Simple steps: keep your home warm without the hefty costs
Even the smallest home energy efficiency upgrades will see you make savings on your heat and electricity bills.
Energia is a leading producer of renewable energy, accounting for 21% of Ireland’s renewable electricity generation. Whether it's to keep your home warm or to contribute to the environment — your home can make for a greener future without it costing an arm and a leg.
According to Energia's Head of Energy Services, Cormac Mannion, the last 12 months have been unprecedented, with the impact of COVID-19 and corresponding changes to the way people live and work.
“We have witnessed a significant increase in the numbers of people working remotely which has placed new demands on their homes and how they interact with these spaces.”
With the likelihood of a continued work-from-home scenario in Ireland and holidays not on the cards just yet, people are considering upgrades that futureproof their homes from an efficiency, financial, and environmental perspective. "There is a lot of momentum behind the desire to improve and upgrade, and I don’t think that momentum is going to go away."
"It’s not just about warmth and saving money, it’s about comfort as well, a point supported by research we recently undertook in partnership with the Irish League of Credit Unions and House2Home for the launch of the CU Greener Homes scheme," he said.
According to Cormac, while comfort is important, people look at a variety of factors to inform upgrade work. Cost is a significant factor, and the level of payback people are looking for on any investment.
People might ask themselves 'How much energy will I save on my energy bills?' If they save €300 a year, but end up spending €60,000 retrofitting their house, "that's not realistic for people," he said.
Therefore, Cormac recommends that people look at what their accepted cost levels are that can get their house up to a level of efficiency that provides comfort and guards against issues such as cold, damp, and mold — issues that can have health implications.
"Your home isn’t going to get any warmer if you don’t do anything so the sooner you take steps to look at your needs, what upgrades are required and how best to proceed, the sooner you will reap the benefits, and huge improvements can be made quite cheaply," he said.
“For example, draughts are a particular issue for Irish homes, so finding and isolating them makes a massive difference. It is the single easiest thing for people to get quite a good bang for their buck. People will always find cracks around windows and doorframes — even replacing the front and back doors makes a massive difference for a relatively modest amount."
“Then after that, it is getting the attic done, then formulating an overall plan to get the rest of the house done and what level of investment people want. Those small measures are relatively straightforward."
The Irish League of Credit Unions, in partnership with Energia and House2Home, has announced the launch of CU Greener Homes, a one-stop solution for all your home energy efficiency improvements big or small. So, if you're considering a new boiler or a deep retrofit, CU Greener Homes can help.
For more information click here.
"Those who avail of the scheme can take out a very competitive loan, and pay for the work over ten years," said Cormac.
- Easy Application Process — a one-stop solution to help you with all the elements of home energy efficiency improvements.
- Grants/ Supports of up to 40% available and discounted upfront.
- Low-Cost Loans — loan rates from as low as 4.9% APR.
- Fully managed Grant process — all aspects of the grant application managed on your behalf.
- Expert Advice and Assistance — A dedicated project manager is on hand to help you with all aspects of the project, from start to finish.
As part of its offering to households in supporting energy efficiency, Energia has also put in place agreements with a number of major car manufacturers here in Ireland to make electric car chargers a hassle-free installation. If a person buys an EV charger from one of their dealerships and they make the switch to Energia they get a free charger.
"We’ll come and install the charger. Research has shown that one of the main barriers for people installing EVs is not the range of the cars, but the hassle associated with the installation. We remove the hassle factor," Cormac said.
Energia has also launched an exclusive offer on Solar PV with a Moixa Smart Battery. This is a unique opportunity to adopt innovative renewable energy technology, giving consumers the ability to view and control energy usage via cutting-edge dashboard and app technology.
Moixa is different from other smart battery propositions, it is a domestic battery, but the idea of the solar panel and battery is that if you’ve any excess power from the solar panels you can charge your car or you can charge the battery.
"That’s why we call it a mini power plant because all the work is done without the customer interacting, making economical decisions for them. It's about giving households a little bit more independence and self-sufficiency," Cormac continued.
Installing solar PV panels may appeal more to customers than the insulation measures — but Cormac says that if someone is looking to make improvements in their home, to look at the fabric first which means starting with the building materials such as the insulation: work from the top down; attic first then the walls.
“You can have all the renewable electricity in the world but if you don’t have the fabric of your home installed correctly, you’re wasting all that energy and you’ll never get your money back on your investment.
"What’s going to drive solar PV over the next year or two is the fact that feed-in tariffs are coming into the market. Under European legislation, all European member states have to offer this. People get reimbursed for any excess electricity whereas previously the excess was exported to the grid without any net gain to the homeowner. These are all baby steps to greening the energy industry, decarbonizing the sector, moving towards renewable heat in terms of heat pumps, etc. We’re removing the fossil fuels from the system," Cormac concluded.
- Have greater understanding through insights and gain energy independence by generating and storing your own renewable electricity.
- Your reduced energy consumption may lower the overall cost of your bills, keeping you in control.
- With this smart home system, your home may be future-proofed for electric vehicle charging, greener living, and a more sustainable lifestyle.
- Take advantage of day and night tariffs allowing you to charge your battery at night when it's less expensive.
For more information visit www.energia.ie/smart-battery
