Eco-friendliness now a key factor in renovating homes, inside and out

As we become increasingly aware of our carbon footprints, anyone undertaking a big renovation will be keen to ensure it doesn’t become a carbon crater. Sustainable choices and energy efficiency upgrades are now big considerations for those seeking to improve their homes, with reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions going hand in hand with increasing comfort levels.

Inside the home, there are many more sustainable choices to be made. From eco-friendly paint to upcycled or second-hand furniture, sustainable options are now the norm across all aspects of interiors.

Aoife Tobin is founder of award-winning interior design studio Style So Simple. She says that in the past two years, she has noticed a significant uptick in clients asking for sustainable options and inquiring about the environmental impact of materials.

Similarly, she says, suppliers are increasingly prioritising environmental education for designers.

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“Cosentino, for instance, has set a remarkable standard by proactively educating designers like myself about environmentally friendly alternatives,” explains Tobin. “Their product Dekton, a countertop material, is made from natural raw materials and certified as cradle-to-grave carbon neutral.

“As an interior designer, I want to go back to the client with environmentally friendly options that won’t hike up the cost of the project and don’t diminish the look or integrity of the design.”

Tobin is a big proponent of second-hand and vintage shopping for unusual and sustainable interiors pieces.

“This is always a good option. Online stores like Gaff Interiors and The Store Yard are brilliant for unique finds,” she says. “Incorporating these special pieces into a project adds a distinct character and charm that you just can’t find in new items. It’s a great way for homeowners to add individuality to their homes.”

Gwen Kenny is director of Divine Design and has a big interest in sustainability. She suggests that those renovating think about how they dispose of materials from inside their home when clearing the work site.

“Old kitchens and appliances, for example, can be sold or given away on free websites, preventing them going to landfill,” she suggests.

Another consideration is the scale of the renovation and whether adding extra space is even necessary.

“Often people build a big extension out the back and then the middle of the house just becomes disused,” says Kenny. “Really considering how the space will be used and a configuration that works can often mean a smaller extension.”

A renovation is the ideal opportunity to consider a retrofit, says Conor Walsh, managing director of Encon, an award-winning retrofit company based in the southeast. Walsh says generous Government grants offer significant financial incentives for energy efficiency upgrades but he also notes that people are simply keen to reduce their carbon emissions. In the past five years, he says, demand “has exploded”.

People can consider a “shallow” or “deep” retrofit, Walsh explains. A shallow retrofit may simply involve some extra insulation but a deeper retrofit involving the installation of a heat pump, new windows and doors, and potentially a solar photovoltaic (PV) system will completely transform the energy efficiency of a house.

The first step is a home energy assessment, where a building energy rating (BER) assessor will visit the property and also look at plans if the homeowner is building an extension.

“We can see how the home is using energy and produce a BER certificate for the home in its current standing, and then model a proposed BER based on the maximum result they will be able to achieve,” Walsh explains.

“There is a charge for a home energy assessment but at the end of it you will have a clear pathway and you don’t have conflicting advice on different aspects from different individual businesses who may have an agenda.”

Even minor work can give you a warmer, more efficient home, Walsh says.

“You could pump the cavities and insulate the attic in a three-bed semi-d for maybe just €600-900 after the grants, which is not large money but can make a huge difference to the energy efficiency of a home.”

The deeper retrofit makes homeowners candidates for the SEAI One Stop Shop, which offers grants for windows and doors as well as insulation and renewable options. It still doesn’t come cheap, however, even after grants.

Unsurprisingly, affordability has been identified in SEAI surveys as one of the biggest barriers for homeowners to undertake a retrofit but the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, due to launch soon, will make low-cost loans available to those seeking to undertake a retrofit.

Our reliance on fossil fuels is especially obvious when it comes to heating our homes and people are increasingly seeking to make the move to more efficient or renewable heating systems. Heat pumps have gone mainstream in the past five years and SEAI figures show that installations were up 65 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

David McConnell, national heating sales manager with Mitsubishi Electric, says heat pumps are the fastest growing part of the company’s business. He says this is due to people wanting to save money on their energy bills and achieve a new level of comfort in their homes, while also reducing their carbon emissions.

“Heat pumps can save 40 per cent running costs compared with oil heating and 20-25 per cent compared with natural gas,” says McConnell. “But often what gets lost in the argument is comfort – the heat pump is on all day, whereas with central heating you find the house is either overheated or under heating. The heat pump does away with all of that.”

A heat pump’s carbon emissions will amount to half those of a natural gas boiler, McConnell adds.

“The driver used to be the back pocket but now people want to do the right thing and reduce their carbon emissions,” he says, and in five or 10 years time, as the electricity grid becomes greener with added renewables, they are “only going to get cleaner and greener and eventually they will be carbon neutral”.

Due to its mild winter, Ireland has the perfect climate for air source heat pumps, McConnell says, although they are installed throughout Europe, even in countries where temperatures can reach minus 20 degrees. SEAI grants are available for their installation but the house must meet certain requirements, he explains.

“Sometimes the upgrades people have to make to their home to avail of the grants may be cost prohibitive so they go for the heat pump even without the grants,” he adds.

Cost is always a factor when people are making decisions regarding their renovation, says Walsh.

“Some people are unsure about the cost of retrofitting and may get a shock but every house is different and a retrofit can mean a huge difference in thermal comfort, the risk of condensation and mould in a house, as well as high energy bills.”

Solar PV systems are also becoming a popular option and Walsh points out these can be more cost-effective than people think.

“One recent plan I did for a couple showed that their PV systems would give them 107 per cent of their current energy usage,” he says. “So they would pay off the cost of the installation in five years and over the 25 to 30-year lifetime of the system they would generate over €22,000 in income because they will sell it back to the grid.”

Beyond energy efficiency, doer-uppers are also considering more sustainable materials and methods if building an extension, Walsh says.

“The whole concept of energy efficiency has spilled over into how we build our homes and renovate. A number of years ago people were still wedded to the traditional methods of building but now it is top of people’s wish list for their build or renovation to be as sustainable as possible,” he adds.

Modern methods of construction (MMC) is a catch-all term for innovative building methods, which are quick and sustainable and happen largely off-site in a factory environment. Modular homes are just one example but Walsh says MMC is becoming more widely used.

“We have just installed a precast concrete structure that was made in a factory and we erected it in one day,” he explains. “These are becoming increasingly popular and accessible.”

For example, the use of insulated concrete formwork (ICF) is now becoming mainstream.

“I call it ‘Lego for adults’,” laughs Walsh. “It’s essentially just two levels of styrofoam connected together and stuck together, essentially like Lego, then concrete is poured into the hollow.”

This provides excellent sound and heat insulation, fire safety, and durability for the structure’s lifetime – testing has shown that ICFs deliver more than 50 per cent more energy efficiency than traditional wood-framed homes.

“It is a great approach to building and is becoming more popular in extensions,” says Walsh.