Upgrades could save us €1,000 in heating bills
Thursday October 22 2009
HOUSEHOLDERS could save over €1,000 a year on heating bills if the Government commits to upgrading the country's housing stock to become more energy efficient.
And a new report by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) says over 30,000 construction jobs would be created if 1.2 million homes were upgraded.
However, the bill to make homes more energy efficient could reach €14.5bn.
Improvements ranging from insulating walls and attics to installing more efficient boilers and lighting would cut energy bills, the IIEA said. And utility companies, including the ESB and Bord Gais, could be asked to foot the bill, with the customer paying back the cost in their bills over a number of years.
But IIEA chairman Brendan Halligan said the scale of the upgrading works needed showed how badly homes had been constructed in the past.
"The findings are quite dramatic," he said. "We know that homes have to be retrofitted, and it's a dreadful commentary on the political class and the construction industry. We constructed buildings which were unfit for purpose, and which will have to be retrofitted at enormous cost," he said.
Under the proposals, there would be no upfront costs for homeowners, with average savings running to €1,100 a year on energy bills.
Inefficiencies
The total investment required would be €14.5bn over a period of 12 to 15 years, but as a result the State would save €1.4bn on annual energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"It highlights problems in terms of energy inefficiencies in our homes; but importantly, it offers us solutions," Energy Minister Eamon Ryan said. "We would be fools not to take up this task. We can't afford not to."
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
