Nature-friendly insulation

When you make changes to your home, you can disrupt the lives of animals. This happens, for example, when you insulate your house, install an extension, seal seams and cracks in the facade or install solar panels. But also when you do some major pruning or remove a shed. It is important to know what to look out for when taking measures in or around your home, so that you do not endanger protected species. Even if you have work done by a company, you are responsible as the client to protect nature.

Nature-friendly insulation protects plant and animal species

Do you have plans to insulate? Nice! By doing so, you will save energy and help make your home and your community more sustainable. Unfortunately, insulation can have adverse effects on animals. You may inadvertently scare away or kill animals. From January 1, 2024, the protection of important natural values is therefore in the Omgevingswet. This law protects plant and animal species. This affects work such as post-insulation, a renovation or cutting down a tree. As a property owner, you must comply with the law. Since May 2024, insulation of private homes under Requirements may still continue: What does the Omgevingswet say about nature protection | Milieu Centraal   

You may not disturb protected animals

You must not disturb any protected animals. Around houses, these include bats, swifts and the house sparrow. Want to know which other animals are protected? On the website of NatuurInclusief you will find a list of all protected animals in the Netherlands.

Isolation measures that can disrupt animals

In the process of preserving your home, animals may be disturbed. Consider:

  • cavity wall insulation
  • exterior wall insulation
  • roof insulation
  • replacement of frames
  • insulation of parapets
  • photovoltaic panels
  • demolition of chimneys, barns, exterior walls or roofs

Step-by-step plan for nature-friendly insulation

There are a number of tools and rules to insulate your home in a nature-friendly manner according to the law. This does require that it is a ground-level home and that the home is not located in an outlying area. See also the website Nature-friendly insulation.

Choose an insulation company that works according to the 'nature-friendly insulation' method 

A certified insulation company works according to the rules of nature-friendly insulation, you can find an insulation company with a certificate near you here. You can engage the insulation company well before you start insulating so that they can first make your home nature-free. This involves taking measures so that animals can leave or no longer enter the home. There is then assurance that no animal will be present when the home is going to be insulated.

Nature-proofing your home is not allowed year-round. Actually insulating the home is. That means you should ask yourself in time when you want the work done by a certified insulation company. This will ensure that you can actually get started when you want to. 

Do you want to have your exterior roof insulated? If so, even advice from an ecologist is necessary. Remember to consult this one in good time as well.

Make the home nature-free according to the nature calendar

. Wildlife clearance is not allowed year-round. From April through July, for example, removing bats from their habitat is not allowed. Do you want to insulate during this period? Health then that you have already had the home nature-proofed during the period when this is allowed. The nature calendar indicates what is allowed during which period. Two important periods in the nature calendar to consider are the hibernation of bats and the maternity period. This means the following: 

  • From April through July, homes may not be naturalized
  • From August through October, however, homes may be made nature-free. The property may then be considered nature-free after 5 days. The same is true for the second half of March.
  • However, during the months of January, February and December, homes may be nature-free. The property may then only be considered nature-free after the winter period. This also applies to the second half of November.
  • There is a twilight zone in March and November. To know for sure if a property is nature-free after only 5 days or if the winter period must be waited, an ecologist can determine. If you wait until spring, no ecologist is needed. 

Have the home insulated

Once the home is made nature-free, you may insulate at any time. During the insulation process, the insulation company also takes nature into account. For example, small spaces in the cavity are kept available for bats and nesting boxes for swifts and house sparrows are installed.

You want to insulate yourself?

Do-it-yourselfers, of course, are not certified to do nature-friendly insulation. Therefore, this means that it is not allowed to insulate a cavity wall or an exterior roof yourself. However, there are other work to insulate your home that you can do yourself: 

  • Floor insulation (up to the fourth floor)
  • Interior wall insulation
  • Glass replacement (excluding frames).
  • Glass replacement with frames at single-stone walls
  • Inner roof

My property is in the outlying area 

All homes outside residential areas are excluded from this scheme. For these, post-insulation requires first applying for a permit and hiring an ecological consultant to make the home nature-free. Only then can the home be insulated.  

Customized insulation advice

To draw up a good plan, you can use the expertise of the energy coaches at the Energy House Smart Housing, or the team at The Green Zone Insulate. 

At the Energiehuis Slim Wonen: you can get free independent information about smart energy saving and generation. The Energiehuis Slim Wonen (EHSW) is the energy desk for Nuenen, Helmond, Asten, Deurne, Geldrop-Mierlo, Someren and Gemert-Bakel. More than 90 volunteers work as savings and energy coaches. They are happy to look at the possibilities in your home with you. They can also help you request an offer or apply for subsidies. Through our energy desk Energy House Smart Living you can request a home visit or ask your question.

The Green Zone Insulation project is designed to help owners of homes built before 1990 throughout the insulation process. Both in terms of nature-friendly insulation and also with comprehensive advice on making your home more sustainable, obtaining reliable quotes for carrying out the work and taking advantage of subsidies. Visit The Green Zone Insulate to request a consultation. 

How the certified insulation company works

A certified insulation company works with subject matter experts who have completed the "nature-friendly insulation" training. They take protected animals into account. Certified companies proceed as follows: 

  • Before insulation work begins, the cavity is first cleared. This is called "wildlife clearance. Caps are then placed over the holes in the cavity so that bats can fly out but no longer fly in. 
  • They place replacement habitats for protected animals. For example, they hang cabinets for protected birds. For bats, they keep a space high up in the cavity where they can go in the future. They do this by using brushes to separate the space. It has a negligible effect on energy saving and does not give an extra risk of moisture problems. 
  • They do not start insulating until all the bats have left the cavity. They take into account the maternity period (when bats just have to fly in and out to feed their young) and hibernation (when bats don't come out for long periods of time). So to compensate for the lost space, they leave some extra space in the cavity AND municipalities hang extra bat boxes. You can also hang bird and bat boxes yourself. 
  • The company reports the work to the province. It checks whether the rules in the Omgevingswet are followed. 

Contact

Do you have any questions? If so, please contact the Sustainability team at Gemeente Nuenen at stroomversnelling@nuenen.nl.