Hugh’s new home goes from BER C3 to A1
Homeowner transforms his newly purchased two-bed house with support from SEAI One Stop Shop grant route. His has created a comfortable, warm and much healthier environment to live in.
Background
Hugh Franklin decided to sell his 5-bedroom family home in the Kildare countryside. His three children had grown up and moved out and he was there on his own. The house was cold and hard to heat and as he got older, he realised he would like to live in a town where he could walk to the local shop instead of needing to drive.
He bought a much smaller two-bedroom townhouse in the centre of Kilcock leaving him with enough money to carry out a deep retrofit and transforming the newly purchase townhouse from a BER C3 to a BER A2.
Hugh did his research and decided that he was going to go the One Stop Shop grant route and upgrade the house all in one go. His contacted Home Comfort Retrofits, an SEAI-registered One Stop Shop and they took it from here. Handy that they are also based in Kilcock! They handled the entire project, including home energy assessment, grant application and managing all the energy upgrades.
The Project
Hugh didn't need to move out while the works were being carried out. Home Comfort Retrofits worked around his schedule to minimise disruption to his daily life. He did go on a walking holiday to France when the bulk of the work was done.
The first step in the process was the Home Energy Assessment. This is where Home Comfort Retrofits carried out a thorough assessment of the house and decided what works needed to be carried out to bring the house up to a minimum BER B2.
The upgrade works carried out included:
- External Wall Insulation
- Internal Wall Insulation
- Attic Insulation
- Windows and Doors upgrade
- Solar PV installed on the roof
- Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system installed
- Heat Pump replaced the old heating system
- Heating Controls were also installed
I believe it is important for my grandchildren that they grow up in a sustainable world that has a future and that the global heating crisis is brought under control and that they have a life like I had a life.
Results
Hugh’s home has gone from a BER C3 to A2. Despite nicknaming his new heat pump ‘The Beast’, he is thrilled with his new heating system.
"It has minimal input from me; there were a number of mornings that there had been a heavy frost outside and I hadn’t noticed."
Hugh is a self-confessed luddite but has embraced the solar panel app on his smartphone. "The app tells you what you’re generating and what you’re feeding into the grid".
The benefits of Hugh’s home energy upgrade go beyond cost savings. For him it’s important that his home is fossil fuel free to benefit the environment for his grandchildren’s future.
"I believe it is important for my grandchildren that they grow up in a sustainable world that has a future and that the global heating crisis is brought under control and that they have a life like I had a life".
