What Cork homeowners need to know before doing a home energy upgrade

BY BRIDGET O'SULLIVAN

WHEN looking to make savings on the cost of heating and running your home, some simple steps can make a big difference.

However, when it comes to ensuring your home is warm, with a comfortable and constant temperature in every room, plenty of hot water any time you want, as well as being cost effective AND energy efficient, Insulex provides a One Stop Shop for complete Home Energy Upgrades, to ensure this is exactly the kind of home you enjoy.

Martin McCarthy and his team at Insulex, based in Ballinadee, Bandon offer complete energy upgrades to any home no matter how old.

‘We specialise in taking old, cold homes which can have a BER rating of F or even G and transforming them into warm, cosy energy efficient homes, with renewable energy systems.’ said Martin.

This can be done either with the One Stop Shop approach where a substantial number of energy upgrade measures are done all at once, or by doing one measure at a time, for example attic insulation or cavity wall insulation.

There are a variety of grants available for all measures, however, the One Stop Shop approach offers a wider range of grants and less disruption to homeowners as all the work happens at once.

As this approach involves doing a complete suite of works in order to qualify for the substantial grant, there is considerable cost involved, but grant values are deducted from the cost of works upfront to make this a more accessible option for homeowners.

If this is not available option for you right now, you can utilise alternative grants for individual measures and upgrade your home one measure at a time.

Insulex One Stop Shop offers a fully managed solution. ‘We manage the entire process for you, from the initial Home Energy Assessment, right through to the final BER assessment’ said Martin.

‘We handle all the paperwork, organisation of contractors, assessments, and the complete grant application for you, so it makes upgrading your home hassle free.’

The first step in planning your home energy upgrade is to book a Home Energy Assessment.

The independent Home Energy Assessment (HEA) is necessary to determine the range of energy upgrades that are necessary to achieve specific results within your home.

Martin explained, ’this gives us a clear roadmap to work from. We are looking at key measures such as Insulation, Ventilation, Windows, Doors, Solar PV and of course Renewable Energy Heating Systems.

'We then sit with the homeowner, go through all the possibilities outlined in the Home Energy Assessment and match suitable upgrade measures with the clients desires, expectations and budget.

'There are very clear objectives and specific energy value improvements required by the SEAI to qualify for the One Stop Shop grant and if this is not achievable then we work with the client to develop an alternative plan and outline other relevant grant options available to deliver a warm, cosy and energy efficient home.

'The most important thing for us is to prioritise what our clients want, look at what grants are available to them and then deliver a warm, energy efficient, cost-effective, future-proofed home.’ Martin concluded.

Insulex is currently one of 12 companies nationwide that are approved and registered with SEAI as a One Stop Shop provider for complete Home Energy Upgrades. The SEAI continues to add more providers to increase market capacity.

Grants offered are provided by the Government of Ireland through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

To find out if your home qualifies for an energy upgrade grant or to book a Home Energy Assessment visit: www.insulex.ie.