Dennis: ‘You can try to heat the building completely, but I don’t wish that on you. There are two wood-burning stoves, but they are only for heating when it gets a little colder, not suitable for the middle of winter; Even in old churches that are still in function, people keep their coats on for a reason. Even if you put a very good boiler in the church area, it is not financially feasible.
‘That’s why we live in the vestry ourselves: the part of the church that used to be used for meetings and that has now been converted into a residence. We see the rest of the church as a bonus. Like seawater, the temperature of this 11-meter high space moves with the ambient temperature: from March it starts to warm up slowly, from October it gets really cold.
‘We see the church as a kind of summer living room, handy place and space for long tables and parties. For example, we do not have more energy costs than an average household. The corridor between the church and the vestry keeps the heat and cold in their own place.
‘We were looking for peace and inspiration when we moved from our Utrecht apartment last year, not necessarily a huge house. But the atmosphere and the vastness of the landscape convinced us: if there is a rainbow, you can see it from start to finish here. And the light is fantastic: in the morning the sun dances through the stained glass. Because this church does not have a monumental status, you also have every opportunity to shape it to your own liking. With a view to energy consumption, we planned to include part of the church in the living area, and to create a box construction with smaller spaces that is easier to heat.
Our plans were already 90 percent ready when it turned out that my wife has a congenital heart defect. She just had surgery. Such a major renovation is no longer possible. So we are looking for an apartment again and this church is for sale again. Unfortunately, this dream didn’t quite come true for us, but it might for someone else.’
Who Evert van Bergen (35, entrepreneur), Margot Pas (38, hairdresser), Jake (6) and Lloyd (2).
Where The former second oldest cinema in the Netherlands in Geertruidenberg, North Brabant.
Surface 347 m2.
Energy bill 525 euros per month.
Evert: ‘The space to run. Our oldest son was looking forward to this the most, before we moved here from our 1930s home in Breda. We were looking for something striking and immediately fell in love. This building is more than five hundred years old, until 2007 it was a cinema. Previous residents have renovated it themselves: he was an artist who worked a lot with steel, the stairs and the kitchen are his own design. Yet there are also many original details: we enter through the old cinema doors and the film projector still contains the last film shown: Casino Royalea 2006 James Bond.
We now use the former foyer of 8 meters high as a anteroom; here we organize meetings, workshops and photo shoots. It is also the coldest room in the house: the warm air disappears upwards, and the three cast-iron radiators in it are more decorative. We can only get nice and warm with the large, labour-intensive fireplace. Behind the front room is our sitting room, which we can heat via underfloor heating, but on gas.
Fortunately, we are used to not being too hot, we just put on an extra turtleneck. The bedrooms on the first floor have no heating. On the landing, it became 40 degrees this summer due to the large glass walls. We don’t know yet how cold it will really get this winter: we’ve only been living here for two months. But we can always run in circles to warm up.’
Who Anton Hodde (77), retired surgeon.
Where A monumental farmhouse from 1650 (estimated) in Veeningen, Drenthe. The farm is for sale.
Surface 320 m2.
Energy bill About 350 euros per month.
Anton: ‘When gas cost a dime per cubic meter thirty years ago, it was still doable. I have no cavity walls, no floor insulation and a thatched roof, which always creates a draft. You can’t really insulate a monument like this well. But when the gas price went up for the first time ten years ago and I suddenly had to pay 800 euros per month, I took measures.
‘In the old bakehouse I installed a new heat supply together with an engineer friend. The base is formed by two large tanks that can hold a total of 1,000 liters of hot water. I have installed four solar collectors that can heat that water, so when the sun shines, you can shower and bathe with them.
‘If it’s cloudy, I light the large wood stove in that same loft, burn one or two wheelbarrows of wood there a day, and the central heating runs again, although it is now at 19 degrees. If I don’t, the house will be too cold. Eighteen solar panels in the garden also provide electricity. Finally, I installed a new gas installation.
‘I believe it cost me a total of 30,000 euros. But the result is that I have turned off the gas tap from April this year, and I try to keep it up until the end of September. I cook electrically, and if I occasionally have to take a cold shower, well.
‘Even when the rest of the house is cold, I still have a wood stove in the living room. That’s the advantage of the countryside: my neighbors never complain about the smoke. You are always working on it. When I see a pile of wood somewhere, I ask: can I come by with my cart? You have to look a year ahead, otherwise it won’t be dry. Anyway, then you have three times the heat: when collecting, when sawing and when firing.’
Who Maaike Schmeets (33, interior architect) and Taco Vis (36, senior communicator), Luca Mai Vis (4) and Béla Vis (1).
Where Half of an old fisherman’s house from 1869 in the village center of Huizen.
Surface 91 m2.
Energy bill 670 euros per month.
Maaike: ‘We were struck by the atmosphere and the imperfection of such an old house. But when we got the key almost a year ago, we already noticed how cold it was in winter. Our gas bill has gone from 264 euros per month to 670 euros because we were forced to switch to a new energy company.
‘I have to laugh a little when I think I was looking at bathroom pictures a year ago. We are not going to do any of that, because our entire renovation budget first goes to making the house more sustainable. That is a difficult job, because the house is a municipal monument, so any plan for better insulation or double glazing has to go to the municipality for approval. Looking back, I doubt I would have bought this house again.’
Taco: ‘Of course you now answer that question with advancing insight, which makes it difficult. But I think I might have bought the house. It is a charming house, lived through history. I’m glad my children grow up here and not in a Vinex neighbourhood. Of course I share the concerns about the cost. In winter you can blow clouds in the kitchen. On the other hand, I also see it as a moral responsibility to prepare the house for the next generation. Then no new bathroom, we will make it more sustainable. Living in this house also contributes to awareness about the climate for me.’
Maaike: ‘We don’t use more energy than necessary and in winter we live where it is warmer. You notice that the children almost automatically start playing in the living room, under the thatched roof where it is warmest. Béla isn’t walking yet and avoids the icy tiles in the kitchen. This way you can see how you learn to move with the house.
‘I like that about an old house, to follow the house through the different spaces through the seasons. We love that romance. But it must remain affordable. In any case, we’re not going to turn on the heating for a while, so we’ve been sitting comfortably at 17 degrees all morning.’
Photography: Jordi Huisman.