My, oh my, what a busy time! It’s important to keep up the pace though because we still have such a huge challenge ahead of us. Developments in the world follow one after the other in rapid succession. The climate crisis is becoming increasingly crucial. The need to take action is being increasingly felt. The idea that things have to change is being increasingly confirmed. This is lucky for us because this is what we at Energiesprong, as a movement, stand for and work tirelessly on: taking those necessary steps together towards a future-proof world. "Building for tomorrow, free of the compromise of the day, because we all share the same home". This has been our core message since forever and remains our ultimate goal. If you’ve not already done so, please come join us and be part of our amazing movement. In this newsletter you can read about all the different kinds of projects we are currently working on in order to achieve our ultimate goal. Some of them might even be award-winning (exciting!), some are in the beginning stages, and some are just coming to an end. Such as our MustBe0 project which has focused on applying the Energiesprong approach to high rise buildings for the past 4 years. Many thanks to the Interreg NWE programme for making this possible. And also, a huge thank you to all our project partners for the many lessons learned and all the knowledge shared. Thanks to all of you for the trust you have shown us. However, it doesn't stop here. The results will be transferred to subsequent projects. More about that below!  Happy reading! Team Energiesprong Global Alliance

With the Global Alliance focusing on more than energy transition alone, we are thrilled to introduce you to some of our new projects. We’ve got our teeth into the new Interreg NWE project ‘Circular Reno’, where we’ll develop biobased & recycled / reused material solutions for retrofits. The focus will be on delivering 4 scalable biobased deep energy retrofit packages for both social and individual housing on 4 sites (in total 88 homes), using a range of biobased solutions, experimenting with the different biobased materials (straw, wood, etc.) that grow in various countries. Furthermore, two new LIFE projects will also start in summer: Street HP Reno and Cosme Reno. In short, Cosme Reno will focus on developing new cooperation models for SMEs to scale up deep energy efficient retrofits. Street HP Reno aims to develop a street-wide approach for housing to collectively switch over energy systems to heat pump packaged modules. There will definitely be more to come on these projects!

The Italian Energiesprong Working Group (Casa Green) started work to develop the Italian sector for industrialised retrofits with a kick-off meeting in Milan in April. The Italian housing organisations interested in the Energiesprong approach manage a housing stock of over 120,000 dwellings all over Italy in both the public and the private sector. By joining together, they will participate in an intensive work programme consisting of workshops on emerging Energiesprong solutions, on retrofit performance targets, on business and procurement models, and will also take part in research trips to France and the Netherlands. Creating the first volume deal and selecting the next Italian pilot projects are among the Group’s top priorities. Launch of the Italian Energiesprong Working Group Casa Green:  the Energiesprong Working Group has begun to develop the Italian sector for industrialised retrofits. The owners of over 90,000 housing units, including the Municipalities of Rome and Milan and the Agenzia del Demanio, have responded to the Energiesprong Italy initiative to generate economies of scale and accelerate the retrofitting of Italian homes, using digital and offsite technologies. Milan, 4 April 2023 The work of the Energiesprong Retrofit Working Group kicked off with a meeting in Milan. The Group’s objective is to aggregate the homogenous demand for retrofits in order to generate economies of scale that allow for an industrial scale retrofit sector to also be created in, one which reduces implementation costs and timescales. The Working Group will focus on standards, the performance of new solutions, and innovative economic and procurement schemes in order to create an easily replicated model. The invitation from EDERA, the Innovation Centre for the Built Environment created by ANCE, Redo Sgr and Fondazione Housing Sociale with support from Fondazione Cariplo, was answered by ERP housing stock management organisations, social housing cooperatives and various institutional bodies which together manage a portfolio of over 90,000 housing units across Italy. Thomas Miorin , CEO of EDERA, said: " The energy and environmental crisis, on the one hand, and the international goals for decarbonisation on the other, both confront us with the urgent need to retrofit our housing stock, to make it safer, more sustainable and more comfortable for those living in it. It is a question of doubling what has been done so far with completely insufficient resources". "To meet this challenge, we need to aggregate the homogeneous demand for retrofits in order to generate economies of scale that allow for an industrial scale retrofit sector to also be created in Italy, one which reduces the current costs against better environmental performance . Working on  publicly-owned assets and social housing makes it possible to generate large volumes of easily replicated actions and to achieve the most impactful results for the benefit of those who need it the most". The "Casa green" working table, whose activities will continue throughout 2023, will be attended by several ERP housing stock managers such as  MM SpA, Casa Spa, Ater Lanciano, Ater Chieti , the  Municipalities of Rome and Milan , the Social Housing Cooperatives  Delta Ecopolis, Abitare, UniAbita and Confcooperative Habitat, Finint Sgr and  the  Agenzia del Demanio . Representatives from ENEA, Politecnico di Milano and SLV – Studio Legale Valaguzza are among the facilitators who will participate in the meetings. The goal is to work with the construction sector to pinpoint and encourage a wide range of industrial solutions for integrated energy and anti-seismic retrofits which enable costs and construction times to be reduced by 70%. Work will also be conducted to create an Italian retrofit model, innovative financing models and simplified procurement procedures. Thousands of houses have already been retrofitted throughout Europe using the Energiesprong approach. The initial Italian production chains have already been working for a year to implement the first demonstration actions in southern Europe, with significant results. The Working Group’s planned activities also include selecting the next pilot projects that can be used to define new standards for different housing types and geographical areas, with particular attention being paid to architectural quality, accessibility and reducing management and maintenance costs.

