In 2019, the housing corporation, Woonbron thoroughly renovated 287 single-family homes in Tuinenhoven (Rotterdam IJsselmonde). For instance, new facades were installed to provide better insulation. The aim was to increase the living comfort of the tenants and to reduce their fixed costs for gas and energy consumption. Would residents notice? At the request of Woonbron, Veldacademie is charting the experiences of residents with their renovated homes. Woonbron can learn from this for similar projects in the future. The information also helps the housing corporation directly to resolve any bottlenecks encountered by residents.
Living Comfort
In view of the climate targets, many housing corporations in Rotterdam are busy making their housing stock more sustainable. Previous research has shown that a large part of the current housing stock in Rotterdam is not yet sufficiently future-proof. The renovation project in Tuinenhoven, IJsselmonde, also took place in this context. The renovation contributes to making the housing stock in IJsselmonde more sustainable and at the same time ensures that Woonbron's tenants can live more comfortably.
A comfortable home can contribute to greater living enjoyment and better mental and physical health for residents. But living comfort does not mean the same thing to everyone. That is why we ask residents what they consider most important with regard to comfortable living and what their experiences are with their renovated home in terms of temperature, air quality, noise, light, odour and aesthetics. The impact of the renovation in the short and long term and the influence of the different seasons are also taken into account. In order to get as complete a picture as possible of the situation in the renovated dwellings, a numerical assessment (quantitative) by residents is supplemented with the motivation for this assessment (qualitative), and attention is also paid to the behaviour of residents and the composition of households.
Successful renovation with room for improvement
For residents, a comfortable home is primarily one with a comfortable temperature and good insulation. Good maintenance, sound-proofing and safety are also seen as preconditions for a comfortable home, as are less measurable features such as cosiness and atmosphere. The neighbourhood is also important for living comfort. Residents also consider a safe, quiet and tidy environment important.
Within the framework of this study, experiences with the home itself will be examined in more detail. In this respect, the renovation appears to have improved the living comfort for the majority of residents. This is reflected in higher ratings than before the renovation, as well as positive experiences in the areas of temperature and air quality. The renewed appearance of the dwellings and thus the streetscape were also praised. One comment was that poorly maintained privately owned dwellings were not included in the renovation, resulting in major aesthetic differences between dwellings in a block with speckled ownership.
One of the main goals of the renovation also seems to have been achieved: the majority of residents use considerably less energy and see this reflected in their energy bills. However, there are also several households that come up against specific defects and problems, resulting in an overall negative evaluation on their part. They expect a more careful handling of the renovation and active aftercare from the housing corporation.
Comfortable living all year round
Om een beeld te verkrijgen van het ervaren wooncomfort in verschillende seizoenen, meten we twee keer: een keer over de ervaringen in winter, een keer over de ervaringen in de zomer. Tijdens elke meting wordt digitaal een enquête verspreid met als doel inzicht te verkrijgen in de ervaringen van een grote groep bewoners. In aanvulling daarop nemen we bij een selectie van bewoners diepte-interviews af. Tijdens deze interviews gaan we uitgebreid in op het ervaren wooncomfort en specifieke klachten en wensen van bewoners over hun woning en energieverbruik. In samenwerking met technisch onderzoeksbureau Technosense bekijken we hoe het onderzoek verrijkt kan worden door met behulp van slimme meters kwantitatieve data te verzamelen over temperatuur, CO2-percentages en verbruik van gas en elektra.
In order to obtain a picture of the experienced living comfort in different seasons, we are doing the measurement in two rounds: once to monitor experiences in winter, and the second to monitor experiences in summer. During each measurement, a digital survey is distributed in order to gain insight into the experiences of a large group of residents. In addition, we conduct in-depth interviews with a selection of residents. During these interviews, we look in detail at the perceived living comfort and specific complaints and wishes of residents about their home and energy consumption. In cooperation with technical research agency Technosense, we are looking into how the research can be enriched by using smart meters to collect quantitative data on temperature, CO2 percentages and the consumption of gas and electricity.
Results and follow-up
About sixty households participated in the first measurement, the winter measurement, in March 2021. The findings were shared with the housing corporation in the interim and in a final presentation. Woonbron immediately addressed any bottlenecks or complaints from residents - such as a jammed door or a crack in the façade - so that their living comfort can be raised to the desired level. In this way, the research contributes directly to a better renovation process. The other insights contribute mainly to knowledge development in the field of comparable renovations and their impact.
In the summer of 2022, an information market will be held in the neighbourhood, focusing on themes such as liveability and sustainability. During this event, the results of the survey will be fed back to the residents and Woonbron will explain the follow-up actions.