University of Twente Student Theses
A synthesis of the top-down policies and bottom-up community designs in Dutch co-housing that influence energy efficiency
Kipchirchir, D. (2022) A synthesis of the top-down policies and bottom-up community designs in Dutch co-housing that influence energy efficiency.
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| Abstract: | The run-of-the-mill housing provision of single-family units is characterized by high energy demands and therefore societies are moving towards energy-efficient urban design to tackle and address the underlying sustainability issues like greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and the transition towards renewables. To realize energy efficiency in the residential sector, co-living initiatives are adopted as a promising solution where individuals live as a community in shared apartments or households consisting of common facilities like community gardens, kitchens, laundry spaces, green spaces and living spaces/areas. Sharing aggregate building space and combined utility management presents great opportunities to maximize energy efficiency. The concept in the Netherlands is a grass-root concept mainly executed by housing cooperatives in collaboration with the municipalities to provide communal projects for low and middle income earners and the elderly. The co-housing initiative falls in line with the Dutch sustainable goals and the European green deal with the aim of having sustainable cities and greener lifestyles, further it contributes solutions to solve the housing deficit. The Energy Performance of Building Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive are the European Union frameworks that establishes and promotes energy efficiency policies in both new and existing building stock. This research conducted a comprehensive analysis of the two policy frameworks with a focus on the key specific instruments used. In addition to the policies, co-housing residents are regarded as the key drivers in realizing energy efficiency. Therefore five co-housing case studies were analyzed with an objective of assessing the technical features and interactions between tenants-tenants and tenants-technological artefacts that help realize energy efficiency. The research identified several structural and informational instruments used to encourage energy efficiency namely: Sustainable Energy Investment Subsidy (ISDE), National Energy Savings Fund (NEF), Homeowners Energy Saving Subsidy (SEEH), Energy Performance Incentive Scheme for the Rental Sector (STEP), Energy Savings Fund for the Rental Sector (FEH) and the Sustainable Heat and Cold Built Environment Programme |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 43 environmental science |
| Programme: | Environmental and Energy Management MSc (69319) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/92651 |
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