From curtains and blinds to carpets and rugs, there are many ways to keep the cold at bay
Blinds from Hillarys
The summer is ended and we are not yet retrofitted! It’s going to be a chilly winter. Energy-efficient homes are warmer in cold weather and generally more comfortable to be in. The bills are lower and previously cold rooms become habitable. Their occupants will not spend the winter huddled under a blanket for fear of unpredictable fuel bills. New homes should be energy-efficient already, but many older homes are not. The route to improvement is called deep retrofitting: an umbrella term for various home energy upgrades ranging from heat pumps and solar panels to insulation.
Not all of these measures suit every building. To find out what’s feasible, the first step is to get a Home Energy Assessment. This will rate your home’s energy performance on a scale between A (the most energy efficient) and G (the least energy efficient) and give recommendations on how to improve that rating. The assessment costs between €700 and €1,000. There’s a list of providers on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) website, where you can also apply for a Home Energy Assessment grant of €350 to mitigate the cost.