'Industry has to start doing it'

As an advocate of performance-based building, such as NOM construction and renovation, the association Stroomversnelling makes an important contribution to the recently concludedNOM construction and renovation, which includes a so-called "renovation accelerator" as a subsidy measure. "We said: don't give that money to the asking party now," says chairman Leen van Dijke. "Give it to the manufacturing industry to be able to invest and innovate."

The enthusiasm of Van Dijke, recently reappointed as chairman for a three-year term, is no less after seven years of Stroomversnelling. "We have passed the 10,000 NOM renovations and new homes in 2019, and we have also demonstrated our existence with quality development. For example, with Aedes and Bouwend Nederland, we have developed a new form of contract for corporations, based on a standardized list of specifications with uniform, performance-driven requirements."

Chairman Stroomversnelling Leen van Dijke on a working visit. (Image: Contentpoint)

The Alliance, a member of Stroomversnelling since last year, came up with its own lean concept for making homes more sustainable, which also involves process-oriented sustainability. NOM renovation and NOM new construction according to industrialized methods, activities that the Stroomversnelling as a nonprofit organization should encourage, are in line with recent social developments, says Van Dijke. "Robotized production reduces the number of labor hours, both in the factory and on the construction site. In terms of emissions, it even cuts both ways: prefabricated production leads to fewer transport movements, and the NOM home in itself reduces energy demand and consumption. NOM concepts are also demonstrably less sensitive to price increases than traditional construction methods."

The Stroomversnelling desperately needs the corporations to gain momentum, and is expanding the domain to a neighborhood-oriented approach, with a development table focused on the neighborhood approach of municipalities. (Image: Frank Hanswijk)

'Spite-free measures'

If you bring a home to Zero-Meter in steps, the idea is obviously not to have to reverse certain interventions in the home later to make it more sustainable. Providing a label with "regret-free measures" can help, Van Dijke said. "That NOM Keur 'on steps' is going to be there now, making it possible, for example, to achieve 'Zero-on-the-Meter' in phases under quality mark. We should not focus on one method, though reduction of demand is the starting point for each energy carrier. Now people sometimes sit on the couch with a blanket on their lap. When reducing heat demand, comfort must also increase, with cost of living neutrality as the starting point. The latter has ended up in the Climate Accord partly at our insistence, so that the energy transition is and remains accessible to private individuals and owners' associations; even if they are less financially strong."

The Stroomversnelling badly needs the corporations to gain momentum, and is expanding the domain to a neighborhood-oriented approach, with a development table focused on the neighborhood approach of municipalities. Van Dijke: "Municipalities are faced with many questions, such as 'how do I get an entire neighborhood off the gas?' We can and want to help with this with our development table and the so-called 'district guide'. This includes questions such as 'how to deal with speckled property?' We are proud of what has been achieved, the rules of the game are still being fine-tuned and activities expanded. Building production capacity also needs to increase. That is now coming under pressure partly because the expertise of our construction industry is being sought more in countries like Germany. But the bottom line remains: the industry has to start doing it."