Energiesprong has a new name: Global Energiesprong Alliance. Don’t worry, we are still building for tomorrow, free of the compromise of today, but we’re also making sure we can keep living on this shared home we call earth and make it future-proof. We’ll never stop supporting markets for energy transition, but we are also looking beyond that. Our ambition is to push the development of energy positive materials, to inspire the personal and business development needed for change and to drive forward and map the right regulations and financing schemes needed for these changes. And more than ever, we are working together as an alliance in Europe and beyond. Let’s expand on this a little bit… The Global Energiesprong Alliance (GEA) will focus on more challenges than before. Widening the scope of our work from the energy in buildings to thinking about living itself . This opens the door to other aspects of life such as safety, loneliness, proximity to infrastructure and service environment, e.g. access to medical care. Or in other words questions like: How does my living space affect my health and personal development? Is the quality of the environment conducive to my good health? What requirements regarding noise, air quality and safety have been considered? And do I have access to transport and meeting places in my neighborhood? Creating a sustainable society also means thinking about the resources we use to create these living spaces. We've exhausted our resources, so we need to capture and store carbon by using natural materials for efficient buildings to slow down climate change. To leave a livable earth for future generations, it is essential to return CO2 in the atmosphere to the carbon cycle and store it in building materials such as wood and straw for a longer period. Changing how we are used to living and working requires a culture where people are allowed to try things out and where failure is seen as a step on the road to success. This requires companies with an open culture in which personal development is encouraged and embraced. Inspiring projects are needed to support these kinds of cultural developments. Appropriate regulations and rules that facilitate necessary changes are needed at national, but also at EU and global level. Of course, we also need these laws and regulations to adjust our financing mechanisms so that climate-affecting investments can be made on a larger scale. Cool, so what to expect? The Global Energiesprong Alliance is the movement that wants to provide an answer to the question of: how do we want to live together in the future and how can we shape this social coexistence in a sustainable way? It builds and expands on the Energiesprong movement. We are a collective movement that connects people from different backgrounds and nationalities in an open-source spirit. Keep an eye out for more exciting new – and slightly different – projects.

With everything that is happening in the world today, rapidly scaling up energy transition is on many agendas. And we see that every day in the work we do. For example, our Italian team recently celebrated their first completed Energiesprong retrofit, and 5 more projects are in the pipeline in the short term. Germany seems unstoppable with many projects underway. One of their leading housing organisations has even started a real-life Retrofit Lab. Expansion is everywhere. In Europe and beyond. This is another reason why the Global Energiesprong Alliance has been created, ready to spread its wings and work together as a movement, in Europe and beyond. Please take your time and read all about this and more in this latest Energiesprong newsletter. Click  here  and enjoy your read.

