Information organization Milieu Centraal and TNO state that there are certainly hundreds of thousands of homes in the Netherlands that still have wholly or partially single glazing, especially homes that are rented out privately (see box). Casper Tigchelaar (TNO) says: “A landlord often has no interest in insulating a house better. Because the financial advantage of the lower energy price that this entails, the tenant often notices in his wallet, and the landlord often does not. .”
We have tried several times to reach the landlord of Manuel Klesse in Rotterdam for a response, but we were unsuccessful. Tigchelaar calls it a major dilemma in the rental sector, and believes it is up to politicians to resolve this issue. Like other experts, he stresses that now is a good time to put the issue on the agenda.
“The higher energy prices make the problem very topical, so it would be good if this ‘natural moment’ is used to make homes more sustainable more quickly.”
According to the CBS, the most recent research into the type of glass in houses dates from 2018. This shows that 9 percent of the glass surface of homes still consists of single glass. This does not always concern all the windows of a house, according to Statistics Netherlands. “There are many homes with a part single glass and a part insulating glass, and that in all kinds of proportions: almost completely single, almost complete insulation and everything in between,” said a spokesperson.
Significant savings possible
The question is what is the best thing people can do now. “If you live in a house with single glazing, I would call the glazier tomorrow,” says Puk van Meegeren of Milieu Centraal. Both with better insulating windows and, for example, cavity wall insulation, can quickly be made, and the nuisance is not so great. In order to receive a subsidy, you are expected to take two energy-saving measures at the same time.
“In general, people are quite positive about energy saving”, says Van Meegeren, “but they do not yet have a great sense of urgency. Hopefully people will now feel that urgency, because of the higher gas price.”
–
