My Houzz: Renovation Brings Energy Efficiency to a Netherlands Home
A family of 5 tackles a potentially large gas and electric bill in a 19th-century house
Ever walk by a large, elegant home and wonder about the heating bill? When Hans Mulder and Marijke Gantvoort decided to bid on a large, 19th-century house in the Netherlands for their family of five, the utility company in the city of Haarlem gave them an estimated energy bill of $1,330 (1,200 euros) a month, based on the energy consumption of the five-member family living in the identical attached home next to it. It confirmed what Gantvoort, a licensed architect, knew: Heating and illuminating the large house with its tall ceilings was going to be a major challenge.
Taking out the oil-burning furnace and adding insulation to the walls and roof was just the start of their energy efficiency overhaul. They also added solar panels, installed radiant heated floors and made sure all the windows and doors were insulated with weather stripping. The results have reduced the family’s energy bill to one-quarter of the original estimate.
Taking out the oil-burning furnace and adding insulation to the walls and roof was just the start of their energy efficiency overhaul. They also added solar panels, installed radiant heated floors and made sure all the windows and doors were insulated with weather stripping. The results have reduced the family’s energy bill to one-quarter of the original estimate.
Renovating the house involved demolishing the walls. After newly insulated walls were built, some of the architecturally unique features, such as this fireplace, were reinstalled.
The efficient wood-burning fireplace also helps with the energy bills. About 83 percent of its heat is directed to the interior of the home, with 17 percent going up the chimney.
Painting: Marijke Gantvoort
The efficient wood-burning fireplace also helps with the energy bills. About 83 percent of its heat is directed to the interior of the home, with 17 percent going up the chimney.
Painting: Marijke Gantvoort
The windows also got an energy overhaul. Most were replaced with monument glass, a type of insulated window glass with an outer layer patterned to mimic old glass.
The windows in a bathroom and one window in the kitchen were replaced with vacuum glass, a specialty glass manufactured in Japan with an energy efficiency on par with triple-pane glass. It’s expensive, but homeowner and architect Marijke Gantvoort wanted to use it as a test case to see how it worked for a residence. Ten years later, she’s happy to report, it’s still going strong.
Eames table and chairs: Design Within Reach
The windows in a bathroom and one window in the kitchen were replaced with vacuum glass, a specialty glass manufactured in Japan with an energy efficiency on par with triple-pane glass. It’s expensive, but homeowner and architect Marijke Gantvoort wanted to use it as a test case to see how it worked for a residence. Ten years later, she’s happy to report, it’s still going strong.
Eames table and chairs: Design Within Reach
Every room in the house has its own thermostat so the heat can be adjusted as the family moves throughout the house. “Adding these thermostats has reduced our overall energy use dramatically,” Gantvoort says.
The wood-burning stove in the dining room adds to the atmosphere and helps warm the two front rooms in the cooler seasons.
Painting: Marijke Gantvoort
Painting: Marijke Gantvoort
The dining room is without curtains. Instead, each window has its own pocket door, installed when the house was built. “When it gets dark we simply close up all of the panels. This makes the rooms more intimate while saving energy, ” Gantvoort says.
The kitchen is in a part of the house that used to be the back porch. Gantvoort designed the natural oak cabinetry and shelves, which were built by a local carpenter.
Range and hood: Viking
Range and hood: Viking
A kitchen wall that opened onto an interior outdoor courtyard was removed and the courtyard was incorporated into the kitchen space. Gantvoort had the brick wall repointed and left the existing door and window leading to the rest of the house in place.
A glass skylight was installed to cover the original courtyard. “The skylight brings the outside indoors, adding tons of natural light, a bonus in the darker months in this northern country,” Gantvoort says.
A glass skylight was installed to cover the original courtyard. “The skylight brings the outside indoors, adding tons of natural light, a bonus in the darker months in this northern country,” Gantvoort says.
The powder room is on the first floor off the foyer.
Upper painting: Marijke Gantvoort; lower painting: Liesbeth Heikens
Upper painting: Marijke Gantvoort; lower painting: Liesbeth Heikens
The original marble in the foyer was lifted up during the renovation and replaced once the floors were resurfaced. “We put in radiant heated floors over the very well-insulated floors.” Gantvoort says. “Radiant heat is more comfortable than air heating because of the mass of heat that is trapped.”
The wood on the stair treads was stripped and finished in a natural oil. The copper-green railings ended up that color as a serendipitous result of the stripping.
Although much of the house was stripped down to a shell during the renovation, nothing of historical value, such as this circular window, was altered.
Painting: Liesbeth Heikens
Painting: Liesbeth Heikens
The room’s Ikea furniture, including these birch bookshelves, has survived multiple moves.
Billy bookshelves: Ikea; sofa: family heirloom
Billy bookshelves: Ikea; sofa: family heirloom
The master bedroom is simple, with a full wall of built-ins for storage.
Bed and matching storage bench: Sand; light fixture: Normann Copenhagen
Bed and matching storage bench: Sand; light fixture: Normann Copenhagen
The windows in the master bedroom open onto a small balcony. Pocket doors original to the house can be used for insulation here as well.
The guest room is simply furnished, and the bed, on wheels, can be moved as needed.
Bed: Ligne Roset; storage units: Kewlox
Bed: Ligne Roset; storage units: Kewlox
The children’s bedrooms are on the third floor, which had been an unfinished attic.
1950s vintage chair, a relative of the Orange Slice chair: Artifort
1950s vintage chair, a relative of the Orange Slice chair: Artifort
The son’s bed fits perfectly in the nook of his room.
Dresser and trundle bed: Ikea; vintage chair: Arne Jacobsen; light fixture: Ikea
Dresser and trundle bed: Ikea; vintage chair: Arne Jacobsen; light fixture: Ikea
The main bathroom was recently renovated. A heat-exchange tube captures the heat of hot water from the drains to preheat the cold water running to the showerhead. The temperature is adjusted through a self-regulating thermostat. “Using this heat-recovery method means you use 40 percent less hot water to reach a comfortable temperature of 98 degrees Fahrenheit,” Gantvoort says.
The family owns a dryer, but it’s rarely used. Clothes are usually hung on an indoor line that’s easily reached, even though it’s hung from the ceiling. Towels and linens are draped over the banister in the stairwell to dry.
The boiler room, in a small room above the kitchen, contains the water tanks, pumps and meters. Water and heat are efficiently distributed from this central location.
The house is on a corner of an angled street. The building, which was occupied by the Germans in World War II, is divided into two residences. The family lives on the right side.
“The combination of our solar panels and shares in electricity-producing wind turbines make our power use 100 percent carbon-dioxide-neutral,” says Gantvoort, seen here at the bookshelf in her dining room. “Another bonus is that every detail on our energy use can be monitored from an app, Net2Grid, on my phone.”
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Hans Mulder and Marijke Gantvoort and their three children, Winona, 21, Luce, 19, and Wessel, 16
Location: Haarlem, The Netherlands
Size: 3,800 square feet (353 square meters); five bedrooms, 2½ baths
Year built: 1880
The two main rooms on the ground floor of the house are large, with tall windows and 13-foot ceilings.
Axium sofa, chair and ottoman, designed by Gijs Papavoine: Montis