Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) has announced the release of foundational research for large-scale Net Zero Energy refurbishments in collaboration with Energiesprong International. The research examines models for industrialized manufacturing processes and financial conditions to provide Canada’s social housing sector with a long-term, self-financing opportunity to elevate and maintain the building stock to the highest levels of energy efficiency. The process integrates building level solar photovoltaic electricity generation to drastically reduce energy and lifecycle operating costs. Utility bill savings serve as an investment mechanism to offset the capital cost for the retrofit, providing a cash flow neutral solution to deeply refurbish the building stock. 10.000 jobs The report also examines technical and policy issues for achieving market transformation for a sector in need of innovative approaches. The report notes that government investment is critical to create early market momentum and economies of scale in production, which in turn drives the price of participation down. The investment not only brings low energy outcomes to the sector; it also generates local solutions and local jobs. SBC estimates that up to 10,000 new jobs might be created through an initial deployment of 5,000 units. SBC consulted major housing providers The report notes that Ontario’s carbon pricing mechanism (Cap and Trade) managed by the Ontario Green Bank is an ideal funding partner. SBC consulted with major housing providers in Ontario to better understand how the Energiesprong model could address their challenges. Margie Carlson, Deputy Executive Director of the Ontario Nonprofit Housing Association notes, “ONPHA supports the efforts of SBC and their partners in their proposal to adapt the Energiesprong approach to Ontario. As an early proponent, ONPHA has been engaged in the initial outreach, research, and the workshops and recommends that governments at all levels adopt the recommendations of the summary report.” Canada: a very realistic opportunity for Net Zero Energy housing “This report shows that Canada has a very realistic opportunity to implement such a model and to transform its affordable housing stock, future proofing it against uncertain energy prices and creating comfortable, modern spaces for residents”, notes Jasper Van den Munckhof, Director with Energiesprong International. “SBC has demonstrated to Energiesprong the viability of such a model in Canada and we are delighted to support them in this effort.” SBC is currently presenting these findings to federal and Ontario government representatives and encourages industry stakeholders to join the network of professionals who see the benefits of this opportunity and want to help. About Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) Since its inception in 2002, SBC has educated, supported, and empowered building professionals and policy makers across Canada. SBC’s acclaimed Design Charrettes showcase architectural and operational principles and help transform the building industry to achieve higher levels of environmental performance. Since 2005, SBC has hosted the annual Green Building Festival, Canada’s most comprehensive conference on green building design, operations, technologies, and materials. Along with its members and partner organizations, SBC furthers sustainable building practices by increasing coherence among fragmented industry activities and linking green commercial buildings and houses to green communities. Find the reports at http://sbcanada.org/energiesprong/ We will keep you informed at www.energiesprong.eu One of the projects examined was a four unit, two storey attached townhouse block owned by Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

Assembled for the 78th Congress of the Social Union for Housing, 36 organisations signed the Energiesprong commitment charter in France. Their pledge aims to drive the large-scale deployment of net zero energy retrofits in social housing. This collaboration aims to introduce net zero energy retrofits that are affordable, thus accelerating the implementation of the French Climate Plan (especially the component aimed at eradicating energy poverty in 10 years). Making a deal 9 social housing providers, 20 solution providers and 7 facilitating organisations signed the commitment charter developed under the Transition Zero project. These 36 organisations will support each other in both generating the market conditions to enable net zero energy retrofits and realising an initial 3.600 net zero energy homes. Their commitments include: 9 social landlords commit together to renovate 3.600 homes by 2022. These homes will be refurbished according to the Energiesprong performance specifications. 20 suppliers commit to developing quality products and offers that meet the Energiesprong standards of net zero energy homes. The 7 facilitating organisations, together with the Transition Zero partners, will take responsibility for creating the economic and regulatory frameworks to realise Energiesprong home makeovers. Energiesprong is.. Initiated in the Netherlands, the Energiesprong approach is driven by a vision to develop an efficient, desirable and economically viable energy retrofits that protect tenants from fluctuations in energy prices and provides quality housing. The Energiesprong approach creates houses that generate sufficient annual energy to heat the house, provide hot water and power all household appliances. A refurbishment comes with a 30-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. 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. >>  36 ACTEURS SIGNENT LA CHARTE D’ENGAGEMENT ENERGIESPRONG FRANCE !

