This could be the year you finally retrofit and insulate your home. Read on for practical steps and how to avail of government support..
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By the end of last year, close to 48,000 homes were upgraded with grant supports from SEAI following the launch of the SEAI National Housing Retrofit Scheme in February 2022. Studies show that improving your home's Building Energy Requirement (BER) adds value to your property and that advancing by a simple level, from C2 to C1, for example, equates to a 1% increase in property value.
Even with the increased Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) grants to cushion the cost, the decision to retrofit the house you have been living in for years is a significant undertaking.
A deep retrofit encompasses everything from attic and wall insulation; new windows and doors; conversion of heating system from gas/ oil to a heat pump; advanced ventilation and photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for electricity generation. It places substantial demand on homeowners who must decide whether they can afford both the financial outlay and the domestic upheaval of a deep retrofit. It is hugely inconvenient to have to vacate your home for four to eight weeks while the project is being undertaken. However, increasing numbers of people living in damp, cold homes which are expensive to run, are willing to accept temporary hardship in return for a warm, comfortable, energy-efficient home that is healthier and significantly cheaper to run.
Insulation is the first and most important step for your retrofitting process. regardless of the insulation type you choose; research shows that you will experience an improvement in comfort and heat loss will reduce significantly.
About 60% of the energy in our homes is used for heating to keep it warm and comfortable and we use about three times more energy to heat our homes than we do to power our appliances, mainly because of the prevalence of low-quality housing in Ireland which leak a large amount of heat. A significant impact can be made by reducing the amount of energy required to keep homes warm and moving towards using non-fossil fuel based energy sources.
The attic is one of the biggest areas of heat loss in the home. Retrofitting and insulating your attic pays substantial dividends. When attic spaces are insulated, heat is kept below the ceiling and circulates inside the rooms. Proper attic insulation is the best way to prevent heat losses in the winter and retain cool air in the summer.
Current building regulations and SEAI guidelines recommend a minimum of 300mm of insulation on rafters above ceilings, or 150/200mm of open-cell insulation spray foam between rafters. SEAI offers generous grants (for example, €6,000 for a detached house) towards insulation upgrades.
Another frequent culprit for heat loss in the house is the floor, usually because it hasn’t been adequately insulated or is badly fitted. Your contractor will advise you on whether you need to take up the floor and insulate the slab, and you might also consider installing an electric underfloor heating system under the laminate floor that can be wired back into your house.
The SEAI provides grants of up to 50% of the cost of a deep retrofits, up to a maximum payout of €25,000 and most of the main lenders, including Bank of Ireland, AIB, Credit Unions and An Post also offer preferential rates for retrofit work on your home.
However, a higher BER could add substantially to your home's value, which will also be significantly healthier and more comfortable and considerably less expensive to run - all good reasons for homeowners to consider taking the plunge.
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