Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FITHOME (AN END-TO-END SOLUTION ACCELERATING COST-NEUTRAL RETROFITTING FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT FAMILY HOMES)
Période du rapport: 2020-05-01 au 2021-10-31
The current pace of retrofitting is currently much too slow to meet set targets. The EU estimates that the annual current retrofitting rate is around 1%, which means that it would take roughly 100 years to retrofit the entire building stock. However, a clear rationale exists for ramping activities: successful retrofitting could reduce the EU’s total energy consumption by 5-6% and lower CO2 emissions by about 5%. This is besides fostering recognised benefits of building retrofitting include job creation, health, well-being and comfort improvement. It is therefore time to take a different approach to retrofitting - one that is underpinned by a solid business case, provides a route to lower emissions, but mitigates risks for homeowners, municipalities while leveraging private capital. FITHOME will provide such a solution: it will unlock guaranteed capital for retrofitting by coupling roll-out of a novel fiscal instrument with a digitised, end-to-end approach in which the homeowner plays a central role. The overall objective of FITHOME is to retrofit 900-1,140 ground-based family homes in 3-7 municipalities in the the Netherlands. It will create tangible impact and significant CO2 savings of at least 11.8 kilotons over the course of the project. It will do so by showcasing the significant value of the betterment tax – an innovative financial instrument for retrofitting - which ensures that homeowners get retrofit costs covered upfront, whilst repaying the municipality a de facto tax that equals the net savings generated. Since this tax is not actually incurred by the municipality, and is not on the balance sheet of the municipality, risks are minimal. Moreover, FITHOME will integrate and streamline the retrofitting process is (i.e. bringing all stakeholders together), while being focused on the home-owner. Moreover, digitisation will play a key role through calculation and inspection modules which ensure crystal-clear upfront insights in benefits and costs of retrofitting. Finally, FITHOME is put on the path to scaling: at project conclusion it has as paved the way for the retrofitting of 15,000+ homes per year in the Netherlands while preparing for wider European roll-out through targeted connections with related PDA- and Horizon 2020-projects (e.g. EuroPACE, HIROSS4All, SunShine, Enegies Posit’IF) and a linkage with a Pan-European retrofitting fund led by GNE.
To keep an eye on the project and to ensure the project is delivered against set criteria, monthly meetings with advisory/partner boards have been held and scheduled. Also, unburdening municipalities was key. We play a directing role in targeting municipalities, selective targeting, expanding scripts for telephone intakes and expanding/optimizing inspection forms so they are appliable for any partner in the near future. Besides this, contacts with potential partners have been established and current contracts have been renewed.
A robust and legal organizational structure is devised, able to formalise the usage of the betterment tax for retrofitting. We are monitoring the income betterment tax process in the GVR system. Besides this we can keep an eye on this by monthly meetings with the municipality. Figure one shows how this works in practice. The structure (through the SPVs) will ensure that municipalities can access financing for retrofitting, without having to put this on the balance sheet. The two SPVs have been established (stichting GVR-waarborg & stichting GVR verzamelgelden).The establishment of these SPVs facilitate scale-up and usage of the instrument as other municipalities in the Netherlands can tap into the SPVs. Second, the legal structure is formalised and contracts with all entities involved are signed.
To empower municipalities to use homebased financing, inspections for several batches from the project have been carried out and are still running. Results have been attached as pictures, shown the outcome in CO2 savings and generated kWh and funded amount in euro. The role we take to support municipalities, comes to practice by physical meetings and information sessions, in addition we organize webinars in close cooperation with the municipality, including chat functions to deal with individual feedback/questions. Kick-off sessions have been done for Stage 1 and 2 municipalities and several letters of intent have been signed. We also organise feedback sessions each month about all communications tools and coming milestones concerning communication and dissemination activities. -->Toevoegen afbeelding co2 reductie uit GVR?
The FITHOME calculation model is based on the Dutch technical appointment, the NTA 8800. This is an elaboration of the EPBD and is able to provide calculations on all required performances. In addition, part of the deliverables, an external audit have been done in collaboration with EY. Besides the fact of developing and digitally integrating our inspection tools, we have planned monthly review meetings with our inspection/calculation team, but also with external parties such as Erasmus and EY, to built in internal control.