Housing association Woonborg and construction company Dijkstra Draisma renovated 33 houses in Rhoden, a village close to Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. Mr Henk Dijkhuizen, who has been living and raising a family in one of these homes since 1971, took a close interest in the project and this video tells his story. Forty five years on the houses were in great need of renovation and Woonborg opted for a net zero energy approach. Mr Dijkhuizen, who was particularly keen on having an electric cooker installed, followed the development process closely. Happily ever after Mr Dijkhuizen and his wife are incredibly happy with the renovation: “It actually exceeded our expectations.” “The modifications have given us a really comfortable lifestyle. My wife has told me she wants to live here for many years to come and of course I agree because we have a really nice home here.” https://youtu.be/TBosv2u6ucM

Ten homes in Nottingham have been selected as part of a UK pilot to radically improve older houses using measure to save and generate energy. Ten homes in Nottingham have been selected as part of a UK pilot to radically improve older houses using measure to save and generate energy. Proposed improvements will make the residents of these homes ultra-low energy consumers, dramatically reducing household energy bills and making homes warmer. Nottingham City Homes (NCH), the Arm's Length Management Organisation (ALMO) managing and maintaining Nottingham City Council's (NCC) council housing stock, has become the first in the UK to adopt a ground-breaking approach to retrofitting housing solutions, known as "Energiesprong".  The programme of work is part of the next phase in the city's Greener HousiNG programme. The Energiesprongapproach involves wrapping an existing property with pre-fabricated wall and roof panels. The process, which can be completed in a matter of days, includes the installation of a thermally insulated roof cassette with solar PV built into it; a thermally-efficient wall envelope insulation panel system; low-maintenance glass panelled wall kitchen and bathroom; air or ground source heat pump and heating system; removal of gas to create an electricity only property; and low energy cooker and shower. The comprehensive retrofit delivers a super insulated, low maintenance and affordable near net zero-energy home with a 30-year construction and assured energy performance warranty. An Energiesprong home generates as much energy as is needed for the house and household appliances. Part of the innovation is how the works are funded. The household pays an 'Energy plan', and the landlord (NCH) receives an on-going income to fund similar works to more homes. The resident has a much more comfortable home, and a flat rate cost for energy, which will not rise significantly when energy bills rise. Originating in the Netherlands, Energiesprong is regarded as a revolutionary model; it brings today's houses up to 2050 standards of energy efficiency and the new funding approach, ensures the works are affordable. Following Energiesprong's outstanding success in the Netherlands, where a thousand homes a year are now receiving this high-tech makeover, the concept has been exported to France, Germany, Luxembourg, the USA and now the UK. Nottingham City Homes has signed the first UK contract, ahead of other pioneering landlords in London, Essex and Devon, placing an order with Melius Homes for ten retrofits as a pilot, with an option for up to a further 400. The deal follows extensive tenant consultation and a comprehensive competitive tender process to find the right solution provider. This pilot is part of a cluster of smart city solutions being delivered in Nottingham over a three-year period under the European-funded REMOURBAN project. This project seeks to show how sustainability can be integrated into the regeneration of our towns and cities. Nottingham City Homes' Chief Executive, Nick Murphy, said: "While we're delighted to be part of a UK-first pilot programme, it's more important to us that we're creating warmer, more energy efficient homes, which are cheaper to run for residents. "The Greener HousiNG programme is dedicated to finding the most efficient and reliable solutions, to help us future proof our housing stock and tackle issues such as fuel poverty. As an added bonus, the improvements will greatly improve the look and feel of the area." David Adams, Technical Director of Melius Homes, the successful bidder said: "We are delighted to have been chosen to work with Nottingham City Homes to deliver this ground-breaking contract.  They have shown great foresight in adopting such a radical new approach and we look forward to helping to make a real difference for the local community." Councillor Jane Urquhart, the City Council's Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing & Heritage, said: "We're very excited that Nottingham is at the forefront of this revolutionary approach, which can help tackle both fuel poverty and climate change. 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.  Our Greener HousiNG programme has seen over 6,000 hard-to-treat homes in both social and private sectors receive energy efficiency measures and this pilot will inform the next steps for our programme to tackle hard-to-treat housing. "As well as a significant cost to the household, losing excessive heat due to drafty homes has an environmental impact too. The REMOURBAN project is trialing interventions in the housing and transport sectors to accelerate Nottingham's low carbon future and the Energiesprong model is a really exciting development for this project and for Nottingham." The works will be carried out during 2017 with the roll out programme scheduled to commence early 2018. http://www.energiesprong.uk/

