One-stop-shops (OSSs) offer practical solutions for residential energy renovations, providing a single entry point for homeowners and communities. Explore through three related initiatives, how they strengthen neighbourhoods, empower communities and drive scalable energy solutions across Europe.
Lesly Mercedes Barriga Delgado, Project Officer at FEDARENE | LinkedIn profile
Juliana Nadalutti, Communications Officer at FEDARENE | LinkedIn profile
Mariangela Luceri, Project Manager at FEDARENE | LinkedIn profile
(Note: Opinions in the articles are of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union)
Buildings are Europe’s largest energy consumers, with around 85% constructed before 2000 and 75% performing poorly, resulting in elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Residential buildings represent about two-thirds of this energy demand, making energy renovations a key priority to reduce consumption. Improving the energy performance of homes not only mitigates environmental impacts but also lowers energy costs, increases property value, and enhances occupants’ wellbeing through better indoor comfort and air quality. However, homeowners and communities often face numerous barriers when planning deep energy renovations. These include technical complexity, fragmented information, complex administrative procedures, difficulty accessing skilled professionals, and the need to navigate financial constraints or incentives, among others. Such obstacles can slow progress towards the EU climate and energy targets.
One-stop-shops (OSSs) have emerged as practical solutions to support residential energy renovations by providing a single entry point to homeowners and communities. They centralise technical, legal, administrative and financial services, acting as intermediaries between residents, local authorities, and contractors or suppliers, thereby simplifying processes, increasing accessibility and building consumer confidence, while fostering the scaling up of energy-efficient measures. The strategic importance of OSSs has been increasingly recognised by EU funding programmes, which have supported the development, expansion and replication of diverse OSS models to enable more coordinated, effective, and inclusive energy renovation solutions.
This article highlights three EU-funded initiatives that demonstrate the value and complementarity of OSS across different scales of action and support: Opengela, a local service provider in the Basque Country supporting residents with technical, financial and administrative guidance through neighbourhood offices; EU Peers, a European community builder connecting OSS initiatives and facilitating knowledge exchange; and the Support service for Citizen-led renovation (CLR) initiative, which integrates OSS as enablers to empower energy communities. By examining the scale of intervention, role, type of support and results obtained, the article explores how these OSS models interact to create a cohesive and effective ecosystem for residential energy renovation.
Effective residential energy renovation relies on coordinated support that operates across scales. At the local level, hands-on support builds trust, demonstrates practical solutions and addresses barriers directly with residents. In the Basque Country, the Opengela programme exemplifies this approach as a local service provider, delivering tailored renovation support to households and multi-family buildings through a network of neighbourhood offices. The model was initially piloted in the Otxarkoaga (Bilbao) and Txonta (Eibar) districts through the HIROSS4all project and is now being expanded under the LIFE22-CET-BIRTUOSS Project. These offices offer technical guidance on energy efficiency and accessibility improvements, as well as legal and administrative assistance for permits and collective management. They also help homeowners access subsidies and financing, ensuring effective solutions are within reach. Social engagement is central to the model, with community meetings, workshops and mediation processes fostering trust and encouraging inclusive participation. Furthermore, governance is designed to adapt to local conditions, with arrangements varying by municipality: in some areas, Urban Rehabilitation Agencies (SURs) or local councils coordinate the neighbourhood offices, while in others, specialised service providers manage delivery under public supervision.
Building on the strengths of local and national-level interventions, European and national-level coordination ensures that successful approaches can be replicated, aligned with national frameworks and scaled across borders. EU Peers fulfils this role as a European Community of Integrated Home Renovation Services (IHRS), strengthening the OSS movement, coordinating activities across Europe, and fostering favourable conditions for residential energy renovation. Leading this initiative are three networks, namely Climate Alliance, Energy Cities, and FEDARENE, whose experience and member base help it to grow while remaining representative of European local and regional realities. While EU Peers operates as a transnational Community of Practice, its primary sphere of influence is at the national level, where it establishes and supports dedicated platforms coordinated by consortium partners embedded in each country’s renovation sector. These national platforms enable local OSS to connect with homeowner associations, technology providers and market actors within their respective countries. By connecting local OSS with key national actors, EU Peers builds a robust network, promotes integrated solutions to common renovation challenges, and ensures consistency across frameworks and scales.
Coherence with national energy frameworks and alignment with EU-level policy objectives are also strengthened when OSS operate as enablers within grassroots movements. The CLR initiative illustrates this approach, operating at a community-driven level and supporting citizens to organise collectively in the energy transition. Within CLR, OSS are embedded not as standalone service providers but as facilitators of empowerment, transforming local enthusiasm into actionable, technically sound renovation projects. By providing technical, financial and administrative guidance, OSS enable communities to exercise agency and take ownership of their own energy renovation.
The potential of OSS in driving Europe’s residential energy renovation lies not only in their scale of operation but also in their capacity to tailor support to diverse actors. For Opengela, the Basque Country programme targets homeowners and residents in multi-family buildings, with a focus on ageing districts and vulnerable communities where energy efficiency and accessibility remain below regional standards. By prioritising low and middle-income households, older residents, and families at risk of energy poverty, the initiative ensures equitable access to renovation opportunities for those who face the greatest challenges. Participation is open to all property owners in designated intervention areas, fostering inclusivity rather than imposing restrictive eligibility criteria.
