Energiesprong (English: Energy leap) is a program that originated in the Netherlands that introduced and retrofitted houses that satisfy energy efficient standards. [1] It has since been implemented in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Canada. The program typically consists of snapping a shell of panels to the outside of a building to increase its thermal efficiency.
Energiesprong was created by the government of the Netherlands in 2010 to retrofit existing buildings for higher energy efficiency standards, becoming zero-energy buildings. [2] When the program was launched by the Dutch government, it initiated agreements with social housing companies and contractors to convert 111,000 houses in the Netherlands into near zero energy buildings. [3] Once a house is retrofitted, it would have net zero energy, which means it is capable of generating the total amount of its own energy requirements. [1]
The Energiesprong model increases the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings through the application of five criteria: [4]
Energiesprong retrofitting typically involves snapping a pre-fabricated shell of panels to the exterior of a building to improve its thermal efficiency. The panels are created by taking a laser scan of the building's exterior to create a building information model, which can then be used for computer-aided manufacturing. The work can therefore be mostly completed at the factory, with installation taking less than one week. [5] In contrast to shallow retrofits such as the installation of heat pumps or basic insulation, energiesprong is considered a "deep" retrofit. [6] The renovations should pay for themselves in thirty years. [7]
More than 5,000 homes in the Netherlands have been retrofitted with Energiesprong. [5] In 2018, the first ten homes were retrofitted in the UK as part of its Energiesprong pilot program. [7] Energiesprong has also been applied to buildings in France and Canada, as well as the US states of California and New York. [4]
In the United Kingdom, the home owner - after the refurbishment - pays a monthly fee, which is significantly less than the utility bills before the conversion - and a guaranteed free electricity and hot water. [8]