Retrofit numbers have 'fallen off a cliff' since 2011
In 2011, some 41,621 cavity walls and 51,577 attic insulations were carried out, but those figures dropped to 4,896 and 6,195, respectively, towards the end of last year. Picture: Getty
The Government has been accused of ignoring "low-hanging fruit" and jeopardising retrofitting targets after figures showed that shallow retrofits in 2022 were below 2011 levels.
Shallow retrofits generally involve smaller works such as attic and cavity wall insulation retrofits and boiler with heating controls retrofits. The grants available for attic insulation ranges from €800 for apartments to €1,500 for detached homes and those improving their cavity wall insulation can receive between €700 and €1,700.
Homes can lose up to 30% of their heat through poorly insulated walls and roofs.
However, figures from the SEAI show that while in 2011, some 41,621 cavity walls and 51,577 attic insulations were carried out, those figures dropped to 4,896 and 6,195, respectively, towards the end of last year, though final figures are believed to be closer to 16,000 combined.
The Climate Action Plan has a target to reduce emissions from the residential sector by retrofitting the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a building energy rating (BER) of B2 and installing 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes to replace older, less efficient heating systems by the end of 2030.
The Department of Energy, Climate and Communications said that shallow retrofit numbers had fallen, but that an enhanced grant covering 80% of the cost of insulation had been made available in the National Retrofit Plan, launched last February and this had led to increased interest.
But Sinn Féin's climate spokesperson Darren O'Rourke said that the declining rate of insulation since 2011 had been a missed opportunity to retrofit a large proportion of the half a million homes believed to be in need of some form of upgrade to attic insulation and 160,000 in need of wall insulation.
“Insulating roof space and cavity walls are simple, quick measures that can immediately help reduce heat loss from a home, cut household energy bills, and reduce carbon emissions," he said.
“Unfortunately, the number of shallow retrofits has fallen off a cliff over the past decade.
“This is the low-hanging fruit this Government is failing to capitalise on to help cut carbon emissions.
“The SEAI have said 500,000 homes would benefit from additional attic and cavity wall insulation, highlighting what a huge, missed opportunity this is."
Mr O'Rourke said that the grants should be increased to remove any financial burden for homeowners and called for Environment Minister Eamon Ryan to do this "immediately", adding that "100% grants for attic and wall insulation and removing the administrative burden on households should form part of this plan. Minister Ryan should act immediately on this.”
A Department of Energy spokesperson told the that shallow retrofit measures had been part of an overall target of 27,000 retrofits across the country. They added that in recent years, the number of homeowners installing attic and cavity wall insulation "had fallen compared with the levels seen a decade ago".
"This is one of the reasons we introduced the increased grant, and it is working," the spokesperson said.
"In 2022, demand was exceptionally high across all schemes, with applications up almost 150%.
"We achieved the overall target of 27,000 retrofits for 2022 and we are targeting 37,000 next year, which was part of the long-term plan.
"The SEAI advises around 16,000 attic and cavity wall insulations were completed in 2022, which is part of the overall figure of 27,000."
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