The E=0 project aims to scale net zero energy retrofits * in North West Europe. The E=0 project allows housing organisations to refurbish their housing stock to net zero energy levels by combining the future energy cost savings with future maintenance costs and investing that in a performance guaranteed retrofit. This way, residents get a refreshed, warm and comfortable home at the same (or lower) cost of living. An approach that was successfully tested and proven in the Netherlands and has started to been deployed to the UK, France, Germany and Luxembourg. Energy plan to remove split incentive In order to make the model work in the social housing sector (which is our launching market for these retrofits), the split incentive problem between landlord and tenant needs to me solved. This means housing organisations have to be able to collect the energy cost savings from their tenants in the form of an energy fee or energy plan in exchange for providing them with a warm house plus some sort of energy bundle for heating, hot water and electricity for their appliances. This scheme gives housing associations the opportunity to invest this new incoming cash flow in the refurbishments, together with the savings on maintenance costs. In this way there is no need to increase the tenants’ rent. In the UK, France and Luxembourg (and Germany) housing associations are not able to collect an energy plan from their tenants on top of the rent. This means that in order to make net zero energy living a possibility at scale, regulatory changes enabling the charge of an energy plan, will be needed. Other regulatory challenges Besides the challenges around the energy plan, there are other obstacles that have to be tackled, before the wider roll out of this programme will be possible and successful. We’ve asked the different market development teams what other regulatory challenges they’re currently facing. United Kingdom “In the UK one of the biggest problems is to get a viable business case for net zero energy solutions. The challenges with the business case starts with the very low feed-in tariffs that we have here in the UK”, says Arno Schmickler, member of the UK Market Development Team. “The business case in Holland is based on a net metering scheme where it is possible to have equal exchange of power with the electricity grid. For the Dutch business case this means that the houses have to be net zero over a year. During the summer the houses will generate more electricity than will be needed, the overcapacity flows right back into the national grid. During the winter the houses need more energy than produced by the solar panels, at that moment the house will use energy from the grid. At the end of the year there is no electricity charge as long as the house delivered the net zero energy requirement. This exchange mechanism puts renewable energy generated on site at parity with other sources of energy in the national grid and thus strongly supports the Dutch business case. In the UK, however, such a free exchange with the grid is not possible. In the UK feed-in tariffs are significantly below the retail electricity price, which means the use of solar PV is almost penalised: to receive the monetary equivalent of 1kWh of grid electricity in the UK almost twice as much has to be generated by the solar PV installation, even if 100% of solar PV is exported. That means residents will have to use as much as possible of the energy that they are generating at the same time which is not achievable (day/night, summer/winter cycles) unless significant energy storage is installed.” “The demonstrators that will be delivered under the E=0 project give us a great opportunity to assess and improve the emerging solutions, not just in terms of their energy and comfort performance but also in relation to the business case for investment going forward. A smart combination of technologies and potentially a higher investment in energy storage could overcome some of the regulatory barriers that we are facing in the UK. However, it is clear that it is definitely not going to be easy here in the UK to replicate the Dutch success unless we find a supportive government that is prepared to work with us for better solutions that will deliver significant investment in our ailing housing stock, create new employment in advanced manufacturing and reduces health expenditure due to much improved air quality and eliminated fuel poverty.” France After having spoken to Pierre Lévi, from the French team, it becomes clear that their biggest challenges lie in the French building component validation system. “Every new innovation has to go through a validation process which can take up to a couple of years before new solutions get approved. When you’re working on net zero energy solutions you’re constantly looking for better products and therefore experimental room is necessary.” “For the realization of the demonstrators, this spring, we don’t really have a good solution yet. We’re trying to combine existing solutions in the smartest way to get the first pilots of the ground for a reasonable price. But if you want prices to come down and quality to get better, innovation is necessary!” Luxembourg In Luxembourg, the missing of the energy plan currently forms the biggest obstacle. In Luxemburg the Ministry of Housing pays 70% of the renovations costs that are being carried out by housing associations and therefore have a lot of influence on the daily business of these organisations. “For example, The Ministry of Housing sets the bar for rent, that’s why it is not possible to increase the rent and therefore an energy plan is needed,” explains Nicolas Zita from the Luxembourgish team. “Housing organisations really want this energy plan, because that would give them more autonomy and flexibility over their business”.  “For the demonstrators we may have found a solution. An article of the RGD (Réglement Grand-Ducal allows the housing associations to charge the tenants for the extra-services provided by the refurbishment. The comfort brought by the refurbishment could be interpreted as a service. The demonstrator team is working on this now.” Short-term solutions no option The necessary law changes won’t be made for the first demonstrators that come to the market. The objective is to develop a market towards a non-subsidised business case that is attractive for both customer/housing association as builder and/or supplier. The key to developing a successful retrofit market that will attract investment and innovation is certainty and consistency over a long term (20yrs-30yrs). By their very nature retrofit programmes can take a long time to develop and deliver and any changes or threats of changes prevents these programmes from being planned. Long-term regulation is therefore very important to stimulate the market development. Short term subsidies, periodic feed-in tariff structures or temporary permit-exceptions are not stimulating the building sector to do the large investments in innovation and production that are necessary to grow a mature market. Under the Interreg NWE project E=0, different countries experimented with getting this solution to the market, but these law changes would be necessary to make a business case that doesn’t rely on subsidies. Over the next period we recommend developing a framework for European regulation to create not only protection for consumers, tenants and social housing companies, but also to stimulate Net Zero Energy refurbishments by removing the split incentive. * Net Zero, what does that mean? Annually, a Net Zero Energy house generates sufficient energy to heat the house, provide hot water and power its household appliances. A refurbishment comes with a 30-year performance warranty on both the indoor climate and the energy performance.

This position will direct the work of the Energiesprong UK market development team of around 8 people, mainly working on two EU-funded projects - Transition Zero and E=0.  Working in a non-hierarchical structure, the post holder will ensure strategic direction and alignment of the other members of the Energiesprong UK-MDT. The role will work with and be supported by the Dutch Energiesprong Programme Director (who is directing the international coalition). The role will be available on a self-employed (indvidual contractor) basis as it is not expected to be full time. More information is available by contacting Ron van Erck or by downloading our information sheet .

Factory Zero develops, produces and delivers smart, complete Net Zero Energy systems, working in close cooperation with innovative players in the building supply industry. The start-up has been established under the NWE interreg project E=0 and has now received its first large order from construction company Dura Vermeer. Factory Zero's recently developed energy and climate module called the iCEM has been chosen by Dura Vermeer for their project with housing corporation De Goede Woning in Zoetemeer. This project will see 120 houses renovated to Net Zero Energy levels.. Net Zero Energy for everyone To make sure that everybody in the Netherlands will be able to afford a Net Zero Energy retrofit there are some hurdles that have to be overcome. One of the biggest challenges is to get the price of these refurbishments down to €45.000. This number represents the energy costs that would normally be spent on energy bills over 30 years (the life span of a house). To get the costs for these renovations down and the quality up, industrial scale solutions, innovation and smart thinking are necessary. 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! Complete Net Zero Energy make overs Factory Zero is the first start-up ever that focuses entirely on industrial solutions for Net Zero Energy concepts. The team, consisting of Jan-Willem van de Groep, Desmond Hughes, Jasper van den Munckhof en Sjoerd Klijn Verlderman (all of whom were earlier involved in the organisation Stroomversnelling), works together with big industrial partners such as Mitsubishi, BASF and ABB. Besides the iCEM energy module, they are also working on the development of a complete roof and facade module. This means that they will soon be offering complete Net Zero Energy packages. In this way they are working to make Net Zero Energy make-overs affordable and easily accessible for anyone. Elements that make life easy When building Net Zero Energy houses the hardest and most expensive part is not the construction itself, rather it’s the installations and the construction elements. The production of construction elements is an area ripe for innovation and calls for new products that meet the complex needs of a Net Zero Energy retrofit whilst also being easily integrated into current building practices. Factory Zero has already has developed one such product, which is making it easier for construction companies to choose for Net Zero Energy, both in retrofits and in the construction of new buildings.. The client is always right When it comes to the client, the ambition is high: to make Net Zero Energy an appealing deal for homeowners too. In order to achieve this prices need to drop by at least 40 per cent. Therefore any new complex products need to be easy to applicable, produced at scale and with a modification factor as high as possible. In developing these products, the philosophy of Factory Zero is: the client is always right!

