9. September 2025

Social leasing of heat pumps: Bridging the affordability gap for energy-efficient housing

As Europe seeks to meet its climate and energy goals, transitioning to energy-efficient homes has become a critical step. However, for many households, the upfront costs of installing clean technologies like heat pumps remain a significant barrier. This is especially true for those in social housing, where energy poverty is a growing issue. With LIFE Street HP Reno, we’re focusing on a street-wide approach to retrofitting homes with heat pumps. But with the growing interest in social...

Utrecht – “Flat with a future”

thomas409661
Dec 30, 2020
2 min read

An ambitious project:

The complete renovation of an outdated Intervam flat on the Camera Obscuradreef in Utrecht, the Netherlands. After a successful pilot with 8 homes that were made net zero in 10 weeks, construction company VIOS refurbished a total of 252 apartments and 15 new homes in the same neighbourhood to net zero energy homes. This was just the starting point for the Housing Organisation Mitros.

Goals:

Extend lifespan by 50 years
High energy measures
Design, completion, management and maintenance on the one hand, and agreement on the other
Multi-year maintenance plans € 1,350 including VAT per home per year
Resident satisfaction > 8

In addition, all homes also included a new kitchen, bathroom and toilet. New stucco, interior paintwork, interior doors, H&S work, switchgear, and new interior installations throughout. Asbestos must be remediated and we completed 15 new homes. The successful project has received a lot of media attention and, at the end of 2019, it received an award at the prestigious Green Solutions Awards in the Sustainable Renovation category.

Technical specifications:

Performance guarantee: 10 years
Energy use before the renovation: 225 kWh/m2 per year
Energy use after the renovation: 50 kWh/m2 per year
Divided over energy use:
Heating: 10,9 kWh/m2 (including ventilation)
Warm Water: 14,2 kWh/m2
Cooling: 0 kWh/m2
Household consumption: 24,8 kWh/m2
Energy savings: 175 kWh/m2 per year
Production of energy through solar panels to achieve net zero energy: around 50 kWh/m2 per year

Most important elements:

Ventilation by means of balanced ventilation with a Heat Recovery Unit
CO2 controlled (system D)
Air-water heat pump
PV (solar panel) Insulation
Entire shell thermally insulated:roof: Rc= 6closed façade: Rc = 4,5open façade, triple glas: U-value = 0,5ground floor: Rc = 4,5cold bridges removed by local insulation and thermal breaks