Typical Heat Loss from Your Home

Attic Insulation

Attic insulation is a badly neglected aspect against heat in older Irish homes.

Why should you consider retrofitting the attic insulation? Poor attic insulation eats into your annual energy bills. Retrofitting or addition of extra thickness in old buildings is encouraged by the government by way of grants and financial aid.

The schemes and grants are available through Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI).

Cavity Wall Insulation

Thermobead Injected Cavity Wall Bead System

We offer a complete energy service to the homeowner

Consistent high performance bead
Suitable for cavities from 50mm upwards
Independently assessed installation crews
Up to 20% better than conventional systems

Our injected cavity wall bead system, is offered as the best solution for block construction, whether in new build or upgrade.

With full Irish Agrement accreditation, continually monitored throughout production for correct densities and using fully trained installers, independently assessed by Irish Agrement, we offer the quality of product and service you would expect from one of most well established insulation system installers in Ireland.

Solar Thermal Water Heating

Solar water heating is the most common application of active solar thermal in Europe. A correctly sized solar water heating system can provide up to 70 % of your hot water heating requirement with free solar energy.
Solar Water Heaters are cost-effective, efficient, and eco-friendly way to generate up to 70% of the hot water you need for you home. If you are looking for hot water for showers, for washing or for a low-cost source of heat, a Solar Hot Water System may be the solution for you. There are many different types of systems and it is important to choose the correct option.
The Green Build Centre will assist you in your decision, accounting for your hot water requirements, any obstacles or restrictions you may have, methods of roof mounting and your buildings orientation, where we recommend the system that we feel will best suit your needs, circumstances and budget.

BER

What is it?

A BER is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance like your fridge. The label has a scale of A-G. A-rated homes are the most energy efficient and G the least efficient.
From the 1st of January 2009 a BER certificate is compulsory for all homes being sold or rented. If you are buying or renting a new house or apartment now, you are entitled to a BER.
Along with the BER certificate, you will also receive an Advisory Report which will help you to identify how you might improve the energy performance of your home.

A BER is based on the characteristics of major components of the dwelling (wall, roof and floor dimensions, window and door sizes and orientations) as well as the construction type and levels of insulation, ventilation and air tightness features, the systems for heat supply (including renewable energy), distribution and control, and the type of lighting. It covers annual energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting and associated pumps and fans, calculated on the basis of a notional standard family with a standard pattern of occupancy.

The energy performance is expressed as:

(a) primary energy use per unit floor area per year (kWh/m2/yr) represented on an A to G scale (see BER certificate); and
(b) associated Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions in kgCO2/m2/yr (see BER Certificate)

A BER is only an indication of the energy performance of a house. Actual energy usage will depend on how the occupants operate the house. In that way it is similar to the concept of a fuel economy (miles per gallon or litres per 100 km) rating for a car.

A BER does not cover electricity used for purposes other than heating, lighting, pumps and fans, i.e. does not include for cooking, refrigeration, laundry etc.

What are the benefits of a BER?

A BER makes the energy performance of a home visible to prospective buyers and tenants and enables them to take energy performance into consideration in their next house purchase or rental decision.

How long is a BER valid for?

A BER is valid for up to 10 years provided that there is no material change to the dwelling that could affect its energy performance. The maximum term of validity of a Provisional BER is 2 years.

Grants

The Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme provides grants to homeowners who are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their home in order to reduce energy use and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is open to all owners of existing houses built before 2006. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) administers the scheme.
Grant assistance is provided to the home owner towards the costs of implementing upgrade measures. The types of measures currently eligible under this scheme are roof insulation, wall insulation, high efficiency boilers and heating control upgrades. There is also a grant for households who choose to get a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment both before and after the works are completed, however this is not mandatory.
Grants for Solar collectors are available to the homeowner through the Greener Homes Scheme Phase III, providing assistance to homeowners who intend to purchase a new renewable energy heating system for existing homes. For further information about these schemes please see links below

How much are the grants?

Grants are fixed for each type of measure as indicated in the table below. Grant approval must be in place before any purchase of materials or commencement of measures undertaken. Grants are paid after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by the homeowner. In the instance where the cost of the work (vat inclusive) is less than the fixed grant amount, the actual cost will be reimbursed.

MEASURE	CATEGORY	GRANT *
Roof	Roof Insulation	€250
Wall	Cavity wall insulation	€400
	Internal Wall Dry-Lining	€2,500
	External wall insulation	€4,000
Solar Collectors	Flat Plate - up to a max. of 6m2.	€250/ m2
	Evacuated Tube - up to a max. of 6m2.	€300/ m2
Heating Controls	High Efficiency Gas or Oil fired Boiler with Heating Controls Upgrade	€700
	Heating Controls Upgrade	€500
BER Assessment	A Before works and an Afterworks BER assessment	€200

* Please note that while you are entitled to apply for each Measure there is a minimum requirement that the grant amount in the first application must be €500 or greater. The BER grant cannot form part of this €500 amount.

www.sei.ie/Grants/Home_Energy_Saving_Scheme

www.sei.ie/Grants/GreenerHomes

Move to Zero Carbon Housing by 2016.