We all like the idea of saving energy, but actually retrofitting an old house is a loud, messy and expensive headache. So the Dutch company Energiesprond has come up with a way to make houses carbon neutral with easy, snap-on insulation and solar panels. It doesn’t hurt that houses come out looking quite handsome too.
The entire retrofit process takes about 10 days. In all, it involves wrapping the house in a facade of thick external insulation, adding an insulating roof and solar panels, and putting heat pumps, hot water tanks and ventilation units in a garden shed.
Energiesprond is already retrofitting 111,000 homes in its native Netherlands, but it has its sights on a EU contract to expand into England and France as well.
Dutch tenants who’ve had their homes retrofitted seem to be loving their quieter and less drafty new dwellings. “This new house is great,” one resident told the Guardian. “You can’t hear the traffic from outside anymore.” They also have other reasons to be happy. To incentive tenants to agree to the retrofit, the homes also got new IKEA kitchens and bathrooms. Now that’s a pretty sweet deal. [Global Construction Review – The Guardian]
Pictures: Energiesprong