‘To be the first brave ones’, the Dutch do it again. From 2026, whenever a heating system needs to be replaced, homeowners will be obliged to install a heat pump. The norm will be a hybrid heat pump, but fully electric would be even better. Or a sustainable alternative, such as connection to the district heat network. And that’s not all that’s happening when it comes to accelerating sustainability in homes. From 2030, homes with an E, F or G energy label can no longer be rented out by housing organisations or private landlords. h “There is great urgency for sustainability and we must increase the pace. This is why the hybrid heat pump will become the standard from 2026 onwards when the central heating boiler needs to be replaced,” says the Dutch Minister for Housing Hugo de Jonge. And he doesn’t stop there. His sustainability plans state that housing associations and private landlords will no longer be allowed to rent out homes with an E, F or G energy label from 2030 onwards. There are currently 580,000 rental homes in the Netherlands that have these poor energy labels. It had already been agreed with housing associations that they would phase out these poorly insulated homes from 2028 onwards. What is new is that it will also be required by law and it will also apply to private landlords. h Cast in concrete Logical steps that have been on the table for some time are now being cast in concrete. So what do those steps look like? Well, up until 2030 homeowners will receive a subsidy when purchasing a heat pump and there will be 3 extra heat pump factories and more mechanics to help install them. However, it is of the utmost importance that homeowners have installed solar panels to generate the energy for the heat pump. And, perhaps even more crucial, the home must be well insulated. If not, the home will leak so much energy that it will be impossible to counteract this and gas will still be required to heat the house to a pleasant temperature. A positive side of the story is that whoever follows the required steps of installing insulation, solar panels and heat pumps, will automatically begin to improve their energy label up to A, B, C or D: exactly the mandatory energy label that is required from 2030 on. This is definitely a win-win situation here. h EU climate ministers agree But, to be fair, it’s not just the Netherlands that are speeding up on this issue. Europe is making it clear, once again, that they are the global climate frontrunner. Last week, EU climate ministers reached an agreement on a European climate package. EU Member States have already agreed to be climate neutral by 2050 in their Green Deal. To achieve this, the European Commissioner Frans Timmermans tabled the Fit for 55 package last year, with policies to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030. This is exactly what they agreed to in Luxembourg this week. Consensus was found on five laws to reform the EU’s carbon market, targets for carbon sinks, national emission reduction goals and the phaseout of combustion-engine cars — cornerstones of the EU’s plan to curb planet-warming emissions. Leading to a great deal  that moves the European Union one step closer to implementing sweeping measures intended to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% this decade. A great day for the Green Deal! h Okay, so the Dutch might be the first to take massive steps on sustainability in homes. But let’s make sure they’re not the only ones to reach the 2050 Green Deal targets. Come on Europe, show us what you’ve got. Fit for 55: on your marks, get set, go!

The Biden White House’s Build Back Better moonshot shattered late last year. So, what’s to become of its zillion pieces, like the promise of upwards of $200 billion the massive social agenda had penciled in for a desperately-needed  housing safety net ? As the question of whether a core slate of Federal social programs might ever get full Democratic Senator support, one of the BBB colossal fail’s cruelest impacts hits where it hurts most – housing affordability and access — where an unfolding crisis magnifies a slew of economic troubles, and where investment and commitment could turn multiplier-effect societal solutions. The multi-trillion-dollar grand bargain fell short, leaving an abyss of un- and under-protected households and people whose wherewithal is no match for spiraling home prices and rents and new and remodeled and renovated housing costs. However, as Capitol Hill dithers, and Uncle Sam’s coffers remain off-bounds for the near future, a public-private sector venture at the state level is working fast to open a new door to the future – accessible, safe, healthy, and environmentally sustainable buildings — on the affordable housing front. An inventive alliance – adapted from Energiesprong energy jump>energy jump>, a non-profit program that has retrofitted 6,000 thousand of affordable housing units in the Netherlands, France, the UK, Germany, and Italy since 2013, and built just as many new ones – has gotten moving through a  catalyst commitment of $30 million  from the New York State Research and Development Authority. NYSERDA’s RetrofitNY aims to kick-start a