{"id":137816,"date":"2025-10-22T07:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T07:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/137816\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T07:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T07:39:09","slug":"a-little-diy-could-shave-hundreds-from-your-heating-bill-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/137816\/","title":{"rendered":"A little DIY could shave hundreds from your heating bill \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it time to turn on the heating yet? An end to energy<\/a> credits might give you pause. <\/p>\n

The universal credits that knocked \u20ac1,500 off household energy costs over the past two years were just a band-aid solution, so if you want a longer term solution, it\u2019s time to make a plan.<\/p>\n

A full house retrofit <\/a>will give you a warmer house and lower bills, but costing up to \u20ac38,000 for a typical semidetached home after grants, it\u2019s pricey. <\/p>\n

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There are ways to retrofit on the cheap, however. By picking off the fattest grants, and doing some basic DIY, a semi-d can be made warmer with cheaper bills for just over \u20ac1,000. <\/p>\n

Attic<\/p>\n

The best place to start your budget retrofit is in the attic. These insulation grants are among the most generous and can give you the biggest bang for your buck. <\/p>\n

Why attack the attic? Turn on your heating and up to 35 per cent of the warmth is escaping through a poorly insulated roof. It\u2019s a waste of heat and a waste of money. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor the vast majority of people, insulating the attic is easy to do, there\u2019s little disruption, it\u2019s done in a day and given that heat rises, it has an almost immediate impact,\u201d says Brian McIntyre, high performance building technologies manager with the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI). <\/p>\n

McIntyre is in the process of retrofitting his own home, bought two years ago, on a step by step basis. <\/p>\n

\"\"Dublin Bus CEO on recruitment challenges, going electric, and stamping out anti-social behaviour <\/p>\n

On this episode of Inside Business host Ciar\u00e1n Hancock is joined in studio by Billy Hann, chief executive of Dublin Bus, the biggest public transport company in our capital city. He joined the State-owned operator almost three years ago after a long career with the Irish Aviation Authority and is charged with leading a company that now transports more than 160 million passengers a year. He has a busy agenda, with challenges including difficulties in the recruitment of drivers and mechanics, traffic congestion, the switch to a fleet of EVs, and countering anti-social behaviour. Billy also discusses how Dublin Bus was currently performing and whether the busy Christmas period was a positive or negative for the company. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.<\/p>\n

Depending on your house, attic insulation grants pay up to 75 per cent of the cost of the work \u2013 there are few home renovation projects where someone else stumps up three quarters of the cost. <\/p>\n

Grant aid is on a sliding scale running from \u20ac800 for an apartment up to \u20ac1,500 for a detached home.<\/p>\n

The median cost of insulating the attic of a typical semidetached house is about \u20ac1,980 say SEAI estimates. The grant will cover \u20ac1,300, so the homeowner contributes about \u20ac680. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn my case, I\u2019m in a semidetached house from the 1960s, and the grant covered about 70 \u2013 75 per cent of the cost of work,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

If you have some insulation, don\u2019t be fooled into thinking it\u2019s enough. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in houses where people say, I have insulation, but they have two to four inches of the yellow fibreglass. You are losing three times as much heat through that as you would something insulated to current standards,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Depending on when your house was built, there may be too little insulation or what\u2019s there has become crushed over time, reducing its effectiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the pre-2011 houses eligible for grants, just over one third would have substandard insulation compared to today\u2019s standards,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

The SEAI grant requires attic insulation to be at least 300mm thick, which is around a foot deep. <\/p>\n

Space heating is the biggest energy guzzler, accounting for up to 60 per cent of spend. Good attic insulation will retain heat for longer, with a knock on effect on your energy bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore insulating, you feel how quickly the temperature drops after the heating goes off,\u201d says McIntyre. Householders end up switching it on again quickly when heat has ebbed. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter insulating, you become conscious that the house is retaining the heat for longer than it did before. You have a feeling of comfort for a lot longer. After a while you notice, oh, I haven\u2019t turned the heating on in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Windows<\/p>\n

Windows and doors are another place where heat is leaking out. Hold a candle or an incense stick around window frames and doors and a flicker will quickly show you where your money is seeping out, says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

There is no individual government grant to replace windows. You can get money off window replacement if you retrofit your entire home through the SEAI\u2019s \u201cone-stop-shop\u201d grant scheme, but many of us can\u2019t afford that, and we may not need new windows anyway, says McIntyre.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople think that if their windows are 15 to 20 years old, they need to be replaced, but sometimes it\u2019s just the seals that need to be replaced so that the openings fit tightly against the window frames again, preventing those heat leaks,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Tighten the hinges of windows too, because they may not be closing tightly enough, he says.<\/p>\n

Degraded seals around external doors are a problem too. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be a gap there where the heat is coming in. You can get cheap seals that you can put on to the door frame that will seal the gap so that the door closes more tightly against the frame,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

You can pick up a roll of foam seal with an adhesive strip on the back from any hardware shop for about \u20ac10.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeel off the strip and put it on the door frame so that when the door closes, it\u2019s making a seal and you don\u2019t have a draught gap,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be close gaps where there is heat being lost and there is cold air coming in,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

There can be gaps underneath the inside of window sills too. Using a clear silicone sealant costing about \u20ac10 to fill gaps will deal with this. <\/p>\n

