HORIS

Making our homes and buildings more energy efficient is crucial in the transition to a low-carbon future. An estimated 75% of EU building stock is energy inefficient. The renovation of public and private buildings is an essential action and prioritised in the European Green Deal. The goal of the HORIS project is to improve the energy efficiency of residential buildings and reduce energy poverty.

HORIS – Home Renovation Integrated Services, a project funded by the European LIFE programme, will update and advance an existing digital retrofitting platform called Green Menu (already available in Portugal by DGG and FCT NOVA). In addition, the HORIS project will build on the success of established tools like the ‘Self Scan’ developed by De Groene Grachten or Solutions4renovation by the Turnkey Retrofit project.

HORIS will create a digital one-stop-shop (OSS) with the aim of empowering homeowners (of several building types, including flats) during the home renovation process. Homeowners face several key barriers when deciding to retrofit their properties, such as uncertainty and lack of trust about reported energy savings. In addition, they also must choose a home renovation professional and navigate the complexities of the financial process.

The OSS/ Green Menu will:

• Focus on helping homeowners make decisions on improving energy efficiency; renewable energy solutions and identify support to reduce energy poverty.
• Simplify the home renovation process – by providing homeowners with relevant and credible information and helping them identify the best and most sustainable options.

By offering financial, legal and technical solutions, HORIS will facilitate a smooth customer journey, offering homeowners support on finding renovation professionals and guidance about financial schemes. HORIS will match financing, legal and regulatory, and technical solutions with specific building typologies and homeowners’ needs to streamline action for home renovation, developing standardised contractual arrangements for home renovation.

For whom?

The project will engage with small and medium sized stakeholders, including local and regional public authorities and non-profit organisations and establish a network of approved home renovation service providers.

Initially, the OSS will be set up in Italy, Spain and Portugal with the ambition of replicating in additional countries if needed.

HORIS will focus on 3 different types of homeowners:

• Single houses
• Condominium households
• Energy-poor households

HORIS will help overcome 3 main typical barriers blocking home renovation decision:

• Administrative, offering the management of work permits and report, assess, manage and process the bonuses and subsidies from which citizens can benefit from.
• Technical, advising homeowners on how they can improve their home and have access to lists/rankings/ratings of trusted and validated professionals to ensure a service of the highest quality on a given time.
• Financial, helping to find the right solutions available in the market and accompany the consumer in the management of subsidies and tax credits, also giving access to affordable financing.

HORIS, by generating multiple social, environmental, and economic benefits, is a unique opportunity for climate neutrality.

Co-funded by the European Union under project n°101120497. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.