cascade of private sector and community investments, with ultimate sights set on the state’s more than 6 million unit stock of aging, deteriorating, and energy-wasting buildings that together generate as much as 32% of the state’s direct greenhouse emissions — 43% of total emissions when counting emissions from the generation of electricity used in buildings. And New York State — should the program pilot successfully — could be only the start of a desperately needed, upgrade of the nation’s sprawling, already-installed base of  affordable apartment communities  in need of refurbishment. Central to the program’s success – super cost efficient, super high energy and resilient buildings – is innovative building technology, including high-performance, low-cost panelized exterior wall systems, low-cost roofing systems with integrated photovoltaics, integrated all-electric mechanical systems, and a turn-key project delivery model. Scientific American  contributor Willem Marx  described Energiesprong’s  version of a build-back-better approach this way, offering a sneak preview of New York State’s Retrofit New York program. >> Read the whole article

Energiesprong (‘energy jump’) is finding ways to make buildings more efficient without requiring major construction projects. By Adele Peters Every building on the planet will have to get to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century to meet global climate goals—and since most of the buildings that will exist then have already been built, that means a massive number of home retrofits will have to happen to shrink energy use and replace old equipment like gas furnaces. “In the U.S., that’s around 3 to 6 million buildings per year that need to be fully decarbonized,” says Martha Campbell, a principal in the Carbon-Free Buildings program at the energy nonprofit RMI. In Europe, by another calculation, roughly 15,000 houses need to transform every day for the next 30 years. That’s not happening now. But in the Netherlands, one program is demonstrating how the process could speed up. Energiesprong (which translates to “energy jump”), a nonprofit that the Dutch government helped launch a decade ago, is coordinating a system of mass retrofits. “We thought, okay, let’s make home retrofits into a scalable solution,” says Christian Richter, who works in the organization’s market development team in Germany. In one Dutch factory, a company that’s part of the program called RC Panels makes lightweight insulated panels that can be popped on the front of existing row houses. The company uses a laser scanning tool to take measurements at the old house; then, at the factory, a machine cuts out windows and doors to match the old facade exactly. When a truck delivers the panels, they’re attached directly to the old wall. The company also makes insulated panels, with solar panels attached, that can be put over an existing roof. Other Energiesprong vendors supply heat pumps for heating, cooling, and hot water. The retrofits are faster than traditional retrofits, in some cases happening in as little as a day, leading to more energy savings. “Everything should be in a kind of plug-and-play installable, so that you save labor and labor costs,” Richter says. “In Europe, you don’t have enough labor. So you don’t have enough construction capacity to do it in the old-fashioned way. . . . We do have a big industrial sector, and there’s the capacity that they could produce panels instead of car parts, for example, as this whole sector changes in the future.” The goal is to make each home “net-zero energy,” meaning that the solar panels on the roof generate enough electricity over the course of the year to equal the power that the house uses for heating, hot water, and appliances. In the Dutch city of Utrecht, for example, houses and apartments that were retrofitted in 2019 have seen their energy use drop by around 78%. The remaining energy use is covered by the solar panels. (The net-zero calculation looks only at what it takes to operate the buildings, and doesn’t account for the emissions that go into making the materials; the organization hasn’t done that full-lifecycle analysis yet.) In the Netherlands, many of the first renovations have happened in buildings owned by housing associations, in part because they tend to use a standard design, and that makes it easier to mass-produce the parts needed for a retrofit. Energiesprong helped set up a system that lets tenants pay an “energy service” bill that partly covers the cost of the renovations; the huge savings in energy that comes with the retrofits also helps cover the cost. So far, more than 5,700 homes have been retrofitted in the country through the program, and the concept is beginning to be adopted elsewhere, including the U.K., France, Germany, and the United States. If a system underperforms, the construction company returns, Richter says. “They guarantee net zero, and they have it in their books for five years,” he says. “We’re doing this monitoring and evolution process over five years, and then we take the average and say, okay was it met here or was it not? And if it is not net zero, then they have to figure out why and