Astrid Madsen
One Stop Shop energy upgrades are now a reality for ROI homeowners, with the Deep Retrofit pilot scheme repackaged into the National Home Retrofit scheme. The catch is the maximum grant amount has fallen from 50 per cent to 35 per cent.
The National Home Retrofit scheme, launched in ROI on September 25th 2020 and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), offers a One Stop Shop solution to homeowners who want to upgrade the energy efficiency of their home.
The aim of a comprehensive energy upgrade is to reduce energy bills and increase indoor air quality.
As with the Deep Retrofit pilot scheme, homeowners will have to club together to benefit from economies of scale to make the renovation project as cost effective as possible. The deep retrofit scheme was a pilot programme that closed in 2019.
The SEAI tells Selfbuild that if a homeowner would like to avail of the National Retrofit scheme they can contact a project co-ordinator to register their interest. A similar list will be published on the National Home Retrofit page.
As with the deep retrofit scheme, the National Home Retrofit grant will allow homeowners to upgrade the entirety of their home in a cohesive manner, as opposed to availing of a single grant under the Better Energy Homes scheme to upgrade say, the insulation in one part of the house and not another.
The aim is to get to at least a B2 building energy rating and, as with the Better Energy Homes grants, the house must have been built before 2006. The maximum grant amount for homeowners is 35 per cent of the building works.
In parallel, An Post launched a new retrofit loan to deliver financial advice and support.
An Post’s Green Hub will give you the loan to get the work done, as well as manage the entire application process for you.
An Post has teamed up with SSE Airtricity for technical advice, project management services, access to retrofit subcontractors and quality assurance knowledge to deliver the upgrade on the ground.
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