Personal Advice

If you are planning to make a historical building more sustainable, it is advisable to hire an expert with technical expertise in sustainability as well as in monumental properties. In addition to insight into the technical feasibility of your project, a complete advice also provides an overview of the legal and financial possibilities specific to your situation. Consider the following aspects:

• Insight into which measures are suitable for your property in specific;
• A list of advantages and points of attention of the recommended measures;
• Different scenarios towards an electric power source instead of natural gas;
• The investment, recovery period and savings on energy costs;
• The expected savings on your electricity and gas consumption;
• The important aspects for preservation of the historical value of the property;
• Which permits are required;
• Financing and subsidies possibilities.
   

It starts with finding the right advisor. Choose a consultancy with technical expertise in sustainability as well as in historically valuable buildings. When selecting a party, you might consider the following aspects:

• Choose an independent party;
• Choose a party with technical expertise in historical buildings as well as sustainability;
• Ask for customisation; to obtain solutions specific to your situation;
• Obtain an integrated advice; weighing different sustainable applications against each other; and considering the interdependence of measures;
• Level of detail; have the measures elaborated in legal, financial and technical detail.
   

After choosing a consultancy, a consultant will assess your property. The entire building will be mapped out and questions will be asked about the buildings use and renovation history. Collecting as much information about your building as possible beforehand is advisable. You might look into the following aspects:

• Floor plans and technical drawings of the property;
• The annual statement from your energy supplier;
• A maintenance report of ‘Monument Care’, if your building is labeled monumental;
• If applicable, a document describing previous or planned renovation work;
• Contact details of contractors and technicians (related to the renovation history).
   

Based on the assessment of the building and the provided information, a tailored advice will be made, which will be elaborated on in a comprehensive advisory report. This advisory report will help you take further steps, which are described here.

Energy Service Desk

Almost all municipalities in the Netherlands are afiliated to an ‘Energy Service Desk’. An ‘Energy Service desk’ helps you with general questions about saving energy and how to make your building more sustainable. In addition, they often have an overview of local contractors.

De Groene Grachten helps with technical advice and implementation guidance. Our consultants have years of experience in making monuments, protected townscapes and other historical buildings more sustainable. We believe that these properties deserve a unique approach and that the best way to make a building more sustainable is through customised advice.

A tailored advice starts with discussing your wishes or current problems you might face, such as high energy consumption or cold draughts. After, we will examine the entire building, from basement to attic. This results in tailored advice with sustainability measures that you can implement while preserving the historical value. The advice also contains an overview of relevant subsidies and financing possibilities, costs, benefits, energy savings, environmental impact and which regulations you should take into account. We also offer implementation guidance, as a follow-up, to make sure the final result are in line with the original advice.

For more information, visit our website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

De Groene Grachten

degroenegrachten.nl 

info@degroenegrachten.nl

020 - 210 14 46