|
|
|
|
|
Energy-efficiency plan welcomed
25 October 2009 By Nicola Cooke
A government plan for a major scheme to improve the energy efficiency of houses has been welcomed as a ‘‘huge opportunity’’ for the economy.
The plan, which will be brought to cabinet by energy minister Eamon Ryan before Christmas, reflects a proposal launched last week by the Irish Institute for European and International Affairs (IIEA) for a large-scale programme of ‘retrofitting’ homes.
Joseph Curtin, the IIEA senior researcher who collated the institute’s report, said there were more than 400,000 homes in IrelandwithaG1energy rating, which is the lowest possible score on the recently-introduced Building Energy Rating (BER) system.
He said it would take 85 years to upgrade the current housing stock if current rates of retrofitting continued.
‘‘There is much to be gained from the retrofit plan, in that utility companies reduce their output and receive carbon credits for it; the householder benefits from a warmer, more energy-efficient home with cost savings that average €1,100 a year; and thousands of construction workers on the dole have work again," said Curtin.
‘‘The government will save in social welfare and gain in tax receipts. Other European countries are also very interested in how Ireland would operate this."
The retrofitting plan should provide a boost to specialist energy firms which have sprung up since the BER system was introduced. Durkan Ecofix, a subsidiary of Durkan Homes, was founded last year and has 36 staff, including architects, plumbers, electricians and carpenters.
Patrick Durkan said that the company had been established because of demand from householders eligible for grants under the government home energy-saving scheme. It carries out free ‘eco-assessments’ of homes, and can retrofit them to make them more energy-efficient.
‘‘This is great news for us," said Durkan.
‘‘We would hope to increase our employees to 150 over the next few years. We have done retrofits on about 40 houses since we started out.
‘‘We also do the attic and boiler insulation, a long with window glazing.
‘‘The householders are now saving €100 to €150 on their fuel bills every few months, and we are collecting this information to measure the results," he said.
|
|
|
