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For example, you can tell from the year of construction what kind of insulation your home has. First check how old your house is? You can heredo.

Houses before 1920
From the time of construction, these homes are completely uninsulated. Single glazing was used in construction, no roof insulation, no floor insulation and no wall insulation. Houses of this year of construction, by the way, do not have a cavity wall. What you often already see with these houses is that additional (now outdated) insulating measures were later taken over time.

Houses between 1920 and 1974
From the time of construction, these homes are completely uninsulated. Single glazing was used in construction, no roof insulation, no floor insulation and no wall insulation. However, these homes often have a cavity wall. What you often already see with these houses is that additional (now outdated) insulating measures were later taken over time.

Houses between 1975 and 1982
These houses have moderate roof insulation (5-7cm) and moderate wall insulation.
Beginning in 1975, the “Building Act” began to set requirements for energy efficiency. However, the minimum insulation requirement for the roof and facade was only: RC = 1.3 m2K/W. Short explanation: the higher the RC, the better the insulation. For comparison, today the RC requirement is: 6 m2K/W for the roof and 4.5 m2K/W for the facade. So there is often some insulation, but it’s not much.

Houses between 1982 and 1999
These houses are moderately insulated from construction and have roof insulation, floor insulation, wall insulation and mechanical ventilation. Usually you will also see in these houses an HR combi boiler and the use of double glazing (especially in the living areas).

From 1988: the RC value requirement in the ‘Building Act’ increased from 1.3 to 2.0. Starting in 1992, it went from 2.0 to 2.5 (the higher the RC, the better the insulation).

In December 1995, the energy performance requirement (EPC) was included in the “Building Act” and from that point on, home insulation has been moving in the right direction. (The lower the EPC, the more energy efficient your home.)

The EPC for a home in 1995 was set at 1.5. In 1998, the EPC was already lowered to EPC = 0.8. During this period, people began to push forward more and more in the area of sustainability.


Houses from 2000 to 2014
Houses between 2000 and 2011 are simply well insulated. Roof insulation, floor insulation, wall insulation, mechanical ventilation and minimum HR+ glass were used in the construction.

The EPC requirement started at 1.2 in 2000 and was down to 0.6 in 2011. Thus, the requirements for energy performance of houses have again become more stringent at a rapid pace during this period.

Houses from 2015 onwards
Homes from 2015 onwards are very well insulated. Roof insulation, floor insulation, facade insulation, mechanical ventilation and minimum HR++ glass were used in the construction. The EPC requirement had now become 0.4 (where in 1995 it was 1.5).

As of July 1, 2018, new construction houses were no longer given a gas connection, and as of January 1, 2021, it is even required by law to build (nearly) zero energy buildings (BENG).

Also nice to know…….

The Dutch housing stock by construction period
20% of homes (1.4 million) are pre-war homes built before 1945
16% of homes (1.2 million) are postwar homes built between 1946 and 1964
18% of homes (1.3 million) of homes were built between 1965 and 1974
25% of homes (1.8 million) were built between 1975 and 1991
21% of homes (1.5 million) built from 1992 onwards
There are therefore approximately 7.2 million homes in the Netherlands, 80% of which have not been insulated, or have been insulated to a moderate degree, from the time they were built.

The development of the RC value:
1983: minimum 1.3 m2.K/W
1992: at least 2.5 m2.K/W
2012: minimum 3.5 m2.K/W
2015: minimum 3.5 floor, 4.5 facade and 6.0 roof (m2.K/W)

The development of the EPC (Energy Performance Coefficient)
1996: 1,4
1998: 1,2
2000: 1,0
2006: 0,8
2011: 0,6
2015: 0,4