Degrees Of Change.

Climate change is here. No longer a worry for the future or someone else, its effects are being felt here and now, by us. The good news is that its effects can be limited and eventually reversed if we take immediate focussed action, globally.

As signatories to the Paris Agreement, Ireland has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. (A number of incremental improvements are required before then in line with the Kyoto Agreement - hence the regular updates to our energy building regulations ‘Part L’.)

Buildings - both their construction and energy requirements in use - currently account for about 39% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions. 11% consists of embodied energy - that is, the materials and processes used to construct the building. The remaining 28% are operational emissions — from the energy required to power and heat our buildings.

And the main culprit? The combustion of fossil fuels. There are many facets of change that need to be made to secure our safe future on Earth, but I am going to focus on only one here today — carbon emissions from the operation of homes.

When looking at operational emissions it is useful to consider why they occur in the first place, and there are two main reasons:

1. Space heating

2. Lighting and electrical power.

It is possible to build a new home that barely requires space heating at all - the occupants, appliances and a heat-recovery ventilation system comfortably heating a home built to the ‘passive house’ standard.

But what can you do when you are in an existing leaky, poorly insulated home? Retrofit is the answer.

Retrofit refers to the retrospective upgrading of the building fabric (walls, floors, roof, windows etc) in order to improve the thermal performance. Improved thermal performance reduces the need for space heating - and, you’ve guessed it - carbon emissions. The biggest barrier to retrofitting our homes is the upfront cost. There are some government grants available, but there needs to be more incentives, more ways to spread the cost. The danger of course is that lower income households bear an ever-increasing burden of fuel costs and are at risk of fuel poverty.

Come the next election, demand to know what your local candidates propose to do to address the situation?

In the meantime, you and I can make a positive difference by improving the building stock, one home at a time. Please get in touch today to see how you can improve your home, secure your future and improve your quality of life and comfort.