All done at Dunmore East energy overhaul

Tommy Barker says Fernlea has been brought up the BER scale by its energy-aware owners.

A FULL energy efficiency overhaul on this Waterford home called Fernlea has brought it up to the top of the alphabet scale in term of its BER rating.

Bought just three years ago by a clued-in couple Dave Sheane and Simone Bublewitz, this 1970s bungalow home “in keeping with such properties built in the ‘70’s, had a leaking roof and the insulation qualities of a sieve!” they recall.

Now, after being dragged into the 21st century, it has a damn impressive B2 BER energy rating.

Into the great outdoors, cycling and sea kayaking, the couple were lured in by the acre site, the coastal setting, the views of Brownstown Head and the house’s bright and airy but also raw potential.

Before undertaking their upgrade, they drafted in the advice of a BER assessor who kept the advice brutally simple: the walls, the windows and the attic/roof all needed work, and lots of it, to get up to accepted insulation standards. Oh, and open fires, and a dodgy boiler, also needed tackling.

They threw themselves into the project with much gusto, did the research and got stuck in: Simone, who’s German, has a family background in the trades, has high standards, and works by day heading up the nursing side of a hospital’s intensive care unit. She wasn’t going to allow any corners to be roughly cut at Dunmore East.

Also, observes her partner, being a Continental, the house renovation was to include a sauna, with wet-room/tanked shower and gym space, home to their bikes and other sports paraphernalia.

Just as the work came to be completed, both partners got unexpected new job moves to Cork city. After trying a regular commute, they have decided instead to sell up and move closer to Cork city, aiming to build a high-spec eco-friendly home from scratch. The bug has bitten.

The entirely overhauled 1,900 sq ft house is on the market with Palmer Auctioneers who seek €420,000 for the fully up-to-date, job-is-oxo project.

Now a four-bed, one en-suite house, with gym, open plan living with sea views from its corner windows, it has an understated contemporary look inside (the exterior still betrays its ‘70s roots, albeit nicely freshened up), with warming red coloured glass splashback in the IKEA kitchen, new bamboo wood floor, recessed LED lighting, slick rich timber staircase, and a new French clay tile roof, in place of the old concrete tiles.

Thanks to the almost unseen insulation improvements and energy-use upgrades (there’s two efficient stoves, one a Stanley, the other by Nestor Martin, plus a new condenser oil burner) the annual energy saving at Fernlea is likely to be in the region of €800, across oil, coal and logs spending, and they calculate that ever apart from spending on modernising its interior and facilities, they invested a further €25,000 (net of grants) for energy efficiency.

The original windows, for example, had rotted, and rather than just going for the cheapest replacements, put €7,500 extra aside for the very best, top-of-the-range alu-clad Scandinavian windows.

Now, deep breath — here’s what got taken firmly in hand: attic insulation (drifts of Knauf rolls) and insulated ceiling slabs were “inexpensive and a ‘no-brainer,’ similarly dry-lining of the north-facing walls was cheap to do. Other areas of outlay were those windows, the blown cavity-wall insulation, two stove fireplaces, a new condenser boiler and a zoned heating system,” they rattle off.

That €800 pa energy cost saving “equates to a pay-back term of approx 30 years!!” says Dave, adding “to be honest, ‘pay back’ was never our key focus. It was more about comfort, efficiency and how good the place looks and feels. Those were the real issues for us.”

Simone and Dave are, they admit, avid cyclists and sea kayakers, but coming back after a day out and spending on lashing of warming water for showers began to rankle. “We always hated having to heat water with oil or electricity on a beautiful summers day. With the solar panels and 300 litre water tank, now the showers are there for free.”

However, in an advisory aside to others considering such a move, they say they’re sceptical about calculated pay-back calculations for their solar panel system because of systems’ life space. “We decided to install solar panels based on a number of issues, such as convenience, reliability and net benefits to the environment. The same could be said about the LED downlighters that we put in throughout the house.”

“When you buy a car or a holiday you look for value for money, reliability and enjoyment. We applied the same principles to the upgrade of Fernlea: the true savings in terms of fuel and electricity costs will be enjoyed by whoever buys the house!”