IT'S the future, and it works. "It" is the energy efficient home which is being built in partnership between public and private enterprise. Mr Lorcan Blake, of Allied Irish Banks, was confident we would see many more such partnerships.
He was speaking at the launch yesterday by the Minister of State for Energy, Mr Emmet Stagg, of the Thermie energy efficient housing project at AIB headquarters in Dublin. Also present was Mr Gonzalo Molina, a senior official with the European Commission, which is spending more than £500,000 on the project.
Some 500 new energy efficient homes, costing £30 million, are to be built throughout the Republic. None will have radiators or need fires, and "up to 85 per cent" of their heating and hot water costs will be eliminated in these "SafeWarm" homes, according to Cement Roadstone Ltd (CRH) which developed them.
It is estimated that yearly savings of between 30 and 50 per cent can be made on energy costs in the new homes, according to the Irish Energy Centre. This amounts to more than £300 for the average home.
The main source of energy will come from solar panels developed in the Republic by Energy Resources International.
The "flagship development", at Brookfield in Tallaght, is being led by the AIB, CRH, South Dublin County Council, and Durkins builders. Half of the homes will be local authority owned, with the remainder being sold privately.
