A north Dublin home goes from a D1 to A3 with a home energy upgrade
Homeowner John Brady is thrilled with his warmer home and significant savings on his electricity bill.
Background
John, originally from Twickenham, England, moved to North Dublin with his wife 29 years and fell in love with the place. His wife Brenda is from Beaumont, Dublin so they knew they wanted to settle nearby.
In preparation for their retirement, the couple wanted to make the house warmer and cosier while also reducing their bills. “For me it was more about the cost, I wanted to try make savings on the solar panels. Brenda was more about the heat. We brought both of our reasons together and looked around and found this One Stop Shop [scheme],” explains John.
The project
The house was built in the 1970s, and although it was still in good condition, the BER was D1 so not very energy efficient. Both John and Brenda were keen to upgrade the home and enjoy their future retirement without worrying about high energy bills and cold winters. They started with some online research.
“We wanted something where someone looks after the whole project. We looked into it more and found out that there was a grant possible. We knew there would be some sort of grant,” said John.
John and Brenda reached out to Churchfield Home Services, an SEAI registered One Stop Shop, who sent out a team member to talk through the energy upgrade process with them and the different grants available. After this initial meeting, they decided to move to the next step and get a home energy assessment.
Churchfield appointed a technical surveyor who called to the house and reviewed the house’s energy performance. The output of this assessment was a pre-BER certificate and an upgrade plan. This is a requirement if applying for the SEAI One Stop Shop grant. At this point John and Brenda knew what measures would need to be implemented to bring their home up to a BER B2 at the very minimum.
“We sat down together and came up with a plan of what we wanted and what they felt was best for us. And we haven’t looked back.”
Energy upgrades carried out included:
- Attic insulation
- Exterior insulation
- New energy efficient windows and doors
- Solar PV panels installed on the roof
- Smart plugs on the heating system
Results
The house was at a D1 and is now an A3 BER.
“Looking at the bills so far, we’ve had a good summer so it’s a bit difficult to tell but it looks like we’re saving two thirds of our electricity bill. “
John was so pleased with the upgrade that he recommended it to his next-door neighbour and a friend – both of whom have completed their own home energy upgrades since. He praised the efforts of Churchfield Home Services too: “Churchfield were so helpful in every area.”
“I would definitely recommend the SEAI One Stop Shop deal. It’s absolutely superb, we got a great deal. We’re happy with it and haven’t looked back.”
Find out more about One Stop Shops