Systems have been approved and are still being developed. The following developments have been made within the GVR-system: a cadastral link can be made directly with the system, expanded version of the acquisition funnel, direct connection with the CRM system, customer support has been expanded through ticket and task creation arranged mail-management per municipality and expanding and optimizing inspection forms so they are appliable for any partner in the near future. Figure 2 shows insight in how this works.
In order to be successful in the Netherlands and serve as a base for other European stakeholders, it is imperative to present a clear message that demonstrates the power of home-based financing to provide Dutch homeowners with a frictionless low-risk retrofitting experience. The strategy to accomplish this is based on developing a simple and clear message that is suitable to be adapted to different audiences. In order to establish FITHOME as an exemplary initiative for the rest of Europe, Consortium partners in the FITHOME project team will build relationships with key stakeholders on a Dutch and European level. For a more detailed overview please see the communication and dissemination plan.
A robust and legal organizational structure is devised, able to formalise the usage of the betterment tax for retrofitting. We are monitoring the income betterment tax process in the GVR system. Besides this we can keep an eye on this by monthly meetings with the municipality. Figure one shows how this works in practice. The structure (through the SPVs) will ensure that municipalities can access financing for retrofitting, without having to put this on the balance sheet. The two SPVs have been established (stichting GVR-waarborg & stichting GVR verzamelgelden).The establishment of these SPVs facilitate scale-up and usage of the instrument as other municipalities in the Netherlands can tap into the SPVs. Second, the legal structure is formalised and contracts with all entities involved are signed.
To empower municipalities to use homebased financing, inspections for several batches from the project have been carried out and are still running. Results have been attached as pictures, shown the outcome in CO2 savings and generated kWh and funded amount in euro. The role we take to support municipalities, comes to practice by physical meetings and information sessions, in addition we organize webinars in close cooperation with the municipality, including chat functions to deal with individual feedback/questions. Kick-off sessions have been done for Stage 1 and 2 municipalities and several letters of intent have been signed. We also organise feedback sessions each month about all communications tools and coming milestones concerning communication and dissemination activities. -->Toevoegen afbeelding co2 reductie uit GVR?
The FITHOME calculation model is based on the Dutch technical appointment, the NTA 8800. This is an elaboration of the EPBD and is able to provide calculations on all required performances. In addition, part of the deliverables, an external audit have been done in collaboration with EY. Besides the fact of developing and digitally integrating our inspection tools, we have planned monthly review meetings with our inspection/calculation team, but also with external parties such as Erasmus and EY, to built in internal control.
Systems have been approved and are still being developed. The following developments have been made within the GVR-system: a cadastral link can be made directly with the system, expanded version of the acquisition funnel, direct connection with the CRM system, customer support has been expanded through ticket and task creation arranged mail-management per municipality and expanding and optimizing inspection forms so they are appliable for any partner in the near future. Figure 2 shows insight in how this works.
In order to be successful in the Netherlands and serve as a base for other European stakeholders, it is imperative to present a clear message that demonstrates the power of home-based financing to provide Dutch homeowners with a frictionless low-risk retrofitting experience. The strategy to accomplish this is based on developing a simple and clear message that is suitable to be adapted to different audiences. In order to establish FITHOME as an exemplary initiative for the rest of Europe, Consortium partners in the FITHOME project team will build relationships with key stakeholders on a Dutch and European level. For a more detailed overview please see the communication and dissemination plan.
With FITHOME we stimulate local economic activity and create jobs, while improving people’s lives by making homes more comfortable and healthy. The expected jobs created is based on the yet implemented no-regret measurements, each carried out by 5 performers, which means the job creation can be doubled to approximately 300 in Q2 of 2022. All of the above is based on external employment creation. The wider societal implications of the project are harder to make concrete but what we have seen is that homeowners urge other local residents to work on making their houses more sustainable, in addition to the actuality of rising energy prices. In this way our work contributes to the bigger urge and picture regarding home retrofitting.