if there’s something that they should replace.” In the U.S., RMI is working with partners to test the basic concept in a handful of pilot projects, including an apartment complex used for low-income farmworker housing in California. “How we transform the residential market in the U.S. has been a hard nut to crack,” the nonprofit’s Campbell says. “We have a really low rate of adoption for even just traditional retrofits, where you’re getting maybe between 15% and 25% energy reduction.” When the RMI team learned about Energiesprong, she says, “everyone just said, we have to stop trying to incrementally get better, we have to kind of look at how these guys are doing things.” Some of the ideas are harder to replicate; there’s more uniformity in Dutch housing, making it easier to manufacture the panels and roofs. RMI and others are working with the Department of Energy on a report that lists all the major building types for different regions of the U.S., and will be providing retrofit guidelines for each type later this year. The DOE and other partners are also working to encourage more research and development of solutions like the insulated panels, which aren’t yet possible to get at an affordable cost in the U.S. (In some regions, including California, they may also not be necessary because of the mild climate.) Additionally, RMI and others are developing new funding models, another critical part of helping the number of retrofits grow. “We know that roughly 70% of the buildings that exist today will exist in 2050,” Campbell says. “And if we’re going to hit net zero by 2050 . . . our estimates are that we need to hit a retrofit rate between 4% and 6%.” That adds up to as many as 6 million retrofits each year in the U.S. alone. https://www.fastcompany.com/90712613/this-dutch-construction-innovation-shows-its-possible-to-quickly-retrofit-every-building

Role profile: EU project manager multi-storyinnovation Programme Title: EU Project Manager Reports to: Head of Strategy and Operations Location: Flexible (option for home-based working) Role may require occasional international travel (mainly NL, FR, UK, DE) ‍ Remuneration: Competitive: up to 0.3-0.5 FTE (1.5-2.5 days per week) 1. Purpose Energiesprong UK seeks an external contractor to support the coordination and help deliver the project management requirements for a 35 Million EU funded project: MUSTBE0 (InterregNWE). The core element of this role will include: Support the project director in ensuring collaboration with all project partners works smoothly. Compile deliverables and integrate them in 6-monthly reporting for Interreg. Compile 6-montly financial claims and progress reports for Interreg. Provide partners with some support when it comes to resolving programme specific questions/issues. Establishing and maintain relationships with the Interreg secretariat and partners primarily across the UK, DE, FR and NL. Provide oversight and monitor spending of Energiesprong against the EU Projects. The amount of time for these tasks amounts to an estimated 0.3 FTE until project end (30 Nov 2023). Quotes are requested for a daily rate basis. Details of the expected amount of work will be established further into the procedure of appointing.   Starting date: as soon as possible. 2. Context Energiesprong is an approach to delivering net zero energy retrofit of homes at scale, financed by savings and with performance guaranteed. Dutch for ‘Energy Leap’, it was developed by the Dutch Government with their housing and construction industries between 2010 and 2017. The Netherlands has the same carbon reduction targets as those set by the UK Climate Change Act, requiring a zero-emission building stock by 2050. They realised that a radically different approach to the measure by measure, grant funded norm was needed. Delivery rates had to go up, and costs had to come down to enable financing without public subsidy. The key principles of the Energiesprong approach are: net zero in one go: whole house, super-efficient thermal wrap with renewable energy generation, storage and heating; guaranteed actual performance: annual net zero energy, comfort every day and affordable bills; offsite manufacturing: industrialisation for quality, cost reduction and minimal onsite disruption; retrofit cost financed by guaranteed long term energy and maintenance savings; affordable, grid friendly electrification: 90% carbon reduction now, zero carbon as the grid decarbonizes. Energiesprong UK is an independent, 100% publicly funded not for profit organisation. Our mission is to adapt the Dutch approach for the UK and develop a volume market that can deliver net zero energy retrofit and new build, at scale without public subsidy. We support landlords, supply chain, Governments and opinion formers and work closely with our sister Energiesprong teams in NL, FR, DE & IT. 3. How to apply Please submit your application with a cover letter and CV to join@energiesprong.uk . Please do so before the 14th of February 2022. You are requested to elaborate on your relevant experience and your personal ambition as well as style of working. The project proposal for MUSTBE0 can be made available on request.

