As the cold weather continues through early Spring, now more than ever homeowners are looking to reduce their energy consumption and tackle rising energy bills.
Many are adopting new habits such as turning down their thermostats or reducing heating running times. But homeowners are also more aware of the need to improve the overall energy efficiency of their homes. By investing in home energy upgrades, such as attic and wall insulation and, installing heat pump systems and other renewables, you are keeping your valuable heat in your home and making it much more energy efficient. These are long-term investments that will provide significant improvements in home comfort, as well as reducing monthly energy bills.
“SEAI offers a range of home energy upgrade grant routes to suit most budgets and circumstances. Some people might want to take a step-by-step approach, doing one or two upgrades over time. We have grants for attic and wall insulation, heat pump systems and renewable technologies such as solar PV. This is a great option for homeowners looking to start upgrading their homes, giving them more flexibility. We have over 1,000 SEAI registered contractors to carry out these works and an easy-to-use online application system for homeowners to get started," Susan Andrews, Marketing Manager with SEAI, stated.
Andrews went on to explain the benefits of carrying out a full home energy upgrade in one go.
“There is also a fantastic One Stop Shop service for homeowners who want to do a comprehensive upgrade in one go to achieve a B or even an A rated home. The great thing with using an SEAI registered One Stop Shop is they will manage the whole project from start to finish, including all the grant aspects, making it hassle-free for the homeowner. One big plus for the homeowner is that the value of the grant is deducted upfront from the cost of works, which can really help with cashflow for large projects," Mr Andrews added.
Carrying out any type of home upgrade can be daunting and often a homeowner simply doesn’t know where to start. If you are considering investing in a home energy upgrade, SEAI recommends starting with a BER assessment. This will give you a list of the energy upgrades likely to have the biggest impact on improving your home’s energy rating and a personalised roadmap to bring your home up to a BER rating of B2 or better.
If, however, you are considering a full home energy upgrade in one go, then you should contact an SEAI registered One Stop Shop and get a Home Energy Assessment. SEAI offers a stand-alone grant of €350 for this assessment, which provides a detailed technical report of the upgrades needed to meet the One Stop Shop grant requirement as well as a rough estimate of likely costs. You are not under any obligation to carry out these works after the assessment, but you will still receive the grant for the Home Energy Assessment.
“When exploring home energy upgrade options, we always recommend you shop around, get a number of quotes and also make sure the quotes you are comparing are like for like. If you decide to install more upgrades and go to an A-rated home, your quote is likely to be higher than that for achieving a very acceptable B2," Mr Andrews concluded.
For further information about SEAI Home Energy Upgrade grants visit here.
