Want to save money this winter? From insulation and solar panels to heat pumps, Joanne Hunt looks at what you can do to retrofit your home, slash your energy bills and stick to your budget.
The first step is to find a Building Energy Rating assessor who can do an assessment to the standard of the SEAI’s One Stop Shop service, says Walsh. The One Stop Shop is for homeowners who want to do all the energy upgrades in one go to achieve a B or even an A-rated home.
Heat rises and up to 30 per cent of your home’s heat can be lost through your roof. The payback from attic insulation is instantaneous. Insulation will keep the heat in the rooms below. That means your heating probably won’t need to be on for as long and that’s going to bring down your heating bills. When your heating switches off, your house will retain the heat for longer too.
If your house has cavity walls, like many built in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, pumping them with insulation is another measure where generous grants and the return on investment make sense. Air-to-water heat pumps are the most popular choice, but you will have to insulate your home to a B2 energy rating first for the pump to work efficiently and to get the grant.
An overall pot of €500 million being made available but the size of the pot will be moot if the interest rate isn’t manageable for homeowners already pummelled by mortgage rates.