Low-energy lamps, radiator foil, washing at thirty degrees: combined, they save you a lot on your energy bills. Energy coach Huib from Energy Bank Netherlands Arnhem region visits people at home to see how they can reduce their energy bills. With a combination of useful technology and advice.

Poorly insulated

When you put groceries in your basket, you can add up the costs right away. Getting a clear idea of your energy costs takes a lot more work. Energy coaches from Energy Bank Netherlands help people with this. Volunteer Huib has been doing that for more than three years now. “The people we help live in council housing and these homes tend to be poorly insulated”, he explains. “But even then, you can still do something about your energy bill.” 

The Energy Bank’s customers regularly struggle to make ends meet. They apply to the Energy Bank themselves or they’re put in touch by someone they know, or by a local food bank, the municipality or Schuldhulpmaatje, a foundation that helps people with financial problems. On each visit, Huib brings along a big box full of useful kit. Like LED lights in all varieties and sizes and radiator foil. “I do things like that right away. People appreciate that: not just talk, giving practical help right away too.”

Complicated charts

Each visit includes sitting down to look at the energy bill together. “It can be 5 pages long”, Huib explains. “All those charts and figures shown on the bill don’t mean much to most people. Even with my experience I still think it’s pretty complicated.” One thing he always checks is the meter readings – are they right? “And are there peaks in energy use? Then we try to figure out together why that is. It could be a dryer, or long showers.”

Huib also checks the fridge and freezer. “If the inside’s covered in ice, then you know they’re not working properly anymore”, he says.  “Or they turn out to be more than twenty years old. So they might have been a bargain secondhand or picked up for nothing when auntie died, but in the end they’re costing people a fortune every year.”

One less thing to worry about

Huib tries to get a clear picture of what the costs are. “Put a plug-in energy monitor in the fridge socket and you can see exactly how much electricity it’s using. Too much? Then we check whether they’re eligible for the municipality’s household appliances scheme. Lots of people don’t even know this scheme exists. When the new appliance has been installed, you can see the relief on their faces. It really is one less thing to worry about.”

Another important thing the energy coach does is to talk about changing behavior. “Because, in the end, that’s what has the most impact on the energy bill”, Huib emphasizes. “Things like turning the heating down a degree or two, using the eco setting on the washing machine and hanging washing up to air-dry instead of putting it in the dryer.” Huib visits most people three times. “But sometimes I need to make six visits. People get so much information – it helps to repeat things”, he explains.

Special feeling

For bigger practical jobs, like insulating pipes or hanging up an extra curtain to keep draughts out, in 2025 the Energy Bank arranged to work with local handyman teams from BuurtKlusBedrijf.  They also employ people who are at a disadvantage when looking for work – a win-win situation.

Huib can contact the local handyman team himself to get them to do a job. “Recently I asked them to hang up a draft-excluder curtain in the stairwell at the home of an elderly man who happens to live near me. I met him a couple of weeks later. ‘That curtain was a great idea. I’m really pleased with it!’ he said. It gives you a special feeling when that happens.”