Temperatures of over forty degrees in the living room: residents of the new-build flat in the old V&D in Bergen op Zoom have not forgotten last summer. According to them, the apartment complex heats up too quickly. And so they are anxiously watching the rising temperatures this week. “It is already warmer inside than outside,” says resident Erik Sommeling.
“The thermostat literally went into overdrive,” Sommeling remembers about last summer. “It quickly became over forty degrees inside. It was unbearable.” The 67-year-old retiree has had his new awnings closed all day on Monday afternoon. “Yet it is now 24 degrees cooler inside and outside.”
“The houses are built to retain heat,” Sommeling thinks. “The flat has large windows. Good ventilation is not possible, because you don’t have two windows opposite each other. The heat does not escape.” He bought the apartment on Stationsstraat in the center a year ago, shortly after completion. “The misery started immediately. Too well insulated?”, he wonders.
“No matter what I do, it just stays warm in here.”
Nelly Bosman, 68, has also taken precautions. “I’ve had screens put up and I open everything in the morning. But no matter what I do, it stays warm here.” Sommeling adds: “It’s difficult to live with this, but you don’t have much choice.”
The Association of Owners (VvE) thinks it gets so hot because of the large windows. And then there is something else: perhaps the installation for heat recovery needs to be adapted. And that’s an expensive joke. It is still unclear who will pay for this. The legal expenses insurance of the VvE has already been called in for advice. “If it gets this hot every time, something may have gone wrong in the design phase,” says chairman Arn van der Vorst.
The VvE says it is still in talks with project developer BVR Group in Roosendaal. “I know there were complaints last year,” says Ted Dane of BVR Group. He also says he has no information about the apartments or a possible solution.
“It’s just a disaster.”
The fact that there is no prospect of a solution is a bitter pill for the residents. “I’ve been working on this for months,” says 81-year-old resident Ton Thijssen. He even kept lists of temperature readings. “Yet there is still no solution. It’s just a disaster.”
