Landlords and Housing Associations

Gouda, the Netherlands 1997 implementation of active solar by the
 utility, the municipality and housing associations.

Housing Associations

• Most housing associations still have little knowledge about solar water heating.
  
• Housing associations in Europe are in principle economically oriented, and require energy saving measures to pay themselves back. The maximal acceptable simple pay-back times are in the order of 6 to 16 years.
• The legal and financial position of housing associations as well as their number and organisation varies widely across Europe. In almost all cases however, the financial savings (avoided energy costs) from the solar water heaters will have to be transferred back in some way from the tenants to the housing association.
• A roof, heating installation or complete building renovation is a good moment to implement solar water heating.
• The opinion of the tenants seems only really important to the housing association when the tenants have to be consulted.
• High quality and low maintenance products are important for housing associations.
• Quality assurances, such as performance guarantee, normal guarantees, maintenance contracts and certification, are very important or even essential. Also government subsidies, a sufficiently low pay-back time and solutions to reduce the initial investment are very important. 
• Reduction of the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, guarantees on hardware and energy output are important sales arguments.
  
  

  Real estate developers

In Europe and Canada standards for the energy performance of new real estate development become increasingly important. In some EC countries, like the Netherlands, energy performance standards for new housing developments are in place for many years and they become stricter by the time. Solar water heaters are a good option for achieving these energy performance standards and real estate developers integrate them in their houses more and more. For example in the Netherlands more than 10% of the new real estates are equipped with solar water heaters.

Together with the WWF a renewable energy label for real estate based on the Dutch energy performance standards is developed. This energy label is called "zonnewoning" and can be obtained by a developer if he realises new real estate with a good energy performance and equipped with a solar water heater.

The case/project linking to this buyer group is is the dutch zonnewoningen case

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References:

SOLHAS –MARKET STRATEGY 
Drs B.G.C. van der Ree, Ir. J.P. van Aken, drs. M.J. de Bruijn,  Ecofys, the Netherlands
Dipl.-Ing. M.E. Schulz Ambiente Italia, Italy
Dipl.-Ing. J. Backes, Dipl.-Ing. S. Gajewski-Schneck,  Ecofys GMBH, Germany
October 2001, ALTENER CONTRACT NUMBER:  XVII/4.1030/Z/99-554,
ECOFYS CONTRACT NUMBER:     E 10056, By order of the: EU DG Energy 
Altener II Programme

5. Jan-Olof Dalenback, Dept. of Building Services Enginerring, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden "Swedish Property Developer Pioneers Renewable Energy" CADDET Renewable Energy Newsletter, Issue 2.97, June 1997, published by IEA CADDET Centre for Renewable Energy.