The Energy Performance of a Location: Successes, Setbacks and New Approach

R.P. Kool and C.C. Egmond, Senter Novem

Keywords

Abstract

After introducing the Dutch building code, which focuses on single buildings, the national government concluded that further reductions in energy could be achieved by looking at entire locations. The ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned Novem1, the Dutch Agency on Energy and the Environment, to develop and implement the Energy Performance on Location (EPL) method. This is a voluntary, but well-defined, method to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions of the built environment. After six years, we can demonstrate the program’s success. Surveys show that locations can be improved by 10 – 30% when compared to “just using building codes.” We managed an overall annual reduction of 0.17 Mton CO2 emissions, a large amount by Dutch standards. We encountered, however, some setbacks in gaining acceptance and cooperation from municipalities and housing associations. We therefore performed extensive marketing research to determine which policy instruments influence the energy-relevant behavior of the key players (target groups) in the urban renewal process. With these players, we are striving for not only more energy efficiency, but also a healthier, more comfortable and safer area to live in. As the process of getting “Beyond HERS” was described before, this paper concentrates on getting marketing information about the target groups and turning this knowledge into a working program.