Just a third of 10,000 retrofits delivered B2 or higher energy rating

Under the Climate Action Plan, some 500,000 B2 Building Energy Rating (BER) home upgrades are targeted by 2030.

Nearly 10,000 retrofits of one form or other were completed in the first quarter of this year but just 3,300 were completed to "B2 or better" energy rating.

According to the body overseeing the implementation of the national retrofit programme, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), some 9,946 property upgrades were completed from January to March, up 172% on the same period last year.

Some 3,304 homes were upgraded to a BER B2 or higher, up 232% on the same period in 2022, it added.

Under the Climate Action Plan, some 500,000 B2 Building Energy Rating (BER) home upgrades are targeted by 2030.

BER ratings were first introduced as a compulsory measure 14 years ago as a way to measure energy efficiency in homes. Half of the €8bn allocated for retrofitting is ringfenced for vulnerable and energy-poor households.

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The SEAI said that the retrofitting target overall for 2023 is to support over 37,000 home energy upgrades.

It counts a retrofit as a single application for a property on any of its residential retrofit programmes in its overall numbers.

"On first quarter performance and based on the robust pipeline of work in the system, it can be expected that this target could be reached, or surpassed," the SEAI said.

Supply chain

However, it warned that "supply chain constraints ... which are impacting programme delivery to different degrees" continued in the first quarter. This is likely to be the case through this year, it added.

There is still only a dozen registered "one stop shops" despite the number of homes that need to be upgraded in the coming years. A further four are to be added in the coming months.

Companies registered as one-stop shops guide homeowners through steps such as applying for grants, home energy assessments, and finance. 

Concerns have been expressed in recent months, including the Oireachtas Climate Committee, that the number of firms is not enough to handle the sheer number of retrofits that are to be done to meet the Climate Action Plan targets.

The SEAI said the 12 existing one stop shops are "continuing to report strong pipelines of work and growing demand".

"The One Stop Shop scheme is currently building momentum at a good pace to meet this growing demand, whilst maintaining high customer quality standards and strong governance," it added.

Director of National Retrofit at SEAI, Dr Ciaran Byrne, called the 2023 numbers "encouraging".

"Since the launch of the One Stop Shop scheme last year, there have been over 2,200 Home Energy Assessment (HEA) applications which suggests that a healthy pipeline of homeowners is completing the initial energy survey to determine what energy upgrade works they wish to complete," he said.