More than one in three Dutch people think their homes are not heat-resistant enough on summer days. Dissatisfaction is greatest in South Holland, according to a survey. There is still much to be gained with heat-resistant construction.
On summer days, the temperature is 25 degrees or higher. 35 percent of Dutch people think that their home is not resistant to this, according to a survey by Kieskompas and press agency ANP among almost twenty thousand people.
The Netherlands suffered extreme heat again at the beginning of this month. In Maastricht it was 39 degrees, the fifth highest temperature ever measured in the Netherlands. This heat is no longer an exception in Europe.
In South Holland, more than 41 percent of residents find their homes insufficiently heat-resistant, the highest percentage of all provinces. In Drenthe, the percentage is the lowest (29 percent).
High temperatures are becoming more common as a result of climate change. Possible measures are sun protection or trees and plants that block the sun, says Andy van den Dobbelsteen, professor of Climate and Sustainability at TU Delft, to ANP.
‘Will have to adjust behavior’
We must realize that we will have to adapt our behavior to the changing climate, says Van den Dobbelsteen. For example, it is good to ventilate at night. “We mainly do that during the day now, but it is better to open the windows at night. Just like they do in southern countries.”
There is still much to be gained with climate-resistant construction, the professor thinks. For example, by looking further ahead. “We have to start building as if it is already 2050.” And in new housing estates, more account could be taken of the existing greenery, instead of cutting down existing trees and planting new ones. “It takes fifteen to twenty years for a tree to do its job properly.”