Over Morgen was asked to provide a roadmap for CO2-neutral real estate and to present the implications of this task for the neighbourhoods and for building complexes in the coming years.
Our solution
Our solution requires four steps: first, we take a look at the most viable alternative heating solutions for the property with our Heat Transition Atlas. By means of a detailed data analysis, we evaluate the suitability of the chosen solutions for premises, building clusters and whole neighbourhoods, in order to find the best alternative to natural gas heating. This already offers good opportunities to start fitting the existing housing stock with natural gas-free heating.
In order to translate these opportunities into policies, we need to set a defined course in relation to the existing housing stock and to the area as a whole. The direction of the project is the long-term goal of obtaining natural gas-free real estate by 2050. With this objective in mind, the parties involved can take care of the project budgets and the necessary investment planning. We provide consultancy on efficient project phasing and on the additional costs for the insulation and the transition to natural gas-free heating solutions for the existing housing stock.
The main challenge lies in making the right decisions within the pre-established project budget, in order to achieve higher levels of comfort, lower energy bills, improved appearance, better environment, lower maintenance costs and CO2 emissions. By setting the right priorities, we are able to take the so-called ‘no regret’ measures into consideration as well. This is partly achieved by means of customised solutions at the project level, but can also be standardised for specific types of buildings and solutions.
The technical and financial tasks go hand in hand with the organisational task. Different players within the housing corporations want to be involved in the project phasing. We organise specific workshops where co-creators can participate. We give a clear picture of the task at hand and jointly create a fitting overall working concept. Based on the outcome of these sessions, we develop a ‘no regret’ approach which can be easily implemented in the current project and in others.
With these four steps, we have presented the housing corporations in Rotterdam with a clear picture of the task of becoming natural gas-free and shifting to CO2-neutral real estate, and of its short-term implications for the existing housing stock, cities, neighbourhoods and building complexes.
