Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte T.D, today launched Better Energy – The National Upgrade Programme which will streamline the existing residential programmes, support jobs and help consumers lower their energy bills. Welcoming the decision by the Minister for Finance to allocate an additional €30 million towards the new programme, Minister Rabbitte said, “Better Energy is a major step forward in this Government’s retrofitting programme. Given energy price trends and growing concerns over security of supply, the way we use energy is no longer simply a question of environmental responsibility but one of economic necessity. Every euro spent by homeowners and businesses on energy efficiency, not only brings about long term energy savings, but also helps support jobs and indigenous companies.”

The key elements of today’s announcement include:
 An additional €30M in Government funding in 2011
 The extra funding will support an additional 2,000 jobs in 2011
 The streamlining of programmes to make it easier for people to make an informed choice about the most suitable energy saving measure for them
 The involvement of the energy companies as partners in delivering energy savings.
 The start of the process of moving to new financial models such as pay as you save, which will foster sustained jobs and savings in this area.

What is Better Energy?
Put simply, Better Energy is a programme designed to ensure that there are more opportunities for householders and businesses to reduce their energy consumption leading to real and lasting cost savings.
Better Energy builds upon what was good about the existing grant schemes and adds a role for energy suppliers, a transition to an upfront discount rather than a retrospective grant and a national pay-as-you-save scheme.
Better Energy will replace the three existing programme: Home Energy Saving Scheme (HES), Warmer Homes Scheme (WHS) and Greener Homes Scheme (GHS), under one umbrella.

Better Energy

Where we are now?

Most people could improve their comfort and reduce their energy bills by upgrading the energy efficiency of their home. Actions include improving insulation, upgrading the boiler or installing better heating controls

Upgrades make economic sense given that heating bills can often be halved and so over a number of years the savings add up to more than the initial outlay

Government grants cover about one third of the cost of typical upgrade measures, and are proving very popular. More than 1,000 upgrades are being carried out every single week

This activity supports jobs, especially since upgrades tend to be labour intensive. More than 5000 full time jobs were supported in 2010. In the past two years, more than one quarter of a billion euro has been spent in the home energy upgrade sector in Ireland.

What comes next?

The next major evolution will be to find new ways to fund the upgrades so that more people can participate without the need to pay upfront to gain savings down the line. Innovative financing models such as “pay as you save” lend money for upgrades with repayments linked to the savings. The ideal model is when a homeowner pays nothing upfront and repays the cost of an upgrade at a rate the same as the energy bill reduction generated. Work is underway to move to this new system by 2013.

Full details (including terms and conditions) in relation to ESB Electric Ireland’s price offerings are available at www.esbelectricireland.ie
or call 1850 30 50 90.

Launched at an event in Dublin in December, the report, Energy in Ireland 1990-2009 shows that in addition to the decline in economic activity, increased energy efficiency and the consistent growth of renewables on the national grid contributed to a significant decline in energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2009 of 11%.

The report also shows that overall energy use declined by 9% in 2009, with sectors such as industry at 13%, services at 12% and transport at 10% witnessing the greatest fall.

Launching the report, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan T.D. said: “I am encouraged by the findings of the latest Energy in Ireland report, particularly to see renewable energy grow at a time when energy prices are falling for both business and domestic consumers. Contrary to some perceptions, Ireland’s position in terms of energy prices relative to the rest of Europe continues to improve, with prices for many consumers now below the EU average.”

Minister Ryan concluded: “By continuing to reduce wasteful use of energy in our homes and businesses, and by making much fuller use of our natural energy resources, we can dramatically improve our competitiveness, our energy security and reduce our exposure to volatile fuel prices.”

Commenting on the report, SEAI Chief Executive Professor Owen Lewis said: “Energy in Ireland 1990-2009 reflects important trends in our approach to, and management of, energy demand and supply in Ireland.  We are seeing some positive results shine through as renewable energy continues to grow and energy efficiency continues to improve across all sections of society. As energy becomes more central to enterprise and our economy, it is increasingly important for us to keep a close eye on the emerging trends.”

        The customer was interested in comparing the renewable solutions offered by Ashgrove against a traditional fossil fuel system. An oil boiler central heating system providing heat to a traditional radiator system was quoted at € 3,780 to install. The annual running cost associated with oil fills and one boiler service was calculated at € 1,890.

        Ashgrove specified a Geothermal Heat Pump which would provide heating and hot water to the home for an installed cost of € 11,200 (including ground collector pipework). The annual running cost would be € 650 of electrical energy, plus one service at € 198       

        In order to achieve the highest possible savings Ashgrove recommend underfloor heating when installing a heat pump. Underfloor heating will ensure the most efficient operation of the system and provides a more comfortable and controllable means of heating the home. The installed cost for this home was calculated at € 4,550.

         An alternative solution was suggested in the form of an Air to Water (A2W) Heat Pump. This unit draws outside air through itself and in a similar fashion to the geothermal unit it provides hot water inside the home. An A2W unit means less installation work as there is no ground collector installed. Because the customer was unsure as to the layout of the site they requested that this solution be considered. This solution would cost € 11,450 to install, with annual running costs of € 890.

        Over a 30 year period the oil boiler would cost € 56,700 to run (without taking increases in oil prices into account) while the geothermal heat pump would cost €9,500, a saving of € 32,650 (including the initial cost of the underfloor heating). An Air to Water heat pump would provide savings of €29,700 per annum over the oil boiler system. This is assuming that the boiler has not been replaced, at least once!

Apart from the financial benefits of choosing a renewable technology the customer will enjoy a higher level of comfort through better controllability and a cleaner source of heat, which is friendlier to the environment. A geothermal heat pump is a more aesthetic solution and can be located in a kitchen or utility with the minimum of impact.

Controls have come a long way in the past ten years and they afford an excellent way to improve comfort conditions and save energy.

Controls have two primary functions:

• Deciding when the heating system comes on and goes off. It is a good idea (and a requirement for new installations) to divide the house into zones (eg living areas and bedrooms) and to have separate timeclock control over each zone.

• Maintaining a pleasant comfort level in the rooms. The most cost effective way of achieving this is by fitting thermostatic valves to radiators. These valves automatically regulate the radiator heat output to provide a constant temperature in the room.

It’s generally much cheaper and more CO₂ friendly for your boiler to provide your hot water needs instead of using an electrical immersion. Most modern boilers can supply heat to the hot water cylinder and the space heating circuit (e.g. radiators/ Underfloor Heating) independently. This means that when you need hot water in warmer weather your boiler does this without having to heat the radiators at the same time.

Where possible it is desirable to have independent control over space and water heating. And now, with the new Home Energy Savings scheme, you could even get a grant to help cover the cost of upgrading your heating controls. (See: www.seai.ie/hes)

To speak to one of our technical staff regarding possible upgrades for your system, and the grants available to you, please Call: 1890 626 626

Online Home Energy Self Survey

The smart online Home Energy Self Survey will only take minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works.  This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and will also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre.

What is the HES scheme?

The Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme provides grants to homeowners who are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their home in order to reduce energy use and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is open to all owners of existing houses built before 2006. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland administers the scheme.

Assistance will be provided by way of fixed grants towards the costs of implementing upgrade measures. The types of measures currently eligible under this scheme are roof insulation, wall insulation, high efficiency boilers and heating control upgrades.

To complete the online self survey, visit www.seai.ie, or if you would like to speak to one of our technical staff regarding heating control upgrades, please call  1890 626 626

Heating hot water account for 64% of energy consumption in the home: you should be thrifty in its use.
90% of the energy consumption of washing machines goes on heating the water.

Wash clothes whenever possible in cold or cool water.