Background

The vision of the EPI-SoHo project is to improve energy efficient and rational use of energy across social housing stocks within the EU Member States (EU MS) contribution to better standards of living and global environmental benefits.

Project aims

Based on experiences and existing instruments/tools derived from previous EU and national research and development, the EPI-SoHo project focuses on developing implementation techniques and structures in order to reach the following objectives:

• Create cost effective large scale energy assessments methods;
• Embed energy assessment data in policy processes such as social housing management (portfolio management), aiming at strategic and sustainable implementations of energy saving or energy efficient measures;
• Deliver an inventory of problematical issues concerning "cost-of-living" related to energy saving measures;
• Enabling giant leaps in energy saving, sustainable development and quality of social housing through narrow collaborative structures between local authorities, social housing associations and the private sector.

The implementation of the EPBD in the EU MS can only be successful if there is an appropriate balance between the energy costs and benefits, sufficient capacity for survey and assessment, additional values for the social housing management and (local) administrations and a closed quality circle to keep the
required energy data/certificates up-to-date. These are the mainstream ingredients for the (local) authorities, social housing associations and the private sector to adept the challenge called "EPBD in the market".

For successful implementation of the EPB directive, energy saving measures and CO2 emission reductions, many (institutional) barriers have to be broken or adjusted. In order to optimise the use of EPBD, the local scale of municipalities, owners and knowledge providers should be well equipped for this task. So called "Local arrangements" on energy saving programs in which these different groups are working together, are an important aim of the EPI-SoHo project.
Beside obligations driven by the EPBD, also corporate social responsibility at social housing associations and their stakeholders in realizing their objectives in the sense of the common triple-P2 vision is a strong driver for sustainable retro fittings within their housing stock. The EPI-SoHo approach and method meets the common triple P vision in the following ways:

• People: Creating better living conditions for low income and vulnerable target groups.
• Planet: Creating effective ways to reduce energy losses through feasible solutions and decrease energy demand through an inter-active energy awareness campaign.
• Profit: Creating optimal results through efficient assessment methods and high quality management choices through reliable data on energy performance.

Results

The results of EPI-SoHo consist of:

• A generic implementation technique for cost effective large scale energy assessments, needed as a base for policy making processes and social housing management;
• A generic implementation technique on embedding energy performance in policy making arena's and social housing portfolio management;
• A generic implementation technique for cooperative structures between local authorities, social housing associations and the private sector on sustainable issues;
• An investigation on institutional barriers for sustainable energy saving strategies;
• Dissemination of the EPI-SoHo results in relevant networks and sectors like the social housing real estate sector, consultancies, architects, tenant organizations, umbrella organizations and (local) national authorities, with special attention to the new European Union member states.

Duration

2006 - 2008

Contact

Eberhard Hinz (retired)

Funding

• Europäische Kommission Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE)

Further information

• www.epi-soho.eu (Link inaktiv: Stand 2020)
• EPI-SoHo-newsletter 2 (February 2008, 1.154 kB)
• EPI-SoHo-newsletter 3 (April 2008, 1.677 kB)