SEAI scheme 'creating a roadblock' for homeowners

One homeowner said he was quoted just €12,000 for an external insulation wrap of his home. The SEAI quote was between €21,000 and €25,000. Picture: Getty

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has been accused of “creating a roadblock” for homeowners seeking to retrofit their homes, amid lengthy delays in approving grant applications.

The Government’s flagship National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS), which provided grant levels of up to 50% of the cost of a typical deep retrofit, has come under increased pressure amid low number of completions since the scheme was rolled out last February.

It was revealed on Tuesday that just 89 homes have been completed under the retrofitting schemes so far this year out of a target of 62,500, with 500,000 aimed to be completed by 2030.

Slow approval

Anne Marie Whelan moved into a bungalow with her wife in Co Kildare last February, and shortly afterwards, they applied for the SEAI grants for retrofitting their home. It took seven months to receive approval for the grants, which finally started last week.

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She said the SEAI are “creating a roadblock” for homeowners looking to retrofit without waiting months for grant permission. She added:

Every person I have ever spoken to has come up with problems [with the SEAI].

Ms Whelan employed a contractor to complete the works and deal with the SEAI and the grant applications, amid concerns the process was needlessly complicated for homeowners.

It will cost €78,500 to have cavity walls pumped, their heating system redone with new radiators and pipes, attic insulation, and solar panels on their 1980s-built bungalow; and their grants total €24,000.

Denis Bates, a teacher in Co Clare, completed a retrofit just before the pandemic as his 30-year-old house needed an upgrade to its heating system.

“It was a full job,” he said. 

“We had insulation upgrades, solar PV panels, a heat pump, radiators had to be installed because we had no water-based radiator heating. The upheaval in the house was extensive.” 

The results were “marvellous”, he said, and the house now rests at a comfortable 19 degrees at all times, he said. The solar panels he installed have also cut their electricity bills in half.

“The investment cost in it is very significant,” he said. 

We were told to expect a 15–20-year payback period on the investment. So it’s very much a long-term thing. But without any hesitation or reservation [it is] absolutely worth doing.

Kya de Longchamps, a longtime contributor to the property pages of the Irish Examiner who retrofitted her house, said: “In my view, there is a perfect storm comprising of the cost-of-living crisis, a lack of contractors and materials, rising building costs, and I would argue a lack of clear understanding by Government in marketing the more comprehensive, one-stop-shop mechanism through the SEAI.

“A property owner cannot dive into the envelope of the home with the one-stop-shop to insulate, wrap a house [EWI], slot in mechanical ventilation, or change our windows without adherent costs from the traditional trades. These costs are currently skyrocketing.” 

She said deep retrofitting is “impossible for most families” as it can “demand moving out of the home in some instances”.

Price barrier

Ger Donnelly in Lucan, Co Dublin, “hasn’t pulled the trigger yet” on his retrofit plans as “prices are way [too] inflated at the moment”.

He sought to complete an external insulation wrap of his home and was quoted between €21,000 and €25,000. After seeking quotes from contractors outside of the SEAI grant scheme, he was quoted just €12,000 for the same job — €9,000 if he paid in cash — sparking concerns that the scheme has inflated asking prices in the industry.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said its home energy upgrade office, which opened on May 30, has welcomed about 2,500 people and 430 signed up to receive information on retrofitting. 

As application forms are sent directly to the SEAI, the council does not know how many subsequently applied to the scheme, but figures published yesterday in the Irish Examiner show just 82 homes have been approved for a deep home retrofit in Co Cork to date.

A spokesperson for the SEAI said it is “absolutely committed to providing fast and efficient grant processing to enable homeowners to benefit from a more comfortable home”.

The spokesperson said the SEAI has more than 1,000 registered contractors installing individual upgrades and it is “satisfied that the scheme is building momentum at a good pace to meet demand, which itself is growing rapidly”, adding:

While the whole economy and the building sector in particular is experiencing labour shortages, we are satisfied with the continued pace at which suppliers and contractors are signing up to our schemes.