Role profile: Communication & Event manager european projects Title:  Communication manager Reports to:  Head of Strategy and Operations Location:  Flexible (option for home-based working) Role may require occasional international travel (mainly NL, FR, UK, DE) ‍ Remuneration: Competitive: up to 0.3 FTE (1.5 day per week) Purpose Energiesprong UK seeks an external contractor to support the organisation and coordination of communication & events initially for a 35 Million EU funded project: Mustbe0 (Interreg), but the role may be expanded in case additional (EU) funding will be secured in the course of this contract. The core element of this role will include: Coordinate communications between all participating project partners Organise and lead bi-weekly calls Responsible for all Mustbe0 communication deliverables by the lead partner with support of other partners, such as leading on: drafting a Marketing Communication plan, newsletters, articles, update websites, press releases, knowledge papers, social media etc. Organise international project partner meetings (venue, logistics, information, briefings, budgeting, contracting, supporing material, catering etc.) Organise site visits to retrofit locations and companies for interested parties both in UK as well as internationally in case needed. Organise events for housing companies/construction companies and others to come together and discuss relevant topics. Budget responsibility to ensure invoices for payments from and to Energiesprong for these purposes is kept in check. The amount of time for these tasks amounts up to 0.6 FTE until project end  (30 Nov 2023) for the MB0 project, but is not a guarantee for work and will depend on project needs.  In case additional funding is found this role could be extended up to 0.8 FTE. Quotes are requested for a daily rate basis. Details of the expected amount of work will be established further into the procedure of appointing.   Starting date: as soon as possible. Context Energiesprong is an approach to delivering net zero energy retrofit of homes at scale, financed by savings and with performance guaranteed. Dutch for ‘Energy Leap’, it was developed by the Dutch Government with their housing and construction industries between 2010 and 2017. The Netherlands has the same carbon reduction targets as those set by the UK Climate Change Act, requiring a zero-emission building stock by 2050. They realised that a radically different approach to the measure by measure, grant funded norm was needed. Delivery rates had to go up, and costs had to come down to enable financing without public subsidy. The key principles of the Energiesprong approach are: net zero in one go: whole house, super-efficient thermal wrap with renewable energy generation, storage and heating; guaranteed actual performance: annual net zero energy, comfort every day and affordable bills; offsite manufacturing: industrialisation for quality, cost reduction and minimal onsite disruption; retrofit cost financed by guaranteed long term energy and maintenance savings; affordable, grid friendly electrification: 90% carbon reduction now, zero carbon as the grid decarbonizes. Energiesprong UK is an independent, 100% publicly funded not for profit organisation. Our mission is to adapt the Dutch approach for the UK and develop a volume market that can deliver net zero energy retrofit and new build, at scale without public subsidy. We support landlords, supply chain, Governments and opinion formers and work closely with our sister Energiesprong teams in NL, FR, DE & IT. Required skills: Significant relevant experience of working within an international context, marketing and/or communications, including growing and managing multiple audiences The ability to create engaging content and deliver this across a range of channels including, web, print, social, and email Capable of managing the delivery of high-quality outputs within a transnational environment Exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills, including able to negotiate favours and save costs where possible, all while maintaining an excellent relationship with counterparts; On the spot problem solving skills and stress resilience in such situations; Excellent sense of taste for organising appealing events that inspire both in setup as well as choice of location; Eye for detail and ability to tightly plan complex events. A creative eye for graphic design outputs Working English is essential, French and Dutch are desirable You know the basics of working with Adobe Indesign and Photoshop Able to work with video editor software such as Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere is a big plus How to apply Please submit your application with a cover letter and CV to join@energiesprong.uk . Please do so before the 14th of February 2022. You are requested to elaborate on your relevant experience and your personal ambition as well as style of working. The project proposal for MUSTBE0 can be made available on request.

At the two-day Energiesprong Hackathon, which took place on 4 & 5 November, three teams developed exciting concepts for the German market as part of the “Build (ing) on ​​data” challenge. The winning team impressed the judging panel with a prototype for a data-building tool. At the Energiesprong digital hackathon, three interdisciplinary teams took up the challenge to work with Vonovia, one of Germany’s biggest housing organisations, on a concept looking at how data on a building can be interrogated as quickly, efficiently and cheaply as possible so that work can begin on a retrofit project. In 36 hours, the three teams: "IL33", "Renovata" and "serSan" were able to prove which creative approaches can speed up the process of interrogating building data. In addition to plenty of time being available for joint working, the sessions with the coaches also enabled important questions to be clarified. It was not an easy decision for the judges but, in the end, the “serSan” team were honoured to be named as the winning team and to win the prize money of EUR 2,500. What’s next The winning concept will be further analysed and developed with Vonovia, and will hopefully result in further collaboration. In addition, the team will present their idea to other stakeholders at the  Energiesprong Germany annual event . For the other two teams, the journey into the Energiesprong universe has also only just begun and they will hopefully continue to work with Energiesprong in the field of scalable retrofits.

