Energy Label

Since 1 January 2008, all residential property offered for sale in the Netherlands must have an 'energy label'. By means of a rating (from A to G), the label provides an indication of the home's energy efficiency. The rationale is that homes with a good energy rating will be more attractive to potential buyers or tenants than those which are less efficient. This will encourage owners to invest in energy-saving measures.

Campaign image energy label (source: Ministry VROM)

Energy consumption in buildings

Reducing the energy consumption due to occupation of buildings is high on the current Dutch government's agenda. Heating and lighting in buildings currently account for approximately one third of the country's CO₂ emissions, from both direct gas consumption and the fuel used to
generate electricity (Ecofys, 2005. Kosteneffectieve Energiebesparing en Klimaatbescherming, de mogelijkheden van isolatie en de kansen voor Nederland, 'Cost-effective Energy Reduction and Climate Protection; the benefits of insulation and opportunites for the Netherlands'.)

In its working programme Schoon en Zuinig: nieuwe energy voor het klimaat ('Clean and Economical: new energy for the climate') the government has set a number of ambitious targets:

• A 30% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and in particular CO₂, by 2020 (compared to the 1990 reference level).
• A twofold increase in the rate of energy consumption reduction, from the current 1% per annum to 2% per annum.
• A tenfold increase in the generation and usage of sustainable energy, from the current level of 2% to 20% by 2020.

The energy label is just one of the instruments which the government intends to use to improve domestic energy efficiency. It is part of much broader legislation promoting the sustainable construction and usage of buildings, such as the European norms for energy performance.

Criticism

Most parties in the construction and housing markets support efforts to render homes more energy-efficient. On 23 January 2008, for example, several residents' associations and the Milieu Centraal information centre signed a Letter of Intent endorsing the government's plans. However, there has also been some criticism. Vereniging Eigen Huis, a consumer organisation representing owner-occupiers, has advised its members against requesting an energy label when buying or selling a property. In December 2007, the organisation wrote to the Minister of Housing and the Environment calling for the introduction of the label system to be postponed, claiming that it has not yet achieved appropriate quality. The main problems were seen to be the lack of standard training or a national examination for the advisors issuing the label, the lack of transparency with regard to their findings, and the lack of any clear complaints procedure. The minister has since undertaken to resolve these problems but because the effect of any action will not be immediately apparent, Vereniging Eigen Huis has not yet withdrawn its recommendations to members.

Environmental groups believe that the label system does not go far enough. It is, for example, entirely voluntary: if the vendor and prospective purchaser decide that the label is unnecessary, the transaction can simply go ahead without it. Stichting Natuur en Milieu, the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment, has called for financial incentives and/or disincentives to be attached to the use of the label, perhaps in the form of a variable rate of property transfer tax. Another suggestion is that the government could require each property to achieve a higher rating at each successive change of ownership. 

Energy efficient

The label is accompanied by advice on how to make homes more energy efficient, e.g. by improving ventilation, by installing insulation or by fitting a high-yield boiler for hot water and central heating. The ministry also advises households to reduce energy consumption by using low-energy light bulbs, setting the central heating thermostat a degree or two lower, and avoiding leaving equipment such as televisions on 'stand-by'.

For further information about TU Delft's research into sustainable construction and building usage, click here 
A selection of popular-scientific articles about TU Delft's research in this field can be found here A selection links to external sites about sustainable construction and the energy label can be found here.