherlands. The Assen Service Cost Model, including the idea of a guarantee fund, is forming a basis for this work. The Taskforce is also investigating the possibility of extending the current NEF-lending (a special loan for energy saving refurbishments) from a term of 15 years to a term of 30 years. One member of this Taskforce is Femke Adriaens, sustainable policy specialist at Assen Council and member of a Dutch investment agency. Adriaens explains “The beauty of NZE is that you can pay for it with your old energy bills, but guarantees must be given for this. We really need more experience, more pilots so that banks can learn from them and gain trust. In this way we can develop standardised financing. The guarantee fund of the Province of Drenthe could be the forerunner for a national guarantee fund so that banks could soon offer loans without risk nationwide.” The Taskforce Oliver Lauterslager has helped facilitate pilots with homeowner associations for three years now. “Ellen's homeowner association is the first in the country to raise local financing for such an ambitious renovation. The role and contribution of the Province has been very important to this. Our Taskforce has taken the solution in Assen on board. We will investigate how this can be expanded and scaled up for other pilots and we are looking for national partners who want finance via the same model. Robust guarantees are necessary from municipal/provincial governments to achieve this. In the longer term we want to see a reduction in the size of governmental guarantees. However, the product needs to prove itself before such robust guarantees are no longer necessary. Therefore we need more experience from the pilots.” Facts and figures Homeowner association Ellen oversees 28 apartments within a building of five levels, of which four are for living. During the retrofit each whole flat is essentially encased in a new facade, with balconies and walkways becoming interior. The old balconies are converted to French balconies with double doors and the walkways get a special glass system that is self opening if the interior gets to warm (24 degrees) or in the event of smoke. This new facade offers a 95% saving on heating requirements. The necessary energy is generated by solar panels on the roof and all residents get their own ventilation system in the ceiling with a spiral heating system behind it. The new facade is 'factory made' and affixed to the flats on site. Building company Renolution (also a member of the Stroomversnelling) renovates one residence per day and handles communication with the residents themselves. The residents have been enthusiastic from the start and Renolution talked with each household about the possibilities for personalised extras. Supporting homeowner associations to net zero energy The innovation programme VvE's naar nul-op-de-meter (Homeowner associations to net zero energy) has been running since 2015 and originated from the since completed Energiesprong programme. The pilots supported through the programme have provided a platform to experiment with systemic changes within the sector. Facilitation of this vital task is shared by Platform 31 , supporting the pilots, and Stroomversnelling, working on the necessary regulatory changes and supporting innovation (partly financed by the Interreg NWE programme E=0 ).

The Energiesprong movement in France took two major steps recently. Enabled by Transition Zero (a project funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme), a big French national deal was signed during the Congress of the Social Union for Housing with 3.600 houses to be refurbished according to Energiesprong standards. In addition, one of the first Energiesprong prototypes, co-financed by the Interreg NWE E=0 project , is soon to be delivered. This first prototype will be in Hem, in the North of France and is implemented by Vilogia.” Vilogia has selected a solution provider for the first 10 demonstrator houses. Agnieszka Bogucka, Vilogia’s project manager, describes the selection process, which was far from routine. Let´s begin at the beginning “In October 2016 we released a call for tender for 10 demonstrator houses to be refurbished. Five solution providers responded but only three had the appropriate credentials and track record. The specification demanded a multi-functional team including architectural and engineering skills as well as significant experience in projects with so called 'passive houses'.” Focus on outcomes and dialogue “The second step was for the three remaining bidders to prepare proposals. Learning from the Dutch experience, we focused on the outcomes we wanted to achieve rather than telling bidders how to achieve them. We wanted suppliers to think ‘outside the box’ and we invested a lot of time in meetings and 'question and answer' sessions to make sure they understood the Energiesprong concept. We also looked to the future and asked them to consider how they would price and deliver 10,000 houses if they were successful with the demonstrator project. This dialogue was vital to us gaining confidence in the bidders.” Be prepared “Bidders were quite surprised by our open minded approach and our willingness to exchange ideas. Normally it´s the other way round, they come up with a project based on certain price or they propose us a price and related solutions. On this occasion we knew exactly what we wanted and that surprised them. Our detailed preparation helped us enormously, particularly the many meetings we had with Dutch housing associations and the long hours spent talking with Ron van Erck, Energiesprong’s Head of International Market Development. Input from Greenflex was an enormous help too. They spent months comparing the Dutch solutions to the reality of the French market and political conditions. They helped us to find out what could be feasible in France. Being well prepared kept us on track and made us not only ask the right questions but in a way 'guide' the bidders to come back with better and higher performing solutions.” And the winner is… but why? “Our chosen solution provider was Rabot Dutilleul , mainly because their whole team was passionate and vocal