Capo SEAI: le critiche all’ammodernamento non colgono il punto: migliorare la propria casa significa migliorare la salute, bollette più prevedibili e una maggiore sicurezza energetica nazionale

I think everyone knows that, but I think some people are annoyed that it just loads the cost onto the initial price to begin with.

“We’ve seen in recent weeks how exposed Irish homeowners and businesses are to energy price shocks they can do nothing about.

As long as we continue to rely on imported fossil fuels, turmoil abroad can quickly feed through to the cost of heating our homes and running our economy.

The latest conflict in the Middle East has again underlined just how fragile that system is. We cannot control global events, but we can reduce our vulnerability to them.

That is where retrofitting comes in. Quite apart from any energy crisis, a better-insulated, more efficient home is warmer and healthier to live in, and cheaper to run. These results are immediate – there is no payback on the instant improvement to the comfort of your home.

When people speak about payback periods, they are taking an extremely narrow view that misrepresents something that delivers far wider benefits.

With the cost of oil and gas on such an uncertain trajectory, even when taking such a limited view, the strictly economic payback periods suggested are likely to significantly decrease.

In 2016, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) conducted a pilot looking at the health of people living in retrofitted homes. The results were extraordinary. Those living in higher-rated homes saw improvements to their physical and mental health. They also reported greater satisfaction in their ability to control their energy use – a crucial requirement in today’s international climate.

Retrofitting is also having a measurable impact on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA’s provisional 2024 data shows residential sector emissions are down 1.4 megatonnes CO2 since 2018, putting us about half way to the sector’s 2030 target.

This progress can sometimes be missed when focusing solely on individual upgrade metrics rather than the wider system impact.

Home values increase alongside the energy performance rating

It’s true that some households may choose to increase indoor temperatures and improve comfort rather than fully reduce energy bills. This is a good thing. We see it especially for those on lower incomes who may have only been heating one room, but are now able to enjoy a warmer, more comfortable, healthier home. We welcome that and adjust for it in our modelling.

BER is intended to be a standardised measure of the energy performance of homes, much like fuel consumption ratings for cars. It is not intended to predict actual energy use, which can vary depending on occupancy patterns and occupant behaviours, just as fuel consumption of a car depends on driver behaviour and habits.

Furthermore, the research shows clearly that home values increase alongside the energy performance rating, and getting into the B range can open access to green mortgage products.

Solar panels can increase your energy security. Photo: Getty
There has never been a better time to retrofit your home. Government grants have never been more generous and the practical imperative to do so never as persuasive.

The evidence to date shows that most homeowners adopt a step-by-step approach to retrofitting their homes and may not reach the target of a B2 on the first go.

We support that approach, with several new measures announced by Climate, Energy and the Environment Minister Darragh O’Brien earlier this year aimed at making it more accessible and affordable to upgrade your home.

There is no doubt that Irish people are pivoting towards the schemes in significant numbers, and momentum in the retrofit sector is strong.

Last year, SEAI supported 58,000 home energy upgrades – the highest level ever recorded. Solar deployment is also accelerating.

In late 2025, SEAI surpassed 100,000 grant‑aided solar installations, with almost one-third of those installed last year alone. And Ireland is currently joint fourth in the EU for heat pump deployment rates.

Ireland’s retrofit programme is not just about climate targets or payback periods. It is about warmer homes, better health, lower and more predictable energy bills, and greater national energy security.

The task now is to build on the significant progress to date and continue scaling delivery so that more households can reap those benefits.

William Walsh is the chief executive of SEAI”

Trying to claim people are ‘missing the point’ with their criticisms, and then intentionally omitting the two primary criticisms (that it drives up costs as one stop shops pocket the difference, and is off limits to many who would benefit most as individual grants require up-front payment and being recompensed after) is just being dishonest. 

It’s like a “live better, people” tax.

You’ll be paying this cost for the rest of your working life but, sure look, haven’t you reduced the energy burden on the data centres.