Energy transition is faster and cheaper if communities (blocks, complexes, neighbourhoods) invest collectively. We develop tools to find optimal solutions for communities, when members differ in their preferences for environment, comfort, cost.

Digital co-creation in a very early stage

Social housing associations need by law 70% support from their tenants, to perform a retrofit. Involving tenants in an early stage is thus crucial. EngD student Taanis Karigar developed a GAME-OF-CHOICE to co-create with social tenants when no concrete retrofit plans yet exist for their houses.

This game-of-choice describes possible retrofits in terms of USER EXPERIENCES. For example, roof insulation becomes 'no draught in the attic', facade insulation is 'house warmer in winter, cooler in summer'. In the game tenants share their valuation for these user experiences. A WEBPLATFORM built for the housing associations makes the inverse translation and can predict tenant support for a large set of different retrofit measures. Video about game-of-choice Video about webplatform EngD Thesis Dutch article

Can energy transition help people out of the energy poverty? How to target renovations to maximize both, environmental savings and energy poverty reduction? We study such questions using big data and economic behavioural models.

BEL Behaviour, Energy transition, Low income (NWO grant)

Energy retrofits have large effects on low-income households, especially those facing poverty. The energy bill, living comfort but also behaviour of people change. BEL follows 200 thousands low-income households in 2014-2021 using restricted access administrative data and evaluates the effects of energy efficiency improvements performed by the social housing providers. Results are used to make tools for social housing associations, to prioritize the millions retrofits they still have to make.

To see concrete renovations we study, click on the video on the left (2 min field visit to a renovation site of project partner Woonbedrijf.)

Welfare trade-offs of energy-efficient houses: poverty, comfort, environment

Cutting carbon emissions and reducing energy poverty are two urgent objectives in the public housing sector. But do we have to compromise on one objective to realise the other? PhD-student Vincent Roberdel, in collaboration with BEL project partners, followed 200,000 social houses during 7 years, to evaluate the effects of insulation retrofits on poverty, comfort, environment.

Tool: A prototype webplatform is built for housing associations to optimize between policy objectives 'combating energy poverty' and 'achieving the highest environmental savings'.

Tinbergen discussion paper. Dutch article.

Comfort improvements through energy retrofits

How large are comfort improvements brought about by energy retrofits? Are these much larger for energy poor people? Master student Luc Snoeren collaborates with the Eindhoven Klusbus to find this out. The municipality-financed Klusbus drives in various neighbourhoods of Eindhoven to offer thousands of residents small energy-efficiency home improvements free of charge.

Working paper soon available.

To the site of Klusbus.