To make the building and energy renovation process more efficient and accessible, each neighbourhood office relies on a suite of standardised tools and templates, including step-by-step guides, tailored application forms, and communication materials for homeowners and communities. About half of the office time is dedicated to technical support (i.e., site visits, energy assessments, and supervision of works), while a third of resources focus on administrative and financial management, from grant applications to coordination with local authorities. The remaining time is devoted to social awareness and mediation, ensuring residents stay engaged throughout the process.
While Opengela addresses citizens’ immediate needs, EU Peers supports those who make such initiatives possible: practitioners of OSS for IHRS. Nevertheless, and to fully support energy renovation across EU Member States, EU Peers engages the broader renovation chain, including energy communities, homeowner associations, construction companies, technology providers, local and regional authorities, market operators and other relevant stakeholders, all of whom are represented within the EU Peers Community of Practice and dedicated national platforms. The initiative organises its support around four complementary pillars:
In addition to Opengela and EU Peers, the CLR initiative targets energy communities and citizen collectives that aim to actively engage in building renovation and the energy transition. These groups, typically composed of residents, neighbours or local associations, are motivated to improve the energy performance of their housing stock while fostering community cohesion. Phase II of the CLR initiative distinguished participants by maturity level (Pilots, Learners and Followers), allowing tailored guidance. Pilot communities already implement renovation projects and serve as demonstration models; Learners are developing governance structures and financing plans, while Followers are in the exploratory phase, assessing feasibility and gathering support. The tailored and comprehensive package of support combined empowerment, capacity building, and the strengthening of citizen agency. To further build CLR capacities for supporting citizen-led initiatives, Phase III included OSS, together with local authorities, networks and cooperatives, as enablers. This recognises the key role they play within the renovation ecosystem, as well as their practical experience, technical expertise and strong links to policymaking. OSS involvement makes the CLR support package more diverse, effective and scalable, extending its reach to both grassroots actors and the European structures that can accelerate community renovation efforts.
The benefits of OSS become most apparent when interventions at local, national and community levels come together to deliver tangible improvements for residents and the wider renovation ecosystem. In the case of Opengela, 22 neighbourhood offices are currently operational in Bilbao (Torre Urízar, Otxarkoaga, Uretamendi, Vista Alegre), Vitoria-Gasteiz (Zaramaga), Donostia-San Sebastián (Altza), Durango (Aramotz), Lasarte-Oria (Basaundi Bailara), Amurrio, Bermeo, and others, reaching 6,412 inhabitants and 2,788 dwellings across the Basque Country. Besides the energy efficiency gains, typically above 60% in refurbished buildings, the offices are bringing social and organisational benefits, as they are becoming community reference points, fostering participation, conflict resolution and collective decision-making. This OSS has established itself as the regional model for integrated home renovation and urban regeneration, offering a proven approach that can be replicated in other European regions.
While Opengela demonstrates the impact of proximity at the local scale, EU Peers shows how European collaboration can generate multiplier effects. The EU Peers community currently includes over 400 members, bringing collective intelligence through the exchange of knowledge, learning and collaboration. Since its launch, the initiative has supported the establishment of six national platforms in Italy, Spain, France, Ireland, Latvia (which covers the Baltic countries) and Hungary. Building on this success and the growth of the OSS movement, with more than 40 OSS established in just a few years, largely thanks to dedicated EU funding schemes, two new informal platforms have recently been created in Belgium and Germany. Finally, thanks to the soon-to-be-launched guide on how to set up an OSS EU Peers intends to support their creation, particularly in Central and Eastern European countries, where the OSS movement still faces national and regional barriers. Through these actions, EU Peers multiplies local and national experiences across Europe, creating a coherent movement that amplifies the impact of successful OSS practices at the continental level.
Guidance and international collaboration, as demonstrated by initiatives like EU Peers, play a vital role in scaling efforts across Europe. However, the success of the energy transition also depends on citizens taking action. CLR emphasises this point by showing that achieving energy and climate targets requires more than just top-down support. The inclusion of ten new enablers in CLR’s third phase has strengthened its capacity to guide citizen-led renovation projects, with successful pilots already taking place in Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland and Portugal. By October 2025, CLR has expanded its network of enablers to five additional countries, demonstrating how OSS advice can effectively support bottom-up, citizen-driven energy initiatives.
The three initiatives examined in this article illustrate the value of deploying OSSs across multiple and complementary scales within Europe’s residential energy renovation landscape. Opengela demonstrates the effectiveness of local proximity, providing integrated technical, administrative and social support that enables households, particularly in vulnerable neighbourhoods, to undertake renovation works with greater long-term impact. EU Peers expands this impact by building a transnational community that enhances professional capacity, promotes the alignment of policy frameworks and facilitates the wider replication of OSS models. Likewise, the CLR situates renovation within a broader civic context by embedding OSS expertise into community-driven efforts, thereby reinforcing citizen agency and collective engagement in the energy transition.
Considered collectively, these initiatives indicate that Europe’s energy renovation objectives cannot be achieved through isolated interventions. Local implementation, national and European coordination, and community mobilisation address distinct yet interconnected barriers. When combined, they generate a more coherent, resilient, and inclusive energy renovation ecosystem. By supporting collaboration between institutions, practitioners and residents, these models contribute to increased trust, reduced complexity, and greater accessibility for diverse households.
Sustained progress towards a climate-neutral housing stock requires integrated support structures that link policy ambitions with practical, citizen-centred implementation. Strengthening OSS ecosystems across all levels will therefore be essential for delivering deep and equitable energy renovations that reduce GHG emissions, improve living conditions and ensure that the benefits of the transition are shared widely across Europe, leaving no one behind.