Energiesprong has crossed the Atlantic and landed firmly in the United States of America. The State of New York is the first state in the USA wanting to invest in the refurbishment of houses and apartment buildings to net zero energy levels on a large scale. In a demonstration of commitment to these aims, the State of New York has reserved 30 million dollars for the coming 10 years to develop a market for affordable, sustainable and future-proof retrofits. Energiesprong=RetrofitNY To make net zero energy happen in the State of New York an independent market development team is being set up by NYSERDA who will host the Energiesprong programme under the name RetrofitNY. RetrofitNY is a cornerstone initiative of NYSERDA’s multifamily programs . By adapting the  Energiesprong process to conditions in the State, RetrofitNY aims to revolutionize the building retrofit industry in New York starting with the affordable housing sector. The project will be geared towards inducing the architecture, engineering and construction industries to develop innovative technical solutions capable of transforming NY’s existing residential building stock to meet net zero levels of energy performance. Home improvement The ultimate goal of the RetrofitNY initiative is to develop a self-sufficient, private sector-based market for the implementation, at scale, of deep energy retrofit solutions, thus greatly improving energy performance, health and comfort within existing affordable housing. The initiative will offer building owners and regulators new strategies to preserve affordability and improve their buildings while combating climate change. The first requests for proposals for net zero energy retrofits should be released at the end of 2017, with the resulting retrofits constructed in 2018. Read more Garden style apartments, upstate New York

April 2017 marked the launch of the Energiesprong scaling into Germany. Based on results in The Netherlands, the Ministry of Energy in Germany (BMWI) has allocated budget to fund a market development team for the coming three years. The German energy agency dena is managing Energiesprong in Germany and will host the market development team. dena is Germany’s center of expertise for energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and intelligent energy systems. Currently, a team is being set up to run the initiative. Meanwhile the program has engaged housing organisations and solution developers interested in co-developing super energy efficient refurbishments (and new built solutions) with guaranteed performance. The Energiesprong International team is providing support to the project by sharing knowledge, helping to set up the team and co-developing the strategy for the German context. Join the project! As we are currently looking for talented, self-starting individuals that are willing and able to drive change: reach out if you would be involved. Send an email to bigalke@dena.de .

Blog by Tom Elliott, Energiesprong UK Market Development Team Making our way from Utrecht Central to the Energy Up conference through an industrial estate, we have been advised to keep an open mind in preparation. Just as we turn a corner, we spot a chicken crossing the road and that helps to set our minds for the day – this conference won’t be your usual conference and it will get you thinking. The dated exterior of the Werkspoorkathedral building where the event is being held catches us off-guard into thinking that the building is past its best. Far from it, the interior has been brought back into use via an impressive retrofit, utilising modern technologies whilst maintaining the industrial equipment once used to manufacture steel for trains and bridges back in the 1960s. How fitting that this National Energiesprong conference is being held in a mid-19 th century building which has been brought back into the 21 st century using creativity and craftsmanship. In addition to the impressive venue, the initial crowd and atmosphere is also striking and all participants are actively engaged in positive and productive conversation, instantly highlighting the positive attitude of all stakeholders. Attending are representatives from Energiesprong Holland, France, Italy and UK. Interactive Energiesprong learning sessions in an inflatable igloo Having looked at the Dutch Energiesprong journey exhibited in a very creative way and fuelled by coffees and pastries, we then head towards the first of our interactive