Getting Started with Your Home

If your home was built before 2000, there’s a good chance it isn’t properly insulated yet. That’s why it’s important to check the condition of your home’s insulation. Good insulation can lower your energy and gas bills, so it’s worth investing in or improving. For owner-occupied homes that are poorly insulated, an insulation subsidy is available. It’s also possible to request a leak check or an energy scan from Energiek Moerdijk.

On the Milieu Centraal website, you’ll find more information about insulation and tips for determining the condition of your home’s insulation. You can also find more information about insulation within the municipality on the Energieloket page (opens in a new tab). 

Once you’ve assessed the current state of your home’s insulation, it’s time to improve it where necessary. Milieu Centraal (opens in a new tab) provides a clear overview of the measures that are required to become natural gas-free and also indicates when it’s a good time to implement these measures.  
Insulation grants are available for owner-occupied homes that are poorly insulated. Check here (opens in a new tab) to see if you’re eligible for a grant (or other municipal initiatives). In addition, you can take out a loan (opens in a new tab) at an attractive interest rate to pay for insulation. You can find more information about insulation on this page.  

Fresh, clean air is very important for your health. The better your home is insulated, the more important it is to ensure proper ventilation. Ventilation costs money, but it creates a comfortable home that also requires less energy to heat. You can ventilate your home in an energy-efficient way that also prevents drafts. In addition, you can take out a low-interest loan through the incentive program to make your home more sustainable, which includes ventilation. On this page of the step-by-step guide (opens in a new tab), you’ll find more information about energy-efficient ventilation.  

The next step is already moving toward completely phasing out natural gas. To heat at a lower temperature—as is the case with a heat pump or a low-temperature district heating system—you need radiators that are large enough to provide the necessary heat. Read more about (adjusting) radiators in Step 4 (opens in a new tab).  

Cooking with gas uses relatively little gas. That’s why switching to electric cooking is one of the later steps. Of course, electric cooking is necessary if you want to completely phase out natural gas. You can read more about electric cooking and the best time to make the switch in Step 5. (opens in a new tab)

After completing the 5 steps, your home will be ready to transition to a natural gas-free system. Depending on the neighborhood where you live, this will be achieved through a district heating network or a (hybrid) heat pump. In various neighborhoods within the municipality, projects are already underway to determine the best option for the neighborhood and its residents. These neighborhoods are currently Langeweg, Moerdijk, Zevenbergschen Hoek, (opens in a new tab) Klundert Oost, and Helwijk (opens in a new tab). You can find more information about this on the Energy Help Desk page (opens in a new tab) under “Plans by Location.”
For more information on replacing your boiler, see Step 6 (opens in a new tab). 

If you live in a rental home, there are many measures you cannot take on your own. The landlord is responsible for making your home energy-efficient (and natural gas-free). However, there are a number of things you can do yourself. These include small (reversible) measures to save energy, or asking the landlord to implement sustainability measures.  

The"Improve Your Home"website offers helpful tips to assist you with this.   

You can also check outthe simple measures, which include Energiek Moerdijk’ssummer tips. As a tenant, you can implement many of these measures yourself.

If your house was built before 2000, there’s a good chance it isn’t properly insulated yet. That’s why it’s important to assess the situation. It doesn’t matter whether you already have plans to make the building more sustainable or are still looking for ideas. The first important step is to talk to your neighbors about what you all want. In addition, you’ll need to organize a general meeting to formally request permission to explore ways to make the building more sustainable.  

Read more about this conversation and the help you can get with this on the “Improve Your Home” website. (opens in a new tab)

The second step is to obtain a customized energy assessment for the building. This assessment includes several scenarios with energy-saving measures. The assessment is prepared by a consultant. It is also possible to hire a process facilitator, who will guide the homeowners’ association through the sustainability improvement process. For both types of consultants, it is possible to apply for an SVVE grant (opens in a new tab). 

After selecting a scenario, this step involves securing the necessary funding. This can be done, for example, through grants, the reserve fund, a loan, and/or personal savings.  

In this step, the selected scenario can be worked out in detail. A statement of requirements is also drawn up.  

It will likely be necessary to seek assistance from experts during this step. For example, a structural engineer or an energy expert. Together with these professionals, further research will be conducted as part of a project group.  

You can find more information about this third step on the “Improve Your Home” page. (opens in a new tab)  

A scope of work is drawn up in collaboration with experts. This is required when requesting bids. In addition, a safety plan is very important, because the homeowners’ association is responsible for the safety and health of the contractors and residents during the work.  

Quotes can now be requested, preferably from contractors who have worked with homeowners’ associations before. The quotes can now be compared to help make a decision. Once a contractor has been selected, the costs are clear. A final action plan can now be drawn up. A final decision on this plan will be made during the general meeting.  

Now it’s time to implement the sustainability plan. The homeowners’ association still has a number of tasks to complete (such as revising the maintenance plan, communicating with residents and the contractor, etc.). You can read about these steps on the “Verbeter je huis” website. (opens in a new tab)  

Once you’ve completed the steps, the building will be ready to become natural gas-free—or may already be off the gas grid. Depending on the neighborhood where you live, this will be achieved through a district heating network or a (hybrid) heat pump. In various neighborhoods within the municipality, projects are already underway to determine the best option for the neighborhood and its residents. These neighborhoods are currently Langeweg, Moerdijk, Zevenbergschen Hoek (opens in a new tab), and Helwijk (opens in a new tab). You can find more information about this on the Energy Help Desk page (opens in a new tab) under “Plans by Location.”