The first three meetings will take place on Thursday 22 May, Thursday 26 June and Thursday 25 September (at 8 p.m. in De Som village hall). A fourth Energy Evening is planned for after September. The Smarter Together Energy Evenings are organised in collaboration with Actief Rijnwoude and Energiek Alphen aan den Rijn.

Anyone can start taking energy-saving measures at home. This is certainly not always easy. For example, how do you ensure that sufficient fresh air enters your home after insulating and sealing gaps? During the Energy Evenings, we look at important points of attention and solutions together.

“We bring residents with similar homes together to share experiences, questions, plans, wishes and ideas. By talking to neighbours, you can learn from each other's approaches and experiences. Together, you can come up with practical and affordable solutions. What's more, many measures can be prepared, implemented and/or outsourced jointly,” says coordinator Gijs Pool of Energiek Alphen aan den Rijn.

The Smarter Energy Evenings are an initiative of the Hazerswoude-Rijndijk Oost Village Council, Actief Rijnwoude and Energiek Alphen aan den Rijn. From left to right: Mariska van Dorp, Gijs Pool, Bernadette Verhoef, Bernard Vertegaal, Peter Geerdink and Harry Körmeling.

‘Samen Slimmer’ also stands for the possibilities of using, storing and sharing locally generated sustainable energy from solar panels and wind turbines in a smarter way. With your neighbours, the neighbourhood, the sports club, local businesses or the school. Last year, Energiek Alphen launched ‘Samen Slimmer’ in Benthuizen. A pilot project is now underway here with a number of residents, businesses, a church and a sports club to explore the opportunities for shared energy use. Other communities and neighbourhoods in Alphen have also shown interest in this approach. Pool: “In Hazerswoude-Rijndijk Oost, we already want to take the first steps towards such a local energy community together.”

Programme
The first Energy Evening on Thursday 22 May will focus on two topics:

1. What does the year of construction of your home say about the possibilities and opportunities for insulation and energy saving?
2. How can we use self-generated sustainable energy more intelligently after the phasing out of the net metering scheme? We are also looking at the opportunities that a local energy community could offer in this regard.

During the Energy Evenings on 26 June and 25 September, we will take a closer look at new ways of heating, ventilating and cooling. Subsidy and financing options will also be discussed. We will tailor the programme to the information needs of the participants.

Sign up here to register and to express your specific interest in certain topics.

After 25 September, there will be a fourth evening about simple and affordable ways to save energy. Whether you rent or own your home, small measures often have more effect than you think. There are also opportunities to get started yourself with the help of subsidies. Energy handymen from Actief Rijnwoude and the Energy Coaches from Energiek Alphen can help you with this. You can already register for this evening, and we will keep you informed of the date and programme.

Would you like to know what you can do at home to save energy? Then ask here a consultation with an energy coach from Energiek Alphen.