Frugal Dutchman invests in sustainability

Dutch households invested a staggering €14 billion in 2023 in making their homes more sustainable. Motivations for this include the environment, saving money, and living comfort. Most adjustments were made to lighting and insulation, and the expected expenditure in 2024 amounts to €5.6 billion. This is revealed in the 4th edition of Sustainable Living, a large-scale study by Multiscope among nearly 6,000 Dutch people.

The main drivers for this sustainability are:

1. A positive contribution to the environment (36%)
2. Reducing the energy bill (35%)
3. More comfortable living (29%) 

For more than half of the Dutch (55%), sustainability is only attractive if it leads to significant savings. Almost 4 in 10 (38%) value improving living comfort more than environmental gains.

Installing energy-efficient lighting is the most common adjustment in Dutch households (37%). This equates to adjustments in 3 million households. Over 2 in 10 (21%) made adjustments to home insulation and 20% to heating. Additionally, 16% invested in solar or wind energy.

Dutch people expect to invest €5.6 billion in home sustainability in 2024. The largest part of home sustainability (43%) will go to insulation. Additionally, Dutch households are expected to spend €2 billion on solar and wind energy, while 19% of the total will go to heating systems.
In total, 1.2 million households (26%) have taken sustainability measures with the help of financial schemes. They mainly used subsidies from the government and municipalities (18%). Subsidies from the government or municipality influenced 27% of Dutch homeowners who undertook home sustainability. 

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of households that made their homes more sustainable check their gas and energy consumption at least once a month. In the group that did not make their homes more sustainable, this is only 57%. According to the Smart Home Monitor 6.7 million Dutch households have a smart meter and 13% have a P1 meter. With these meters, households can keep an eye on the bill.

Read more about all the statistics on the Zonvak Magazine website.