The Energy Savers
Short presentation of
 Who is KOMOSIE?
 Who are the Energy Savers?
▪
▪
▪
▪
Background and context
Activities
Added values
Lessons learned
 Outlook for further development
Source: BND Kortrijk vzw
FLANDERS?
KOMOSIE
Who we are
 KOMOSIE = KOepel van MilieuOndernemers in de SocIale Economie
= ‘Federation of environmental enterprises in the social economy’
▪ Social Economy? = not-for-profit organisations employing low
skilled long term unemployed people
 Established in ‘94 in order to group, represent and support social
economy enterprises that are related to environmental protection
 Federation of:
▪ all reuse centres (31) in Flanders
▪ (nearly) all “Energy Savers”-companies (34)
 Staff: 15 persons – 13,5 FTE
Short presentation of
 Who is KOMOSIE?
 Who are the Energy Savers?
▪
▪
▪
▪
Background and context
Activities
Added values
Lessons learned
 Outlook for further development
Source: BND Kortrijk vzw
The Energy Savers : How did it start?
 Academic study
(HIVA, 2006)
“There is potential in
developing social
economy activities
in the energy market”
High potential
for energy
saving in
Flanders
Drive for innovation
within KOMOSIE
Lot of green jobs! also for lower skilled or unemployed people?
“Let’s create in the social economy
a new sector energy saving”
The Energy Savers : How did it start?
 The minister of Social Economy launched the name
“Energy Savers” (end 2006)
 KOMOSIE was given the task to create this new sector in the social
economy
The Energy Cutters
“Energy Savers” are lower educated & long-term unemployed
people, trained to implement ‘energy saving interventions’.
▪ Lower educated and long-term unemployed:
▫ Working within a social economy organization
‘The Energy Saving Enterprise’
▪ Trained and supported:
▫ Within the own organisation
▫ Training by KOMOSIE or external partners ((Quality!)
▪ Additional social goal: give priority to lower income households
Facts and figures
 34 social economy
enterprises
 cooperation with
260 municipalities
(= 85%)
 ± 240 jobs
(145 FTE
“Energy Cutters”)
A picture of our sector today
Activities of the Energy Savers
1. Energy checks in homes
▪ since 2007
▪
70% of municipalities choose to cooperate
with “Energy Cutters” (from 50% in 2008)
▪ 21 400 in 2010
Source: BND Kortrijk vzw
2. Small energy-saving activities
▪ since 2008
▪ ~25 small ‘e-saving’ interventions
 Can be independent activity,
but often local lack of financing
Source: KOMOSIE vzw
Activities of the Energy Savers
3. Roof insulation
▪ since 2008
▪ 6-day training course
▪ in cooperation with the building sector
▪ > 1 200 roofs insulated in 2010
▪ about 70 Energy Cutters
 lots of subsidies, but “split incentives” and
lack of prefinancing for the low-income people,
Source: KOMOSIE vzw
Source: KOMOSIE vzw
1. The energy check
 An energy check = free screening of the ‘energy situation’
of a house, during which the resident receives energy saving
tips (= sensibilisation) and during which 4 energy saving
materials are installed
▪ Spare bulb, water saving shower head, pipe insulation and/or
insulation foil behind radiators
Sensibilisation and energy saving go hand in hand
1. The energy check: background & context
 Public service obligations of the Distribution System Operators
(DSO)
▪ Obligation to carry out 25.000 free energy checks per year (~1%)
▪ Financing:
▫ DSO gets 200 € from Flemish government  executor receives
max. 180 €
▫ DSO supports the executor with software, training, material
▪ Important role for the municipalities
▫ Choice of executor: own employees, DSO or a 3rd party e.g.