Unlocking net-zero retrofit at scale in the UK: 5 asks of government As Energiesprong features as an ‘exemplary sustainable project’ as part of COP26, Energiesprong UK outlines their 5 key asks for the UK government that could help scale this innovative approach to whole house retrofit. Four years ago, 10 homes in Nottingham became the first in the UK to receive whole house retrofits using the Energiesprong approach. Today, this project is being showcased as one of the 17 exemplary sustainable projects in the Build Better Now COP26 virtual reality (VR) online exhibition. Challenges arose and there were many lessons learned. But NCH2050 Homes – led by Nottingham City Homes and Melius Homes and funded by Horizon 2020 – demonstrates how whole house retrofit can be instrumental in achieving our net zero goals and providing healthier, happier, cheaper-to-run homes for millions. But it can’t happen at scale without 5 key policy interventions. What is the Energiesprong approach? Over the last 5 years, we’ve been rolling out the Energiesprong model in the UK – a revolutionary whole house refurbishment and funding approach for achieving net-zero homes. It is designed to unlock in the UK: Zero carbon retrofit at scale Paid for by energy and maintenance savings Delivered by a new high-tech British industry Guaranteed actual performance, comfort and costs long term Warm, affordable, desirable homes for life Homes are fully insulated using offsite manufactured wall and roof panels in conjunction pre-assembled ‘energy pods’ providing low-carbon, high efficiency heating, hot water and renewable energy production delivered. The result is homes that are brought up to a net-zero energy standard, creating warmer, more desirable places to live – financed by energy and maintenance savings. Developed in the Netherlands, 5000 homes have already been retrofitted to net-zero energy with 20,000 homes in the pipeline. Here’s what we need to make this a reality in the UK Energiesprong UK’s 5 asks of Government 1. Net-zero target for homes – now Stepped targets to net zero are counterproductive, resulting in a piecemeal approach that’s costly, difficult to finance and creates stranded investment. A clear target for net zero homes ensures investment in cost-effective retrofit and industrial innovation, moving away from the poor-quality, low-cost approaches that have given the sector a bad reputation. The target must include all energy use and generation and be based on actual performance. Energy efficiency measures for vulnerable households should continue. 2. £250 million innovation investment Offsite manufacture is required to increase volume and pace of retrofit - in addition to many more skilled people, which is already being called for across the industry. Alongside a clear target, 5 – 7 years of innovation funding following the “commit and review” Offshore Wind Accelerator arrangement, would enable the development of factories, products and processes to decrease unit cost and increase speed of deployment for deep retrofit. This would kickstart and create a self-sustaining market to deliver our 2050 goals without expensive subsidies. For many years the retrofit industry has been calling for a long-term funding policy. This needs to be split between deployment of existing methods which can alleviate fuel poverty and take us some of the way towards achieving our next carbon budgets, and developing those which will get us to net zero by 2050. 3. Zero carbon = zero VAT Remove the VAT disincentive for manufactured energy efficiency products to unlock an industrialised approach to net zero and enable a level playing field for all housing providers – all at no net cost to Treasury. Zero VAT on new build incentivises demolition and new build, which creates more carbon emissions through construction and embodied carbon in materials. The policy was developed to rapidly increase building of new homes. The need to rapidly increase rate of retrofit is acknowledged so now is the time to make the UK VAT policy support this. Reduced VAT for a ‘retrofit-led renovation’ was also one of the financial incentives outlined in Construction Leadership Council’s recent ‘National Retrofit Strategy.’ This proposed that the Government could “extend a reduced 5% VAT rate to cover all general home improvement works (with some eligibility criteria), provided a certain EPC rating was achieved.” 4. Create secure business models for retrofit We need to enable landlords to finance deep retrofits through combined rent and ‘comfort plan’ payments that align with energy efficiency grants and tariffs, effectively creating a fair ‘Total Cost of Living’ model for landlords and tenants. A comfort plan is a package of services for heat, hot water and electricity at a fixed price - providing tenants with a warm, comfortable home at the same price or cheaper than before, while the energy savings are used by the landlord to fund the costs of retrofit. The Netherlands introduced an Energy Plan policy which gives tenants a guarantee of zero energy bills in return for a fixed monthly fee paid to their landlord. This has been instrumental in bringing forward their 20,000-home pipeline. 5. Zero or low interest rate for net-zero retrofit Currently, the cost for financing net-zero retrofit in the UK is 2 - 4.5% compared to <1.5% in the Netherlands and 0.75% in Germany. Cutting this could unlock non-Government investment, stimulating a new high-tech British industry that delivers jobs and growth as well as healthy homes for all. This was also explored by the Bankers for Net Zero’s ‘Retrofit Revolution’ paper in March 2021. Show your support for scaling up whole house retrofit in the UK by supporting these asks on Twitter and LinkedIn . To find out more about how the Energiesprong approach could be scaled up to help meet the UK’s carbon emission reductions, please read Green Alliance’s Reinventing Retrofit report .