The Government’s Climate Action Plan has a target of 500,000 homes to be retrofitted to a minimum B2 energy rating by 2030. But what does B2 mean for your home in real terms?
Sean McNeill, of Concave Energy, an SEAI-registered BER assessor in Kerry, explains that it’s a decent standard to achieve for a retro-fitted house. “There are many routes into it. It’s probably a well-insulated house, not necessarily benchmarked on current building regs, but you’ve got to retrofit some insulation into it, be it pumped into the cavity walls or dry liners… Say, a 1990s house being brought to a B standard, we’d probably do insulation, a new boiler, zoned heating, plus possibly solar.”
The B2 standard is a significant improvement from older houses, which were built to less stringent standards. The standard for new builds is higher, with A ratings and Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) attaining very high energy performance, where the energy required is covered to a significant extent by renewable sources.
McNeill recently put his money where his mouth is and deep retrofitted his own 1970s bungalow. “I had never lived in it, but it had single glazing, a fire in every room. I gutted that down to the four walls. If you’re going to that extent of a retrofit, you get to layer in insulation levels like a blank canvas, as you would do a new house. If you’re getting it back to four bare walls and putting in a heat pump, that’s an A-rated retrofit.”
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A whole house energy retrofit involves carrying out a number of energy upgrade measures in one installation, and can cost anywhere from €30,000 upwards depending on the size and condition of the house. You can also tackle it in stages—perhaps insulate the attic this year, save up to change the windows next year.
Incentives and supports
DIY measures like draft-proofing and insulation boards can help, but professional retrofits offer more significant improvements. Utility companies and banks are making their customers aware of the benefits of improving their BER, from lower bills to green mortgage rates, says McNeill.
McNeill explains that the assessor is usually contacted by the contractor or homeowner to set out a pathway to a more efficient home. They will oversee the project from start to finish, evaluating the house and recommending a suite of measures required to reach the desired BER rating.
“We obviously take into consideration insulation levels, heating systems, glazing, hot water systems—basically a whole analysis of the house. And we would list a suite of measures that’s the most cost-effective way to get it up through the ratings.”
Start with the basics
There is a clear order that he advises tackling the process in: start with the basics of insulation. There’s no point in creating more heat only to lose it out a heat-leaking roof or draughty doors and windows.
“If someone said ‘We’ve open fires, no insulation and nothing in the attic’ I’d advise them to get a stove, pump the cavity, dryline the wall and add attic insulation. They’re the fundamentals,” he says.
For those who are looking to sell their house in the near future, they won’t recoup the costs of a deep retrofit but a small investment could bump their BER up to something that looks more attractive in the estate agent’s window.
“Sometimes, a €5,000 spend could jump you from a D to a high C, which optically on an estate agent’s window probably looks better, and it’s fairly straightforward stuff.”
The real benefits of improving your BER rating come from living in the home long-term, with decreased running costs and increased warmth and comfort. “A young couple buying an old house, they’re going in to do work anyway, so it’s incumbent that they look at this over the 40 years they’re going to be in the house,” he says.
For renovators who might be adding on a new extension, it’s also worth reserving a little bit of the budget. “If you’re spending money on it, you should spend money on these few things that are not just aesthetic stuff. If you’re doing an extension of the kitchen—the Dermot Bannon glass box—set aside €5-10,000 to put into your original house and bring that up to standard.”
The different parts of the house may reach different BER levels; while a new extension should be A-rated, you could bring the older parts of the house up to a C or B3 rating and receive an overall average rating: “Between the two, you’re coming into the high Bs with the combination of the new build extension and the original.”
Understanding underfloor
Underfloor heating is increasingly popular with new builds and renovations, and while there are design benefits from freeing up space, and the comfort benefit of an even ambient temperature, the real rewards are in the efficiencies it provides.
While traditional radiators create local areas of high heat, underfloor heating systems deliver radiant heat through and across a floor, distributing the heat evenly across a much wider area, which means you won’t get cold or hot spots in a room, explains Ian Scouler, managing director, TMSG.
The larger the surface area over which any heat is distributed, the lower the temperature needs to be for the system to be effective.
“The ability to use cooler water is the key factor that opens up the possibility for heating the warm water using renewable energy, non-fossil methods,” Scouler says.
This explains why underfloor heating works exceptionally well at lower water temperatures and so pairs well with heat pumps. “Low flow temperatures, typically between 35ºand 50ºC, make it the ideal partner for air and ground source heat pumps, reducing energy running cost. Every 1ºC reduction improves heat pump efficiency by 2.5 per cent.
“Incidentally, if you have a gas/oil boiler and are not yet looking to upgrade to a heat pump, then underfloor heating will still be a great choice. Pairing a boiler with underfloor heating means the boiler can run at lower flow temperatures, which will reduce your heating bills.”
