Home energy upgrades: How to identify the right retrofit partner

From Better Energy and Warmer Homes to Deep Retrofits, Irish homeowners have had several pilot schemes down the years designed to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Last year the Government settled on one that both learned from and improves upon all of them.

It’s called the National Retrofit Scheme and among the suite of advances it offers – including grants of up to 50 per cent – is a new innovation, the One Stop Shop service. This is a panel of preapproved retrofitters that can provide a hassle-free service, project managing your entire retrofit process from start to finish.

One Stop Shops are private operators who offer all the services required, from conducting home energy assessments and organising grant applications to project managing the contract works, providing the follow-up building energy rating (BER) and even going through your finance options with you.

To become a One Stop Shop each business goes through a thorough process which requires them to meet stringent competency and quality-management metrics. Given the difficulty of finding contractors right now, as well as the perennial worry about whether they are any good, the service will come as a relief for homeowners.

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What’s more, unlike previous schemes, in which the homeowner had to undertake the remedial work and then apply for the grant afterwards, the new scheme lets you pay the discounted price, leaving the building contractor to pick up the grant afterwards.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), which administers the scheme, will not pay them until the work has passed an inspection – again, hugely reassuring for homeowners.

A list of One Stop Shop service providers is available on the SEAI website. Because the scheme is finalised, and not a pilot, many firms have had the confidence to invest in new equipment and labour, enabling them to scale up to meet demand. That is helping on the supply side.

The government’s aim is for Ireland to achieve its target of completing 500,000 home energy upgrades by 2030, bringing them up to a B2 on the BER scale.

If it’s simply too expensive to have your whole house remediated, you can opt to take individual steps over time. There are grants available for this too, just not as juicy. You can’t, for example, get a grant for windows and doors unless you opt for the One Stop Shop complete service.

It is still costly. According to SEAI research in August, based on real schemes completed, for an apartment the average works cost €42,875, the average grant amount was €14,267 and the average net cost to the homeowner €28,608 to get their home from a BER of G to an A3.

For a semi-d the average works cost €60,292, the grant amounting to €21,694, and the ultimate cost to the homeowner €38,598, to improve their BER from an E1 to an A2. To bring a detached home from an E1 to an A2 rating, the works cost is €64,507, the average grant €24,098 and the average cost to the homeowner €40,408.

Bear in mind that, despite such averages, contractors are at pains to point out that there is no such thing as an average retrofit. Two identical houses will be different if, for example, one already had some work done or has an extension or is used in a different way.

If you are going the One Stop Shop route, shop around. The SEAI recommends that homeowners get at least three quotes from providers for works. As with any building work, ask to speak to a previous client for a recommendation. In addition, many retrofitters are active on social platforms such as Instagram, so get a sense of their work ethic and reputation that way too. Some contractors are busier than others, so a lengthy wait time before work kicks off may be a factor to consider.

Remember too that a new scheme is due to be launched by the Government later this year which will allow credit institutions to offer loans of up to €50,000 at reduced interest rates to homeowners, backed by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. It has been vaunted, and delayed, for a while now as those involved try to figure out how to provide low interest rates in a time of interest rate rises but the indications are that it is on its way.

Ciaran Byrne, SEAI’s director of national retrofit, is conscious that talk of jargon such as energy uplift and kilowatt hours can make people’s eyes glaze over but reckons the attractiveness of the new grant scheme has succeeded in capturing the public’s attention.

For most people, this will be their second-biggest spend, with the purchase of their home being their first. When you buy a house you do loads of research. It should be the same for retrofitting

—  Rory Clarke, House2Home

“They’re seeing their neighbours have just got something done and wondering, ‘What should we do?’” he says.

The first step to take is to look at the SEAI website, which has full details about all the grants and eligibility criteria. Once you’ve selected a contractor, they will “assess, insulate and add renewables”, in that order, says Byrne. In most cases, insulation is the most important step you can take to boost energy efficiency, whether through filing the walls, topping up attic insulation or wrapping the house. Replacing windows and doors to remove drafts and retain heat comes next.

“After that you’re into, ‘Do I add solar panels or a heat pump?’ which is the electrification of your heat source. What the One Stop Shop does is take the hassle out of all of it,” adds Byrne.

Rory Clarke is general manager of House2Home, a One Stop Shop which has partnered with energy provider Energia and credit unions to provide CU Greener Homes, a full-service solution that includes both energy efficiency improvements and low cost credit union loans.

House2Home has been retrofitting since 2013. It offers an Energy Saving Retrofit Package that guarantees a reduction on your energy costs, achieved through a full insulation package, a high efficiency boiler and zoned heat controls. Under the Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme utility companies must incentivise energy efficiency in the home too, says Clarke, which will further add to your savings.

House2Home’s roots are in construction, building new houses, extensions and renovations. It has 10 construction crews on the road at any one time. Clarke reckons the simplicity of the new scheme has helped drive demand.

“In fairness to the SEAI, there is now a solution for everybody, providing they have some funding to put to it. And the lending institutions are being quite good too – both credit unions and pillar banks all have incentives to help,” he says.

Just do your homework, Clarke advises. “For most people this will be their second-biggest spend, with the purchase of their home being their first. When you buy a house, you do loads of research. It should be the same for retrofitting,” he explains.

Never feel under pressure from any individual One Stop Shop. “This is not a pressure sell,” says Clarke. “It’s a continuous process. We normally revise quotes up to four times before someone tells us they’ll have to go and think about it.” That’s as it should be, he says. “It’s all about building the relationship.”