Stan renovated a farm from 1876: ‘The house was as leaky as a basket’ | Money

How do you live?
“In 1984 I bought an old, former farm with my wife. This is located at the foot of the De Mookerhei nature reserve. I often say that I live in the most beautiful place in the Netherlands. But when we bought this house, it leaked like a basket. The farm was built in 1876 and has been extensively renovated over the years. It has become much bigger, but sustainability has never really been thought of. It had an enormous number of radiators hung in it, making it a large CO2 plant.

We have been investing in improvements from the start. This is to be able to live more comfortably. The first winter was immediately a harsh winter, with -15 degrees outside. There was a draft in the house, we had leaks and if you put the thermometer on the floor, it only showed a few degrees. We only had an old oil-fired stove. I wanted them out immediately, but because of the frost they couldn’t go into the ground to connect gas.

We now have new frames, HR ++ glass downstairs and double glazing upstairs. We have cavity wall insulation, floor insulation and we have a new insulated roof. In 2015 the house was energy efficient enough for us and then we started tackling the energy sources. Replace the central heating boiler with an HR combi boiler and fourteen solar panels. In 2018, a hybrid heat pump and eight additional solar panels were added. We still have a wood stove for decoration and coziness.”

“Our energy contract is with Greenchoice. There we pay 150 euros per month. Too much. Just to be sure, because I didn’t know what the energy market was going to do. But actually it’s not smart. If Greenchoice were to fall over, I might be able to whistle for my money. I think we would end up with about 75 euros per month. We have an annual contract. Always done. That has given me a lot of advantage in the past, unfortunately I am now unlucky that I no longer have it secured.

Our annual consumption is 6700 kWh of electricity and we generate approximately 6000 kWh. Our recent annual gas consumption is 516 cubic meters. This year, consumption will be less, because the heat pump is better adjusted. I expect that we will end up with 300 to 400 cubic meters.”

“Although we have been working on making our house more sustainable for years, we have been shaken awake by the current energy crisis. We pay even more attention that we close the doors of rooms behind us, that the stove is not burning unnecessarily or that no lights are on. We take a shorter shower and we rarely use the dryer anymore.

But on the other hand, we are also two retirees. We spend a lot of time at home and read a lot. Maybe we are also more cold at our age? The thermostat is set at 19 degrees, unless it is not necessary: ​​then the heat pump is switched off.

We recently purchased energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers. That also made a big difference in our consumption. Of course we have LED lighting everywhere. At the time, there were plenty of skeptics wondering what I was doing. Even installers who came here and said that no heat pump could be placed here. That was possible and people now appreciate my ‘foresightedness’. It was an annual choice: using up holiday money abroad or refurbishing our house. We chose the second.

Will we ever get off gas completely? No, I do not think so. It is a certainty in the house. I don’t know if we can withstand extremely low temperatures otherwise. I would still like a small wind turbine on the roof and a heat pump boiler. I would do it like this, but my other half then says: first calculate whether you will earn that back. Given our age, she has a point there.”