The Netherlands’ goal is for all homes to be natural gas-free by 2050. Currently, the vast majority of homes in the Netherlands have natural gas-fired central heating (CH) boilers. These ‘mono boiler’ boilers will eventually have to be phased out. They will be replaced by a connection to a heat network, an electric heat pump or a hybrid heat pump. In May 2022, the Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning (Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening) announced that the mono system boilers in Dutch homes would be phased out from 2026.
This report explores options for phasing out the mono system boilers in homes through standardisation. By standardisation, we mean setting legal requirements that products or services must meet. For heating systems, for example, this could be about a standard for system efficiency, CO2 emissions or energy efficiency. The Foundation for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection (Stichting Natuur & Milieu) intends to contribute to the design of the policy instrument with this report on the design of a standard.
For different forms of standardisation, we describe the legal feasibility, the impact on homeowners, the costs of implementation for market players, and the enforceability. We then address the technical and financial feasibility for different categories of housing. Finally, we estimate how many homes would be affected by standardisation if it applied to different housing types and at different replacement times.