Improving your energy label
Not every measure moves your label equally far. Working in the right order gets you one or two letters more for the same budget. Below is what weighs heaviest in practice.
Contents
Plan your label step
Pick the building period of your home and the measures you are considering. The planner weighs each measure against the standard insulation value (Rc) of your period from the ISSO 82.1 assessment protocol: for a roof from before 1965 (Rc 0.22) roof insulation brings a lot, for a roof from 2015 (Rc 6.0) almost nothing. If you know the current label, you also see which label is probably within reach after the plan. A certified EP advisor registers the official new label after an assessment.
Which energy label does the home have now?
With the current label we also estimate which label is within reach after the measures.
An indication, not advice
The planner gives an indication. It uses standard effects per measure, not the details of your home. Which measures really bring the most for your home, and which label you reach with them, you only know after an assessment.
Want to be sure? Then request tailored advice (maatwerkadvies): an advisor assesses your home and works out your plan. Tailored advice is always requested together with an energy label. Compare advisors for your address.
Questions about the planner
Why does insulating come before the heat pump?
The calculation method of the label rewards that order. A heat pump in a poorly insulated home has to run at a high temperature and is credited with a low efficiency; the same heat pump after insulation does deliver the big label step. Hence the advice for older periods: first roof, walls and glazing, then the system.
Why does the planner not count insulation for a home from after 2014?
Insulation requirements have applied since the 1992 building code and from 2014 they are considerably stricter: walls Rc 4.5, floor 3.5, roof 6.0. Adding insulation is still technically possible, but brings so little label gain that it does not count in a plan. In those homes the gain is in the system and in your own generation.
How certain is the label after the plan?
It is an estimate with standard effects per measure, calculated from the midpoint of your current label class. For label G the planner uses the best-case G home, so that outcome is a lower bound. What a measure brings for your home exactly is determined by the advisor during the assessment; tailored advice is always made together with an energy label, in one assessment.
Checked by an EP advisor
Checked by a verified EP advisor on .
The facts and figures in this guide were checked.
Which measure moves the label most?
The way you heat weighs heaviest in the calculation. A heat pump or a district heating connection lowers primary fossil energy use more than any insulation measure. Own generation with solar panels follows.
That does not mean you should start with the heating. A heat pump in a poorly insulated home works inefficiently and leaves you cold. Envelope first, installation second.
The order that works in practice
- 1. The element that has had nothing. Find the gap: an uninsulated roof or a crawl space without floor insulation costs you more than half-finished work elsewhere.
- 2. The rest of the envelope. Cavity, floor and roof together, so the home starts holding its heat.
- 3. The heating. Only once the envelope is right does a heat pump come into its own.
- 4. Solar panels. They count directly and can be done independently of the rest.
- 5. Glazing. It helps, but less than often assumed, and it is relatively expensive per point gained.
When is tailored advice worthwhile?
As soon as you are considering more than one measure. Tailored advice calculates for your specific home what each step delivers, what it costs and how long the payback takes. That avoids the classic mistake: starting with the most visible measure rather than the most useful one. Tailored advice is always made together with an energy label: the advisor does both in one visit.
Does the label need to be assessed again?
Not always. A label does not update itself along with your renovation: if you want the improvement to count, an advisor reassesses the home and registers the new label in EP-Online. The exception is relabelling. Up to and including 24 months after the assessment, the advisor who registered the label can process certain improvements, such as HR++ glass instead of single glazing, without a new visit; the validity of the original label then stays the same. Keep invoices and product details of everything you have done, so the advisor can enter real values instead of unfavourable defaults.
What does a new assessment cost?
Through Energielabel24 an energy label for a home costs between €150 and €495. Also see the energy label classes from A to G to judge which step is realistic for you.
Improving in numbers
| Heaviest factor | The way you heat |
| Second factor | Own generation, such as solar panels |
| Third factor | Insulation of roof, walls and floor |
| Lightest factor | Glazing: it helps, but less than often assumed |
| Order | Envelope first, then the installation: a heat pump only works in a home that holds its heat |
| New label needed | To make the improvement count, yes: a new assessment, or sometimes relabelling within 24 months of the assessment |
Frequently asked questions
Which measure improves my energy label fastest?
Replacing the heating weighs heaviest in the calculation, followed by solar panels. But do not start there: a heat pump in a poorly insulated home works inefficiently. Envelope first, installation second.
Do I need a new assessment after renovating?
Not always. A label does not update itself, so for a better label an advisor reassesses the home and registers the new label in EP-Online. Up to and including 24 months after the assessment, the advisor who registered the label can also process certain improvements without a new visit: this is called relabelling.
Which paperwork should I keep?
Invoices and product details of insulation, glazing, installations and solar panels. With those the advisor can enter real values instead of unfavourable default values.
Is tailored advice worthwhile?
As soon as you are considering more than one measure. It calculates per measure what it delivers, what it costs and how long the payback takes.
Sources
The rules and definitions on this page come from the official sources below. Last checked on 24 September 2026.
Compare for yourself
Compare advisors for your address
Enter your postcode and house number to see which certified advisors cover your address, and the rate each one sets.
Free and without obligation. You only pay the advisor you choose.
Rather ask a question first? Read the frequently asked questions
