The Netherlands launches a national campaign with advice and financial support for energy strengthening of homes. Alongside other Western European countries, measures are being taken in response to recommendations from the European Commission.
The Netherlands is launching a new national campaign under the slogan "Is your home ready for the future?" The government's goal is to help, with advice and financially, with the energy strengthening of 2.5 million homes. By 2030 they are to be renovated and made more resilient to changed climate conditions. According to the government website, 4 billion euros have been earmarked for this purpose.
Step by step
The government advises households that they do not need to do everything at once, but can invest step by step in preparing their homes. For example, they can start by repairing and insulating the roof, the floors or the façade. If there is still doubt about which to do first, the recommendation of state experts is to start with the roof. After the renovation, an additional attic bedroom can be built. At a later stage, the ventilation system can be renovated, which is also important for comfort and a healthy lifestyle.
A special website has been created where homeowners can see approximate calculations, depending on the size of the home, of the possible costs, subsidies or bank loans. On the page, they can make a personal step-by-step breakdown of their investments.
According to Statistics Netherlands, between 2022 and 2025 insulation and heat pumps were installed in just over 800,000 households. The big problem turns out to be rental properties, which number over a million. Among them are many housing cooperatives, whose tenants are low-income and are looking for help to reduce their energy bills.
Along these lines, for people who do not own a home, the government is working with the provinces and has a separately allocated budget. In this year alone, 80,000 households have received advisory and financial support.
At the local level, energy companies and non-governmental organizations are also joining in with their own measures. "Home insulation is an investment in the future that pays off in various ways. This is very important now, when we see that energy prices are rising quickly. With this campaign we want to help homeowners decide what to do first. That is why the practical measures come first, and the financial ones after," the minister responsible for housing policy, Elanor Bukholt-O'Sullivan, said in a brief comment.
Heat pumps
Energy-efficient homes are one of the measures with which the government of Rob Jetten came to power in 2026 and made big promises of change. The heat pump business is counting on them. It is among the outspoken critics of the government, arguing that the central authorities' sluggish action, stifling red tape and lack of long-term vision are hindering the climate transition and the switch from gas and heating oil to electricity.
From insulation to an energy-efficient home
From 2024 to date, one of the most memorable investments in the energy-efficient upgrading of urban infrastructure has been made in Utrecht. The energy company Eneco and the operator of the city's district heating network put a giant heat pump into operation. It uses the treated wastewater of 20,000 households and industrial enterprises. The huge quantity of water from thousands of kitchens and bathrooms enters the treatment plant at a temperature of 12 degrees even in the middle of winter.
The heat pump extracts heat from the wastewater, saves gas for heating and reduces CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes per year. With renovation measures and replacement of heating, Eneco hopes to close one of its gas power plants in Utrecht between 2030 and 2035.
So far, this is the only large, comprehensive investment in the country. Other companies have announced that for now they too will hold back until they see clear signals and concrete measures on paper from the central authorities about where the sector will be pushed.
At the European level, besides the Netherlands, in Norway, Finland and Sweden more than half of households already have a heat pump. In France they number nearly 7 million units, and in Italy nearly 5 million. Serious growth has been recorded in Germany, with 528,000. A boost is expected in the coming years in Belgium as well, in view of the decree issued by the government for a mass switch from gas to electricity. Recently, in my correspondence, I described how energy companies are preparing and mapping the settlements where the gas infrastructure is no longer needed and is to be shut down. So far, an obstacle for households remains the high fee of over 1,000 euros for removing the metering device and disconnecting from the central street network.
Beyond the countries mentioned, the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) has data from 2025 showing that in 21 other member states around 2.9 million heat pumps were sold, 13% more than in 2024, and that their total number reaches 29.3 million. In 2026 the upward trend continues. The association forecasts that the expected rise in prices and the uncertainty around gas and oil supplies will further increase interest in the technology.
And as things look, Europe faces a winter of fierce competition with Asia for liquefied natural gas, and a Strait of Hormuz that is still closed, from which blue fuel cannot be relied upon.
The authoritative Dutch institute TNO does not expect any improvement in the situation, and the Bulgarian expert Boyan Rashev adds to the picture with a comment that the cold is yet to come, the sun will shine for ever shorter periods, rivers remain low, wind is unpredictable, nuclear power plants will largely go into scheduled maintenance and refuelling, and European gas storage facilities are at record lows, only 71.5% full as of 4 October.
Regulations and homes of the future
The measures for homes being taken by the Netherlands, viewed at the European level, are part of a large-scale reform that the European Commission presented at the beginning of the year and at a seminar in Bulgaria, long before the signals of the new, severe gas winter, high fuel prices and looming shock gas and electricity bills.
At the beginning of May, Silvia Rezeshi from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy presented a directive on the energy performance of buildings, which concerns four areas: "Renovation", "Decarbonisation", "Modernisation and system integration" and "Supporting measures". It provides that all new buildings owned by public bodies should be energy-efficient from 2028, and this rule will become mandatory for all after 2030. There are also changes regarding energy performance certificates, where a scale from "A" to "G" will be applied, with "A" being the buildings with the best performance and "G" those with the worst. An energy performance certificate is to be issued for new buildings, upon major renovation, upon sale of a property, upon renting out or renewing a lease, and for existing buildings owned by public bodies. Member states are expected to take measures to ensure that the certificates are accessible, and to assess whether financial measures are needed for vulnerable households.