Pipes <\/p>\n

Open plan kitchen-living areas can be a devil for draughts. <\/p>\n

\u201cPipes going out through external walls, there can be big gaps there that might not be visible because it\u2019s down low in a press. That can be an area where there is cold air coming in as well,\u201d says McIntyre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose draughts or movement of air can make an open plan space feel much colder.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFor pipes going through external walls, you can get expanding foam to fill gaps around the pipes. This serves to keep the heat in and keep both draughts \u2013 and mice \u2013 out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

If your en suite bedroom feels a little chilly, gaps around plumbing pipe work can be a cause. <\/p>\n

Similarly, if you have a suspended timber floor, check for draughts around the skirting board of external walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they can come up behind the skirting and wall. You can use a caulk or silicone sealant for that too,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Walls<\/p>\n

Depending on your house, wall insulation can be the next easiest step with the quickest payback. <\/p>\n

\u201cAround 30 to 35 per cent of heat is lost through your walls, so insulating them can be a very effective and relatively inexpensive measure,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

Your home will heat up faster and retain the residual heat for longer when walls are insulated. This means a more comfortable winter and lower energy bills. <\/p>\n

If you have cavity walls \u2013 as many home homes built in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s do, insulating them is a no-brainer. Small holes are drilled from the outside, with insulation like polystyrene beads pumped in. There is little disruption and instant payback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grants for wall insulation can account for 70 to 80 per cent of the cost of the works, so a very high proportion,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

The median cost of this type of cavity insulation for a mid-terrace house is \u20ac1,100, but an SEAI grant will contribute over 70 per cent, or \u20ac800 towards that. Pump the walls of your semidetached house and it will cost you about \u20ac300, with a grant of \u20ac1,200 covering 80 per cent of the \u20ac1500 median cost. <\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have cavity walls, external wall insulation is extremely effective, but it\u2019s not cheap. The median cost to externally insulate a semidetached house, at \u20ac23,300, is high. There is a grant of \u20ac6,000 towards that. <\/p>\n

The median cost of internal wall insulation for a semi-d is \u20ac10,500 and you will get a grant of \u20ac3,500 towards that. It requires removing skirting boards, any door frames, cornices and built in furniture too, so that adds to cost. <\/p>\n

Chimney<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason new-build homes don\u2019t have chimneys. Apart from the poor air quality created by burning any kind of solid fuel, a chimney flue in a room acts like a giant heat Hoover.<\/p>\n

Because warm air rises, the chimney flue is a big source of heat loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole purpose of a chimney is to pull air from the room up through the chimney to keep the fire going, so it\u2019s essentially like having a big hole in the wall,\u201d says McIntyre. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be surprised if a chimney accounts for less than 10 per cent heat loss. It acts like a suction, just pulling heat out of the room. You need to close that off as far as you can,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

A chimney balloon, costing less than \u20ac50 will do the job, he advises.<\/p>\n

The balloon provides a physical barrier that prevents cold draughts and heat loss, saving you money on fuel bills and making the living area warmer, more comfortable and with less cross draughts.<\/p>\n

There are no tools or structural works required and you can remove the balloon if you want to light a fire. <\/p>\n

Turn it down<\/p>\n

How warm should your house be? A temperature of about 18-21 degrees is comfortable for most people. Hallways and bedrooms can be cooler, between 15-18 degrees, says the SEAI. You\u2019ll knock 10 per cent off your bill by lowering the temperature by one degree. <\/p>\n

Outlook<\/p>\n

Household energy costs have been a bit of a roller coaster in the past five years. Our bills now are about \u20ac500 cheaper since the peak of the crisis in Ukraine. But they are still about \u20ac500 more expensive than five or six years ago. Universal energy credits helped, but having a more energy efficient home will leave you less buffeted by price hikes in future. <\/p>\n

Installing for insulation and fixing draughts isn\u2019t as bling as sticking solar panels on your roof, but think of it as quiet luxury. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are better off addressing heat loss from the house because it can have a bigger impact in terms of the comfort of being in your home,\u201d says McIntyre. \u201cIf you are going to be living there for a long time, you are better off investing in comfort than in solar panels.\u201d <\/p>\n

Free retrofit?<\/p>\n

Could you be eligible for up to \u20ac30,000 of free home retrofit works? <\/p>\n

The Fully Funded Energy Upgrade scheme from the SEAI aims to improve the energy-efficiency and warmth of homes owned by those at risk of energy poverty.<\/p>\n

Those eligible include recipients of the fuel allowance, the working family payment, one parent family payment, the domiciliary care allowance, carer\u2019s allowance and disability allowance, where it\u2019s received for over six months and there is a child under age seven. Recipients of the Job Seeker\u2019s allowance for more than six months with a child under seven are eligible too.<\/p>\n

You must live in your own home, and it must have been built before 2006. <\/p>\n

Those who qualify can get free attic, cavity wall, or external or internal wall insulation, and draught proofing, energy efficient lighting and a lagging jacket. Depending on an assessment of your home, the scheme can provide thousands of euro in works for free. The average spend on a qualifying home last year has been \u20ac26,602.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a waiting list, and the average time for a home to be completed is up to 20 months from the time of application. If you apply now, it will probably mean another winter or two until your house is a whole lot warmer and more energy efficient but at least you will be in the queue.<\/p>\n

You can apply for the scheme on the SEAI\u2019s website. If you qualify, an SEAI surveyor will visit your home and recommend upgrades based on its age, size and your existing heating system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is it time to turn on the heating yet? An end to energy credits might give you pause.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,2190,18,15912,19,17,12094,81744],"class_list":{"0":"post-137816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-cost-of-living","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-energy-crisis","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-money-matters","15":"tag-retrofitting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}