Energiesprong learning sessions in an inflatable igloo, hosted by Ron van Erck, Head of Energiesprong International development. After a short and unexpected power outage resulting in an impromptu team building exercise to hold up the slow and comical deflation of the igloo, power is restored and Ron begins to present the practical journey of Energiesprong in Holland. What’s instantly clear is just how much work, analysis and learning has been achieved by the Dutch E=0 programme. On the surface, the concept of Energiesprong is so simple, but beneath the intriguing name is a complex web of information which has been used to further develop and improve the approach to ensure that all project deliverables are achieved – contract management, resident involvement, project management, supply chain training etc. These marginal yet important and continuous steps towards improvement remind of the concept of marginal gains, which transformed and revolutionised the Team GB Cycling Team. After all, we are in Holland where bicycles outnumber humans! Onto our next session, where we are discussing the technological improvements used for Energiesprong. Taking the lead is Sjoerd who had worked as a senior manager at BAM for 15 years and has now begun advising local contractors how best to evolve and develop their business practices in order to ensure that they are ready for Energiesprong – oh, and yes he has started his very own Factory Zero as well! There is no doubt that the supply chain have done a great job of collaborating to ensure that quality control is maintained and automation used where possible, helping to drive down costs and improve the customer experience. Laser surveys, CNC machining and pre-fabricated facades are just some of the innovation now employed on the Dutch projects. Collaboration, collaboration, followed by collaboration Before lunch we have one final lecture, this time on how to create the right match between housing association and supplier. The key messages to come across here are collaboration, collaboration, followed by collaboration. A large part of the success experienced by Energiesprong seems to be down to the fact that housing partners and industry have worked hard not only to understand each other but moreover to build a strong, trust-based collaboration in order to derive the best outcome for all involved. The strength of the relationship between the two parties is highlighted when, with a big smile, the client tells us to expect some failure but ensure that this is used as a learning experience. We leave the session feeling enthused by the rare evidence of such a positive relationship between client and contractor, and head off to the mini-bus which is taking us to our site visit to view a completed Energiesprong project. What is not to like about Holland After a short drive through Utrecht we exit the mini bus onto a residential road and for a moment can’t quite seem to figure out where the Energiesprong units are. I assume that we are a shot walk away from them until Arno from the UK Market Development, points to the houses just across the road. The similarity of the surrounding non-Energiesprong facades initially makes it hard to realise which are which, as the exterior brick work, roof pitch and window positions are exactly the same. It is only when we take a step back and notice the impressive PV array running from one end of the terrace to the other that we are able to distinguish. For me, this highlights the true brilliance of Energiesprong – the mechanism to upgrade the performance of a building to net zero energy standards, upgrading the façade without transforming or even altering the physical appearance of the surrounding community. It’s hard not to admire the achievements made so far by Energiesprong and really does show what can be achieved by the model, at the heart of which is industry and housing partner collaboration to develop comfortable homes for residents. Feeling inspired and excited to be part of the Energiesprong team, we head back to the main event for a final closing speech followed by drinks and a chance to network. This was a truly excellent trip to a great country which is taking the lead on net zero energy buildings. What is not to like about Holland - cyclists seem to outnumber cars, the people are friendly and welcoming and they have Government thinking to the future. Perhaps this is why the rumours are saying that America First, but Holland second.

