The freelance musician is not the only homeowner in Garijp who is concerned about the costs. Making the homes in the village energy efficient and then making them gas-free is much slower than expected. According to the original plan, 544 of the more than 600 private homes in the village should have gas by the end of 2023. But in reality there are only 101.
In one go
Brandsma would have liked to participate if he didn’t have to tackle everything at once. But according to the company he hired, that was the only way to insulate his house so well that it could be heated with a heat pump. ”So I also had to leave my house during the renovation. I had no idea where to go with four people. A hotel would cost me even more money.”
Garijp was designated five years ago as one of the first testing grounds, where experience could be gained with making homes natural gas-free. The village received almost 6 million euros from the government and tried to persuade residents to participate with additional subsidies. The village has the ambition to be the first in the Netherlands to switch to gas.
Bad energy labels
According to project leader Jacob Miedema, this initially went smoothly. ”We started with homes with an A, B or C label. These can easily be made so energy-efficient and at not too high cost that they can be heated with a heat pump. But it soon became clear that more than half of the private houses in the village have much worse energy labels and can only be made natural gas-free at high costs. We discovered this when we started making energy scans in the homes of people who wanted to participate.”
The discovery forced Garijp to adjust plans. In consultation with the Ministry of the Interior, which provided the subsidy, it was decided that the 544 homes must now be tackled by the end of 2028. Miedema: ”We have created the option of not going off gas immediately, but in steps. We want to provide 286 houses with a hybrid heat pump. It is connected to a central heating boiler. In very cold weather, gas can be used as additional fuel. The advantage is that a lower insulation level can then suffice and therefore the costs for the residents are also reduced.”
Resident Kees Blom had such a water pump installed in his house this week. He lives in the former domestic school in Garijp. Heating initially guzzled gas. “But I have already taken many measures to significantly reduce that.” With the hybrid heat pump he wants to make an extra contribution to the climate, he says. “Because I am quite concerned about that.”
Steel frames
Removing the old domestic school from gas was not an option. “Then I would have to replace the characteristic steel frames because triple glazing does not fit in them now,” he says. “That would cost me 60,000 to 70,000 euros and I am not willing to pay that.”
In any case, Blom opts for the intermediate solution. There are also homeowners who do not want to put any money into sustainability at all. It concerns several dozen houses, which Jacob Miedema knows will only be tackled if they ever change ownership. “The current residents just really don’t want to participate.”
First gas-free village
Although the process of making homes gas-free is slower than initially thought, Miedema remains optimistic. He still has the ambition to make Garijp the first gas-free village in the Netherlands. ”It’s just going to take longer. And I’m still looking for alternative options to help homeowners who can’t afford it, so that we might be able to speed things up a bit.”
Bert Brandsma would be happy with it, although he still foresees a problem. ”My two teenage children have their already not so spacious room in the attic. If I want to take my home off gas, those rooms will be at least 20 centimeters smaller because of the new roof insulation.”
2024-01-27 18:15:52
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