More and more people are switching from oil and gas heating systems but the change is still slow.

Luckily a new legislation on the Building Regulations introduces higher performance standards for non-residential properties built after January 1, 2019. Therefore any any construction that is due to go on past this date will have to follow new laws.

This affects new buildings, major renovations, and also properties where there is a material change of use.

Ireland has been lacking in renewable energy in comparison to other EU countries. The legislation is another attempt to reach targets and create a sustainable future.

Home owners, business owners, communities and large industrials can now receive grants for switching to renewable energy sources.

Mike Teahan, founder of Renewable Building Systems Ireland (RBSI), said that a medium-sized commercial building might use 100,000kw hours per annum of energy and that this could attract a grant of €5,000 per annum for 15 years. With an installation cost of €75,000, that sees the cost of your heating plant fully repaid.

For renewable heating systems such as heat-pumps, a grant of up to 30% of the installation cost is payable. Although the grants reduce as buildings get bigger and are caped at a certain stage.

Blocks of commercial and residential buildings heated by a central, renewable energy, heating system is very common in the EU. Ireland is steadily taking on these systems with new schemes in place.

Mike Teahan explained that this type of development is cost-effective. In particularly in apartment blocks as all of the pipework is internal and one large boiler in the basement can be utilised.

The number of grants now available make the switch from an oil or gas boiler to a heat pump system very appealing, for any medium to large-size house, built before 2006. A grant of approximately €800 per annum is paid to you by your energy provider, upgrading your heating controls attracts a payment of €700, and you can get a €3,500 grant for a heat pump. That adds up to a value of approximately €5,000, off a system costing between €8,000 and 10,000.

For the full article which was featured in The Irish Independent click here.

For more information on our new home builds click here.