Electric Ireland Superhomes

Misconceptions about retrofitting are quite common, and we will be explaining more about retrofitting in our series of interviews with our colleagues, starting with David Flannery, our Head Retrofit Advisor #retrofit #seai #seaigrants #hometransformation #interview

💰 Maximise your savings on home energy improvements with SEAI Home Energy Grants. Read our new blog post for details. 📰 https://lnkd.in/dkCFzagb

Have you considered retrofitting your home but are unsure of the steps involved in the process? Dr. Ciaran Byrne, Director of National Retrofit at SEAI joined Matt Cooper on Today FM, to explain what’s involved. Click the link to listen to the full conversation: https://bit.ly/3ylSSs2

🏡 The Warmth and Wellbeing project was established to examine how energy efficiency upgrades to homes can improve the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic respiratory conditions. 📰 The research shows that the installation of home energy efficiency measures through the scheme resulted in beneficial effects for the health of the householders. 👉 See the slides to learn more about the positive effects of retrofitting. 🔗 Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/ezJUdFX6

The co-benefits of Home Retrofit continue……   Significant research that provides tangible evidence linking home energy efficiency upgrades with improved health has been published. It confirms that energy-efficient homes are healthier homes. For the first time in an Irish context, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tracked the health outcomes of householders following energy efficiency upgrades over three years. The final report shows home energy efficiency measures delivered by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) under the Government’s Warmth and Wellbeing pilot scheme, resulted in improvements across a range of physical and mental health and social well-being. Results show participants needed fewer GP visits, fewer hospital admissions - particularly for respiratory conditions, fewer prescriptions, reduced pain, improved mobility, and physical functioning. It also shows a reduction in anxiety levels and an improvement in emotional well-being among participants. These findings are truly significant.    Ireland is a world leader in many areas of the transition to a low-carbon economy, particularly with our approach to retrofitting our existing housing stock. SEAI has supported the energy upgrade of over 145,000 homes across every county in Ireland since 2019 and 19,000 of these homes were vulnerable energy poor. We need to maintain momentum and I am confident the findings of this research will encourage more householders to consider an energy upgrade to improve their overall health and wellbeing while also positively contributing to Ireland's zero-carbon future. A link to the full document with findings is below:   https://lnkd.in/ekBikKrn

"The Warmth and Wellbeing Scheme was established in 2016 as a joint energy, social and health policy initiative led by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with the Department of Health - Ireland, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and Health Service Executive (HSE). The project was established to examine how energy efficiency upgrades to homes can improve the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic respiratory conditions The research shows that the installation of home energy efficiency measures through the scheme resulted in beneficial effects for the health of the householders, with evidence of improvement across a range of measures relating to physical and mental health and social wellbeing. For physical health, the positive effects of retrofitting the home included, for example: - improvements in respiratory symptoms and the impact of symptoms on daily activities - improvements in physical functioning - improved mobility, and reduced pain For mental health and wellbeing, among other benefits, the evaluation found: - reductions in anxiety and depression - reductions in the psycho-social effect of respiratory diseases, and - improvements in emotional wellbeing Participants also reported: -large improvements in thermal comfort - greater satisfaction in their ability to control the temperature of their homes - being more comfortable inviting others to home" 📰 Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezJUdFX6

Great to see more supports for heat pumps being highlighted by the Climate Change Advisory Council this week. Ireland is making good progress on our building and retrofit targets, but there’s a big gap to close and more measures needed to ensure emission reductions are permanently locked in and that we address energy poverty at the same time. Grants will of course always be welcome, but wider supports around access to accurate information, follow up support once installed, and incentives to improve energy reduction behaviour are also needed. When I first explored getting a heat pump in our home I was met with some common myths - your house is too small to benefit, gas would be better, you’ll need to tear our the radiators and put all new ones in, you’ll need underfloor heating - none of which was accurate. But with the right supports we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the comfort and dependability of a heat pump for a number of years and stepped closer to moving away from fossil fuels. Read the Climate Change Advisory Council’s full review on the Built Environment here: https://t.co/9hzGXTJvOe

"So, what are you waiting for? Well, in most cases, we’re waiting for our existing oil or gas boilers to die, says Brian McIntyre, programme manager for high performance building technologies at SEAI, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). “Heating is such a fundamental part of our home, so people take time and want to make sure they are doing the right thing. But if your current oil or gas boiler is about 10 years old, it’s time to start thinking about heat pumps,” he says." 📰 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dwDXifnj

Good news! 🏡 Residential emissions decreased by 7.1% driven by a shift away from fossil fuels.

Press Release: SEAI is encouraging homeowners with old oil or gas boilers to show fossil fuels the door and make the switch to a heat pump. Click the link to read the release: https://bit.ly/3Lc92XJ #heatpumps