Project: Sustainable Housing for Strong Communities (Stronghouse)

Project information

Project manager at Linnaeus University
Krushna Mahapatra
Other project members at Linnaeus University
Brijesh Mainali
Participating organizations
- The Province of Drenthe (LB) and the Municipality of Noordenveld; the Netherlands
- Igemo; the Municipality of Roeselare; Vives University College; Belgium
- University of Vechta; the City of Bremerhaven; Atene Kom GmbH; Germany
- ProjectZero; Gate 21; Fors A/S; the Municipality of Albertslund; the Municipality of Fredensborg; iNudgeyou; Denmark
- University of Gothenburg; Spring AB; Linnaeus University; Sweden
- Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen; Orkney Islands Council; Great Britain
Financier
Interreg North Sea Region (grant agreement J-No 38-2-15-19) and Linnaeus University
Timetable
Jan 2020–Dec 2022
Subject
Sustainable built environment (Department of Built Environment and Energy Technology, Faculty of Technology)
Website
Buildup.eu/en/explore/links/proretro-project

More about the project

Energy renovation by individual homeowners is lagging. The impact of current support measures for these homeowners is limited because these measures are fractured and insufficiently based on the concerns of individual homeowners.

Stronghouse will adjust and redesign these measures based on a better understanding of the drivers that motivate homeowners – individually and on a neighbourhood level – to invest and reduce the environmental footprint of their homes. Together, these redesigned measures support homeowners in their journey from initial interest, to planning, financing and contracting energy renovation.

This project with an innovative focus on homeowner concerns aims to reduce the footprint of 15,000 homes, generate a 100 million euro investment and reduce CO₂ emissions by 25 kiloton. The project starts by analysing existing instruments on their impact. Sharing, (re-)organizing and enhancing them with complementary tools, Stronghouse raises their impact and delivers four, related support measures:

1. Instruments and tools that enable individual homeowners to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energies.
2. Neighbourhood-approach to organize the necessary scale and drivers to invest.
3. Market access for regional SMEs specialized in energy renovation for individual homeowners.
4. Adoption strategies for implementing these instruments, approach and market access.

The Stronghouse project has 19 partners (including four co-beneficiaries) from six countries around the North Sea. The project is coordinated by the Province of Drenthe, The Netherlands.

Professor Krushna Mahapatra and Dr Brijesh Mainali are project participants from Linnaeus University. Besides analysing the data from an energy renovation survey held amongst some 13,000 respondents, they will investigate the conditions for accelerating the energy renovation of Swedish detached houses, pursue the innovation journey of homeowners, develop one-stop-shop business model, and contribute to scientific evidence to support promotional strategies for energy renovation. By sharing their research results from the Växjö region and bundling knowledge and experience with other partners, the project gains an improved understanding of the drivers for energy renovation amongst homeowners.

The project is part of the research in the Sustainable Built Environment Research (SBER) research group and the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment Green Sustainable Development.