First ask the question: should this monument be made more sustainable?

Description

This awareness that you have to work on a larger scale than the individual building is also the basis of the roadshows that TU scientists recently held in Elburg.

‘Here we do not ask the question: how do we make the monumental fortress of Elburg more sustainable, but how do we make the entire municipality climate neutral? Under the supervision of professors Craig Martin and Andy van den Dobbelsteen, students, civil servants, researchers and many others have completed eight months' work in three days. The study looked at, among other things, the storage of heat exchange in city canals, possibly a mini district heating system in the fortress.

They are big issues. You have to keep an eye on the total. Make a tight schedule, cut the whole thing into pieces. With eight solar panels per day you will eventually achieve one of the objectives. But, what do you do with excess capacity? Do you store it or convert the electricity into hydrogen? That poses greater explosion risks than gas. So instead of a hydrogen boiler in every house, or district heating is a better alternative.'

‘The KaDEr project has made it very clear that more control is needed from above. The people in the district and neighbourhood, the owners, who have to invest and you have to facilitate them. The exchange of knowledge is of great importance, as is cooperation. Such a Gelders Genootschap not only conducts a lot of research, but can also knock on the door of small municipalities in the countryside, estates and provinces, in other words at all levels.

The provincial government is lacking more and more practical knowledge. That takes revenge. Many grant applications are assessed from behind the desk. Only drawings and certificates are considered. On-site inspections are rarely carried out. While the people in the field can see hidden flaws. Energy scans are neatly subsidized, but it is especially useful if monument value and energy need are properly matched.'