The building sector plays a major role in order to meet the energy saving targets set in the EU and the Netherlands (SER, 2013; ürge-Vorsatz et al., 2007). Existing buildings are responsible for 36% of the CO2 emissions in the European Union (EU) (European Commission, 2008 and 2014). Moreover, among the end use sectors – industry, transport, households, services, fishing, agriculture, forestry and non-specified – households represent one of the most energy intensive sectors consuming 24.8% of the total final energy (European Commission, 2016a; EEA 2017). Two major directives are currently in force, on an EU level, to tackle the issue of energy efficiency improvement of buildings – the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Energy Performance Buildings Directive (EPBD) (European Parliament, 2010, 2012). Improving the efficiency of the building stock is a central pillar for the carbon reduction goals of the member states (MS) and the EU as a whole. Energy renovations in existing dwellings offer unique opportunities for reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a national scale in the Netherlands, but also on a European and global level. Due to the long lifespan of buildings, currently existing buildings will constitute a major part of the Dutch housing stock for several decades (Sandberg et al. 2016a). In the Netherlands, it is expected that the renovation activity will be greater than the construction and demolition activity in the future (Sandberg et al. 2016a). The rate at which energy renovations are realized and the energy performance level achieved after the renovations are crucial factors for an energy-efficient built environment. Energy renovation rates assumed by EU officials and policy makers usually range from 2.5-3% (Stadler et al. 2007; BPIE 2011; European Parliament 2012; Boermans et al. 2012; Dixon et al. 2014). However, at current rates it is claimed that more than 100 years will be needed to renovate the EU building stock (European Commission 2016). Furthermore, the ...