about Energiesprong. We had the feeling that, be it people from the architecture, engineering, maintenance or production team, that they all knew what they were talking about and were very enthusiastic. We felt they were ready for the challenge and willing to put a lot of effort into working with us. We also appreciated that they were listening and trying to improve their proposal.” The design phase “June to September this year revolved around design. Our partner is really trying to find better and more economically sound solutions. The price is still not on par with the Netherlands but we recognise they are trying really hard to bring it down, for example by consulting diverse solution providers and analysing the impact of different components to find things they could change. Designing, fine-tuning and pricing is an ongoing process.” A yes vote “The district surrounding the 10 demonstrator houses is a mixture of homeowners and tenants. In such scenarios, according to French convention, the whole district has a say in how the common spaces should look. There is a special process for this where people vote on issues involving big changes. Last September the tenant association voted yes and their vote counted as one vote in a group of 10 concerned houses. Right now, in November 2017, we have received a 'yes' vote from the rest of the houses involved! Eight out of 10 said yes, one household abstained. As more than 50% are in, we can go for it!” Top tips “Clearly a Net Zero Energy procurement process takes more time than a regular one but we are learning how we can organise things so the process is smoother and quicker in future. Because this is our first commission, we have to manage everyone involved but we don't intend to keep doing that. So how do we share the load with others in our organisation? First, it’s important to spread the Energiesprong mindset, and second you have to convince people to do things differently, to get off the beaten track. In our case this is a bottom up process because we have a very close relationship with our tenants. People shouldn’t be afraid of a different approach or the technical aspects of Net Zero. We involve everyone because the Energiesprong approach has a big impact on the housing organisation. Even IT people need to change their systems to accommodate new data and different client relationships. An Energiesprong approach concerns everyone in a housing association!” Facts and figures “Vilogia have just realised a new call for tender for the next 160 houses to be Energiesprong refurbished in 2018! In this way we are working towards fulfilling the agreement we signed at the the Congress of the Social Union for Housing and we will try to keep this on track.” Major works will start on 8 January 2018, but minor works will begin in November. Vilogia has just offered their tenants new kitchens with a choice of four different models. It was a cheerful and relaxing moment for everyone. Tenants could not only choose something they like, they also received some advice from an interior architect on how to arrange their new E=0 homes. We’ll keep you informed!

Some 50 international partners of Energiesprong gathered in Nottingham, UK during 24 and 25 October 2017 to share good practice and discuss the development of the Energiesprong concept. Energiesprong Market Development Teams from the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany were joined by suppliers and housing associations to showcase the Energiesprong approach to housing retrofit and new build. Day one Day one covered ongoing projects surrounding procurement, deliverables, and the Energiesprong business case, all acted out under the project Transition Zero*. The morning featured discussions on developing a housing manual to create the ideal customer journey from board vision to day-to-day tenant reality. Delegates then visited ten demonstrator Energiesprong houses commissioned by Nottingham City Homes in the Sneinton area of Nottingham. This site, a UK first, was a hive of activity with delegates observing cranes swinging large insulation panels into place. The briefing focused on tenants. Back at the conference venue David Orr, CEO of the UK's National Housing Federation UK, delivered a thought-provoking presentation in which he discussed the importance of engaging housing associations on the basis of comfort and energy efficiency. Julien Dijol, Deputy Secretary-General of Housing Europe and partner in the Transition Zero project, followed up by explaining how the Energiesprong approach can raise housing standards in Europe. The day concluded with interactive sessions on project monitoring, evaluation and a progress update on the Transition Zero project . Day two Day two was all about the E=0 ** project, the building of the actual net zero energy demonstrators. Ron van Erck, Head of International Development Energiesprong, opened with a thorough explanation of monitoring protocols followed by inspirational sessions from various countries on stakeholder engagement. Delegates made a second visit to the Nottingham City Homes demonstrator houses this time focusing on construction management with opportunities for detailed discussions with the solution provider. The event ended with a creative and interactive session on communicating the Energiesprong concept to housing associations from Energiesprong Germany. To see the sldie decks from the day please follow the links below. Day 1: Energiesprong into Action TZ Day 2: Energiesprong Into Action E=0 Funded by * Under the name Transition Zero, Energiesprong executes an EU Horizon 2020-funded project to set the right market conditions in the UK, France and Netherlands for the wide-scale introduction of Net Zero Energy homes in the social housing sector. Go to website ** The Interreg E=0 project supports the development of an initial set of demonstrators in the UK, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This support consists of co-funding the first Energiesprong make-overs, expanding the movement in general and supporting the development of better solutions over time. Go to website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7noQWTkI_s