The Paddepoel Nul-op-de-Meter retrofit was part of a 323-home improvement programme announced by housing association Lefier and construction partner Dura Vermeer in 2017. The programme covered homes in Stadskanaal and Groningen; its Groningen component was 120 apartments in the Paddepoel neighbourhood. 6
The partners signed their cooperation agreement in Stadskanaal on 28 June 2017. The project announcement was published on 4 July 2017. 6 The available sources do not give a separate founding date for the Paddepoel component.
The planned work included new ventilation and heating systems, insulated façades, window frames and windows, and new roofs fitted with solar panels. Lefier and Dura Vermeer described the intended outcome as Nul-op-de-Meter, or zero-on-the-meter homes. Dura Vermeer’s director, Stijn Daniëls, said the company could guarantee that energy performance for 40 years using measures including solar panels, heat-pump systems and prefabricated building components. 6
Resident consultation was part of the delivery process. Lefier and Dura Vermeer said they would inform residents from the outset, including through home visits to explain the plans and their effects. The retrofit would proceed if at least 70% of residents agreed. 6
The larger programme also covered 203 single-family homes in Maarswold, Stadskanaal. Lefier director of property, Pieter Witzenburg, said the work supported the association’s goal of making its housing stock energy-neutral and aimed to improve comfort while keeping tenants’ energy bills level or reducing them. 6