Context

Europe is facing the now more than pressing challenge to triple the current renovation rate in order to meet its climate and energy goals, mitigate climate change and get on track to limit global temperature increase to 1,5°C as agreed in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Tackling this challenge would not only be beneficial for the climate, but first and foremost for the people living, working and using these buildings: inadequate and poor housing causes high energy bills, health issues and a lower quality of life.

Renovating the existing building stock represents an exceptional investment opportunity, with the capacity to boost the economy and generate local jobs. The energy renovation market plays an important role in the economy, amounting to a value of €109 billion and generating 882,900 jobs in Europe (2015) [1] and its potential is far greater [2].

_{[1] OpenExp – Energy Transition of the EU Building Stock – Unleashing the 4th Industrial Revolution in Europe
[2] Another report estimates that investments in energy renovation must increase fivefold, in order for Europe to meet its energy targets (European Parliament, “Boosting Building Renovation: What potential and value for Europe?”, 2016)}

For homeowners and building managers, the renovation process can seem complicated, shaped by the ambiguity of the interventions to implement, a lack of knowledge on the existing solutions as well as a lack of services to coordinate all required market actors involved in the renovation process. This often results in lengthy, time-consuming and disruptive renovation processes.

The renovation rate continues to linger around 1% and private investments remain limited. Achieving the full market potential of renovation calls for a paradigm shift, with a more service-oriented supply-side and a deeper awareness on the demand-side, and where market offers go beyond energy performance to include a wider range of home improvement and support services.

Story

To tackle these challenges, Turnkey Retrofit will develop and replicate an integrated home renovation service, leveraging on the business operations of the project partners (4000 integrated building renovations conducted to date).

The Turnkey Retrofit service will be developed as a homeowner-centric renovation journey, transforming the complex and fragmented renovation process into a simple, straightforward and attractive process: all providers on one platform – Solutions4Renovation, where trust is key.

A burden-free experience for the customer (homeowners or board of co-owners), this holistic service allows to manage and upgrade their homes in a simpler and cost-effective way. It will match end-users with the right building professionals and financial options, while assembling the local capacity for deep energy renovations.

9 partners (from research, consultancy, engineering companies, non-profit organisations, technology centres) are joining forces to develop the concept in 3 EU countries: France, Ireland and the Spain.

Turnkey Retrofit will identify and establish ad-hoc mechanisms and a specific new business plan for the target countries.

If successful, the service-oriented model will be replicated EU-wide.

Within the project, the role of national and local regulations, incentives and financial barriers to home renovation will be analysed and will support the streamlining of standards and practices when replicating to other EU countries beyond the end of the project.

The service will be accessible through a user-friendly digital platform, Solutions4Renovation, and will address drivers of building renovation that go beyond a desire to reduce energy bills and increase asset value, such as home improvement, increased comfort, enhanced health & quality of life (additional added-value services for e.g. accessibility, security, etc.).

The project covers both detached and semi-detached single-family and multi-family residential housing.

Turnkey Retrofit main market is the private residential sector, however the service could easily be adapted as well for social housing and local authorities, offering a great development and growth potential.

Objectives

Based on a careful analysis of the national and local context in each of the 3 countries where Turnkey Retrofit will be operated, and building upon successful initiatives, the project will trigger investment by unlocking new value streams and reduce the most common financing barriers via:

1. Homeowners’ increased awareness and facilitated access to national and local financial support schemes; leading to more demand for holistic approaches;
2. An improved offer by trustful market operators and streamlined standards and practices into consistent and transparent processes investors can rely on;
3. Decreased total renovation implementation costs and minimised unexpected costs (and uncertainties for homeowners) through the provision of integrated energy renovation solutions (turnkey solutions);
4. The provision of additional services that go beyond energy renovation (e.g. home improvement and arrangement, home solutions to improve comfort, security and quality of life) which will make the overall service financially more attractive for investors;
5. Built partnerships with key players in the construction value chain including building professionals and installers, financial institutions providing mortgages, utility companies with energy saving obligations, local governments, real-estate agencies, in order to deliver and replicate the Turnkey Retrofit service;
6. Creating or replicating innovative local or regional “integrated home renovation services“ operational at the end of the project;
7. A collaboration with EeMAP, an initiative focused on the creation of a standardised “energy efficient mortgage” which incentivizes building owners to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings through preferential financing mortgage conditions, therefore connecting the supply of finance with demand for it;
8. The use of a community platform developed by the Global Sustainability Initiative (GSI) that enables a new funding model to be leveraged to support sustainable projects across many geographies

Turnkey Retrofit targets the development of a 335M€ investment pipeline for home renovation, corresponding to 96 GWh/year of primary energy savings triggered and 73 896 tCO2-eq/year reduction of greenhouse gases emissions and approximately 14 700 dwellings renovated within the first 5 years of the service beyond the end of the project. [1]

_{[1] The baseline used is calculated from the actual impact (triggered investments in integrated renovations, energy savings and reduction of GHG emissions) of the two French integrated services managed by EP (Izigloo/ Mon carnet) and OPER (yearly averaged values since the inception of the service), which will form the basis of the Turnkey Retrofit service.}