Climate Talk Episode 1 - Buildings

In Climate Talk Episode 1, we take a look at buildings and how you can improve your building with BER ratings and much more.

Energy-saving Kits

Are available to book in local libraries, follow the steps to see where you can make small changes that save you energy. Anyone who isn’t sure of what can be done to improve energy efficiency in their home can use the Typology of Irish houses to look up their house type or the online tool BERWOW to see what improvements they can make and the estimated cost. When it comes to upgrading social housing, the Council upgrades several houses each year and all new houses meet a BER rating of A.

Private Homeowners

If you are on social welfare and are eligible to receive the fuel allowance you can sign up to the Warmer Homes Scheme. This is a free scheme where SEAI will come out to your home, assess it and then carry out insulation works. There is currently a waiting time for delivery of between a year and two years, but I encourage people to get their names down and community groups can make a real difference here, getting people signed up.

If you have some money spare and would like to improve the comfort of your house and reduce your energy bills you can do it one action at a time you can avail of Individual Energy Upgrade Grants. If your home is maybe quite old and needs more work you might make all improvements at once and reach a BER B2 or higher, for this you need the One Stop Shop Service.

For the Individual Energy Upgrade Grants you decide on which action you might want to take, you find a registered contractor on the SEAI website, arrange for the works, apply for the grant online and get approval. Approval is very quick once you meet the requirements. You then get the work done, pay the contractor and claim back the funds from SEAI. Grant amounts are set based on the work being done and the type of house you have.

The One Stop Shop is for homes that need more comprehensive energy works and where the owner would like to bring the house up to a high energy efficiency in one go. In this case you contact a One Stop Shop Service. They will assess your home, price the works, project manage the improvements and access the grant on your behalf.

There are a number of lower-interest loans available for people who want to make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes. A Government agreement with the European Investment Bank will mean later this year that the interest on these types of loans will drop further, making energy works like the One Stop Shop more affordable.

Households that upgrade to a Building Energy Rating of B3 or higher can avail of a Green Mortgage. This is a mortgage with a lower interest rate.

Reducing the amount of energy lost out through your roof, walls, windows and floors will make your home more comfortable, save you money and in some cases improve the indoor air quality.