Thermal Photograph of Brussels

Housing related energy consumption amounts to 40% of the total energy consumption in Brussels. Each household spends an average of 1400€ each year for energy!

Improving energy efficiency in the housing stock is key if we are to cut the carbon footprint of our cities and it clearly and directly impacts a region’s environmental footprint and vulnerability to energy price increases. Seeing this, the government of the Brussels-capital region is stimulating urban energy efficiency improvements with a string of financial incentives available to home owners  and lease holders. This year, 12million € will be distributed to households, associations and businesses making energy improvements to their buildings: insulation, windows, heating or renewable energy equipment, high-efficiency appliances …

To help you take advantage of these incentives and cut your home energy use, we’ve put together an overview of incentives, conditions and procedures in English.

Please note that this English language overview is for information purposes only.  Verify all details and accuracy on the web site of Bruxelles Envrionnement.

The Incentives

The citizens of the Brussels-Capital region are entitled to various financial incentives in addition to federal tax cuts associated with investments in energy efficiency improvements or the production of renewable energies.

tebiki’s Quick Overview of Regional Energy Efficiency Incentives in Brussels will help you quickly understand what you can expect:

Quick Overview of Regional Energy Efficiency Incentives in Brussels

The region offers cash back for investments for energy audits, insulation, heating systems, energy-efficient appliances, solar energy systems…

Payments are increased by 10% if improvements are carried out in priority zones. These zones are known as EDRLR and cover a large area of the center of Brussels: see brown area on the map.

Depending on the commune you live in, you might also be entitled to more funding:

• Anderlecht: Solar water heaters, photovoltaic systems (PV solar panels), green roofs. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)
• Berchem-Sainte-Agathe: Regional incentive caps are increased to 75% of costs, with a maximum of 250€ per household.
• Commune of Bruxelles-Ville: Solar water heaters. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)
• Evere: Solar water heaters, photovoltaic systems (PV solar panels), green roofs. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems, compost systems)
• Ixelles: 20% of regional incentives, with a maximum of 500€. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)
• Koekelberg: Solar water heaters, photovoltaic systems (PV solar panels).
• Molenbeek-Saint-Jean: 10% of regional incentives, with a maximum of 250€. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)
• Uccle: Solar water heaters, green roofs. (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)
• Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: (non energy related: Rain water collection systems)

The Curbain has full details on procedures and details for each commune. They also offer support services.

Conditions

These allowances are available to every home owner and tenant in the region of Brussels-capital.

Incentives are adjusted according to the households’ revenues. The default group is Category A: households with revenues above 60000€ per year for a single person or 75000€ for a couple. Full info on these categories on page 4 of the Bruxelles Environnement’s general conditions for the program.

All construction work or equipment installation shall be carried out by a professional contractor.

The alloted budget for 2011 is 12million €. Authorities might change conditions or stop certain programs according to funds available. If a change should occur before the end of the year, changes will be announced two weeks before they become effective.

Procedures

All documents can be found on Bruxelles Environnement’s website. The procedure households is quite simple:

• Step 0: Ask your chosen contractor for all technical information you will need to fill out the forms (see specific form for each incentive). Your contractor will also provide the official technical certificates necessary for your file to be approved. All contractors should be familiar with the process. If construction work will be taking place at your home, take pictures of current conditions.
• Step 1: Carry out the investments or purchases.
• Step 2: Fill out the forms and gather all necessary documents after work is finished.
• Step 3: Send the file to Sibelga (see page 9 of the general conditions for the address). You file must be sent within 4 months of the date of invoice, and before 29th February 2012.
• Step 4: Your file will be processed within 8 weeks.
• Step 5: If your file is accepted, you will receive a confirmation and payments within 4 weeks. If your file is missing, Sibelga will ask for any missing information.

Resources

See Bruxelles Environnement’s website and general conditions. The Curbain can give assistance on energy efficiency, and APERe holds an information counter on renewable energy systems for your house.