Consumer

Rochusbuurthuis De Buut: control over energy, more room for comfort.

With 13 solar panels, 8.7 kWh of battery storage and integrated energy management, the community centre can use more of its own energy when it is needed.

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Logo Bozon Eindhoven

Installer

Bozon Eindhoven

Year

2025

INSTALLED PRODUCTS

Taylor 425 Wp solar panels Taylor Stacked Battery Taylor 3-phase Hybrid Inverter Taylor Gateway Taylor Energy Manager

From dependence to generating and using energy on its own terms.

Rochusbuurthuis De Buut has been the central meeting place in Eindhoven’s Rochusbuurt neighbourhood for more than 40 years. The building, a former pub dating back around a century, is run by volunteers and hosts activities ranging from shared meals and yoga classes to neighbourhood gatherings. That social role also comes with a challenge. Energy consumption is relatively high, while the community centre operates with limited resources and depends heavily on volunteers. During the COVID period, its finances came under pressure. When energy prices rose sharply afterwards, the situation became urgent. “Our energy bill suddenly tripled. We simply couldn’t afford that,” says Frank van der Laak. That was the moment De Buut started looking seriously at ways to make the building more energy efficient and less dependent on the grid.

Rochusbuurthuis De Buut has been the central meeting place in Eindhoven’s Rochusbuurt neighbourhood for more than 40 years. The building, a former pub dating back around a century, is run by volunteers and hosts activities ranging from shared meals and yoga classes to neighbourhood gatherings. That social role also comes with a challenge. Energy consumption is relatively high, while the community centre operates with limited resources and depends heavily on volunteers. During the COVID period, its finances came under pressure. When energy prices rose sharply afterwards, the situation became urgent. “Our energy bill suddenly tripled. We simply couldn’t afford that,” says Frank van der Laak. That was the moment De Buut started looking seriously at ways to make the building more energy efficient and less dependent on the grid.

A solution that fits the building and its situation

The community centre occupies a wide, deep corner building facing south, with large windows. As soon as the sun comes out, temperatures inside rise quickly.

“When it’s 30 degrees outside, it can easily reach 35 inside. We had wanted air conditioning for some time, but the additional energy use made us hesitant.”

Comfort and energy use therefore had to be considered together. Solar panels alone would not solve the full challenge.

Through local residents, De Buut was introduced to installation company Bozon Eindhoven. The feedback from people in the neighbourhood was consistently positive.

“What we kept hearing was that they think along with you, install everything neatly and remain available afterwards with good service. That gave us confidence.”

Bozon Eindhoven, and Sebastiaan Bogaarts in particular, looked critically at what was feasible within the constraints of the building and the available budget.

The roof has a mansard design, combining sloped and flat sections. This called for a carefully considered layout that balanced energy yield, visibility from the street and practical installation requirements.

Within the €15,000 subsidy budget, a solution was developed that focused both on generating electricity and on using that energy intelligently inside the building.

One system for generation, storage and consumption

The final solar energy system consists of:

  • 13 solar panels installed across two flat roof sections

  • an 8.7 kWh battery

  • control and monitoring through one integrated system

The configuration was tailored to the building and the way it is used. The panels were deliberately installed on the flat roof sections so they remain out of sight from the street while still benefiting from favourable solar exposure.

It was equally important that the installation made it possible to rethink how energy is used in the building.

The air conditioning that had previously been postponed could now be installed.

“At first, we didn’t think it was responsible because it would use so much extra electricity. With our own generation and a battery, that changes the equation.”

By generating electricity during the day and storing it for use later in the evening, De Buut can add comfort without automatically increasing energy costs or placing additional demand on the grid.

Installation and support in practice

The installation was far from standard. The building consists of a ground-floor community space and an upstairs apartment, with one main grid connection and separate sub-meters.

That made the initial system configuration more complex.

“It took some figuring out at the beginning. In the end, everything was configured properly and now it works as it should.”

Taylor’s support helped with correctly configuring the installation.

The collaboration with Bozon Eindhoven was also valued, particularly because the team worked within both the practical and financial constraints of the project.

“They really looked at how we could get the most out of the available budget, including the air conditioning. That was important to us.”

First results and next steps

The installation has not yet been running for a full year, so the first complete annual energy statement is still to come. Even so, the initial experience has been positive.

The expectation is that during the summer months, the community centre will need very little electricity from the grid.

“If everything works as expected, we’ll run entirely on our own generation during the summer and use that energy in the evening through the battery.”

Attention is now shifting towards gaining more insight into and control over the building’s overall energy use.

De Buut is therefore exploring whether a dynamic electricity contract could be worthwhile and how consumption can be aligned more closely with its own generation, for example for heating, cooling and other building systems.

That fits the broader motivation behind the investment, which is both financial and social.

“A lot of people in the neighbourhood are working on making their homes more sustainable. As a community centre, we want to take responsibility too.”

More control over energy

What is already clear is that moving to an integrated energy system gives De Buut more control over both consumption and generation.

For a community centre that relies on volunteers and limited resources, that control helps create a more sustainable basis for the future.

“You simply have more control. And that gives peace of mind.”