To test and improve the commercial viability of the Energiesprong concept in the UK housing association Moat is delighted to be a partner in the EU’s Interreg NWE E=0 project, which provides funding for a pilot of ten whole-house retrofits in Maldon, Essex. Housing association Moat is proud of their commitment to environmental sustainability and performance, which is why they were so keen to get involved with the Energiesprong concept. Their sustainability strategy focuses on developing environmentally friendly homes that help to prevent fuel poverty and reduce carbon footprints. However to bring some of their older homes in line with the strategy, they needed a more innovative solution. Whole house retrofits help to reduce carbon emissions as a direct result of installing energy efficiency measures. The concept also helps tackle the number of households that are in fuel poverty by producing highly insulated homes with the ability to generate energy on site, which can be used for heating, lighting and hot water. All of this is what made the Dutch Energiesprong model so appealing to Moat. To test and improve the commercial viability of the Energiesprong concept in the UK Moat is delighted to be a partner in the EU’s Interreg NWE E=0 project, which provides funding for a pilot of ten whole-house retrofits in Maldon, Essex. Selection of houses The housing association has a lot of homes in the area of Maldon, Essex as well as a strong, productive relationship with the local authority. In the past they also carried out other energy efficiency initiatives in Maldon, such as external wall insulation projects and air source heat pump installations. For the pilot project Moat needed to narrow down a list of 900 potential homes to just 20. Using Google’s street view function as well as satellite imagery, they were able to visualise which houses would be suitable for the innovative retrofit approach. Semidetached houses lend themselves well to the concept, which is why they feature prominently in the 20 homes on the shortlist. “ We want our customers to love where they live” The next step is to half their prospective pilot homes to just ten by recording building data, carrying out energy assessments and undertaking stock condition surveys. Moat will soon meet with the people living in the homes on their retrofit shortlist to discuss their energy bills and get their input into the energy efficiency of each home. Ben James, Energy & Sustainability Coordinator at Moat:  “We’re really looking forward to enhancing the appearance and comfort of our homes as we want our customers to love where they live – and it is equally important that our homes are affordable to run. However as a social landlord we also have a commitment to consider the health and wellbeing of our customers. Retrofitting our homes with energy efficient technologies has clear health benefits to those who live in them, supporting our shared aim with Energiesprong of delivering desirable, warm and affordable homes for life.” About Moat Moat is a housing association working across South East England to provide high quality homes and services to around 20,000 homes. Their communities include people with varying tenures so they offer affordable homes for rent and they have a very strong focus on home ownership. For nearly three decades, Moat developed homes for shared ownership to help people make their first move onto the property ladder. Their ambition is to bring an end to housing need. Moat is also a founder member of Energiesprong UK, a partnership of leading housing providers and construction companies, as well as industry and expert policy partners. Proporties have been shortlisted for the solution and final decisions will be made in due course.

Sébastien Delpont is manager of the Energiesprong France programme and Déborah Knight is in charge of communications and tenant engagement. We spoke with them about the challenges they are facing. “In France, we are working on five main issues with the stakeholders” Sébastien Delpont explains. “The business model and analysis of housing stocks, the energy plan, the contracting scheme, improvement of technical solutions and last but not least tenant engagement.” Business model and stock analysis: Working on creating a dynamic “Last year we worked on the French finance model for Energiesprong and created a simulation tool based on total cost of ownership. This tool is designed to help housing associations identify and select demonstrator sites. This year we will focus on identifying eligible property stock among social housing stakeholders and the conditions under which they would engage in extensive Energiesprong refurbishments. This will lead to a collective charter of commitment that will highlight the potential for Energiesprong refurbishments and identify the barriers that will need to be overcome in order to realise them.” Energy plan: Tenant payments to be protected by an 'energy shield' “We are figuring out the energy plan. Who is going to pay for what and to whom? Our goal is to set an 'energy shield' so that tenants do not pay more than before the refurbishment. There is still no legal framework to make it easy and feasible for housing associations to ask for the fee that tenants need to pay to them instead of the energy provider after the refurbishment. The demonstrator projects will allow us to experiment with some schemes, and to see if we actually need to change the law or not.” Contracting: The energy performance warranty is new in France “Another challenge lies in the contracting” Sébastien Delpont continues. “Our main objective is to find a way to integrate the long term energy performance warranty into a procurement contract compliant with public purchasing rules ” Technical solutions: Identifying best practices and sharing knowledge “We are really eager to learn and share knowledge. Good solutions should be spread. In dedicated workshops, we share the problems we are facing and work on technical roadmaps. We do this in collaboration with a wide range of professionals, including learning from the experience of our Dutch peersin regular visits to the Netherlands.” Tenant engagement This is where Déborah Knight comes in. “My task is to help housing associations engage their tenants in the project. Relationships with tenants are key at every stage of an Energiesprong retrofit. We work together on helping them understand the project and its benefits… but above all, we involve them so they feel engaged and take an active role in the process. But it doesn´t stop here,” Déborah Knight continues. “We will also identify the issues requiring careduring renovations so that they run smoothly for tenants, and work on how to help them feel at ease in their renovated home and master their energy consumption patterns....” To share this knowledge, she organises workshops with housing associations in France and holds meetings with her Dutch colleagues. > Read the interview with Agnieszka Bogucka, project manager Vilogia (the first housing association that will realize 10 demonstrator houses in France.)