‘social economy’ (75%)
▫ Collecting addresses from target groups for this energy check
 This enabled the concrete start of the Energy Savers
1. The follow-up check – 2 types
 After the energy check for homes without dubble glazing or
roofinsulation, since 2010
 Goal = lower thresholds towards having these works executed
 Type 1: evaluation of the first (basic) energy check, comparison
of commercial energy suppliers, inform about al sorts of energy
subsidies and 5 additional energy saving interventions:
▪ switchable plugboards, aerate radiators, strips for window
and doors, timers on electrical waterboiler, thermostatic
radiatortaps
 Type 2: support in the whole process of information and placing
of roof insulation of glazing
▪ estimate (netto-)costs, measure and make a proposition for
potential building companies, evaluate offers, help with
application for subsidies
Added values
Our unique selling proposition:
1. approach tuned to the most vulnerable target group
2. lowering the threshold
- we go into the homes
- Energy Savers are ‘experts’ themselves (often from
vulnerable families), their empathy is real
- Energy Savers have more attention for the human aspects
and take their time for each visit
3. quality in what we do
Added values
2009
Social employment, energy saving, increasing of the
housing quality and poverty reduction
Energy savers are an ideal instrument
for a sustainable (local) policy
The added value of a federation to support the
network of Energy Savers
Research of new activities (innovation)
Policy follow-up and representation
Partnerships, external contacts (networking)
Member support:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Training and expertise-building
Professionalization: business plan,
legal advice, registration …
Quality management
Sector-building: stimulating exchange
of experiences and cooperation
Communication: website, tools...
Lessons learned
Our strenghts
 mulitple added values of the Energy Savers
 ambition to develop the posibilities on a countrywide level
 supported by an umbrella-organisation (KOMOSIE)
 supported by (Flemish) government and policy
 creating cooperation and bridges with othr actors
 social entrepreneurship of the 34 individual SE-companies
and their local and regional network
Lessons learned
Our weaknesses
 dependance on government funding
▪ customer readiness for payment for the energy check is low
▪  highly dependent on the (new) policy priorities
 re-employment of our employees in a traditional company
▪ The job of “energy checker” barely exists in regular economy?
▪ But: the Energy Saver acquires useful social and technical skills
 reaching socially vulnerable people is a job on it own!
▪ Trend towards making the scan available for everyone
▫  added values of social economy are less
▪ Tip: think ahead about simple and effective ways to reach and
convince your target group
Short presentation of
 Who is KOMOSIE?
 Who are the Energy Savers?
 Outlook for further development
▪ Our ambition
▪ total scan towards housing quality
▪ other larger energy-efficient works
▪ European exchange via EC-LINC
Source: BND Kortrijk vzw
Our ambition
Every Flemish municipality and citizen
should have the possibility to appeal to a
network of social economy enterprises for the
execution of a wide range of energy saving measures!
Innovation
from energy check towards the “total scan”?
 Energy check is useful, but more is possible
▪  extra attention to safety, watersaving, housing quality and
energy poverty
▪ ~= integration of logical policy domains as energy, housing,
individual well-being
 Few socially vulnerable people also effectivtely do the step towards
energy measures or investments that improve their living/home
▪  develop a flexible service that take more into account the
specific needs/situation of every person
Innovation
from energy check towards the “total scan”?
 KOMOSIE started the “Total scan project”
▪ ~= feasiabilty study
▪ Federal funding, 1 year (end june 2011)
▪ Research and development (training, quationaire …)
▪ Pilotproject (100 visits)
▪ Evaluation and policy recommandations
 Breakthrough june 2011:
▪ Flemish government decides “symbolically” to uncouple the
energy check from the Public service obligations of the DSO
towards an integrated energy and housing policy in future
Innovation
from energy check to larger energy-efficiency works
 Energy scan is useful, but more is possible within social economy
  Execution of larger energy efficiency works
▪ Insulation of roofs
▫ started in 2008 within the Energy Savers project
▪ Insulation of walls and floors (cellars) ?
▪ more intense cooperation with the regular building companies
▫ cooperation on the field (subcontracting …)
▫ re-employment of our employees in a traditional building
company
Recruitment
Social and
Immersion professional
requalification
Preparation
on leaving
 innovation project started since november 2010
▫ Project partners: the major buiding sector federations
Innovation
European exchange via EC-Linc project
 Goals:
▪ Development and implementation of methodology for
replicable energy checks tailored for low-income households
▫ via execution and evaluation of 1600 Energy Surveys
▪ (Re-)integration of long-term unemployed or low-skilled people
in the regular job market
▪ Promotion of rational use of energy and energy efficiency
 7 projectpartners from 5 countries:
▪ BEA (Berlin, projectcoördinator), DiCV Berlin (Caritas)
▪ KOMOSIE, Changeworks (UK), Energia Klub (Hongarije), RUSZ
and E7 (Austria)
 30 months, till november 2013
Questions?
More info:
www.energiesnoeiers.net
info@energiesnoeiers.net
KOMOSIE vzw
Uitbreidingsstraat 407
B-2600 Berchem
0032 3 281 03 30
www.komosie.be
info@komosie.be