6 motivi per cui la rivoluzione retrofit dell’Irlanda si è bloccato
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0402/1505419-retrofitting-barriers-ireland-grants-labour-shortages/
di Dazzling_Lobster3656
6 motivi per cui la rivoluzione retrofit dell’Irlanda si è bloccato
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0402/1505419-retrofitting-barriers-ireland-grants-labour-shortages/
di Dazzling_Lobster3656
20 commenti
6 reasons in 1. Too pricy
People simply don’t have the money to them, not rocket science
1. Money
2. Money
3. Money
4. Money
5. Money
6. Money
If RTE want I can do an article on 10 reasons
I can’t afford it
A family member was quoted 110k to bring a D3 rated house to A2. After grants.
Why would someone do that. Theyre spending a lot to do other work that will have a good affect on the rating, but all one stop shops are a complete rip off IMO.
It seems everyone thinks it’s money, but from my experience, the standards have become unattainable. Making a derelict house a home is possible, making it airtight, B2 insulated and running on a heatpump is much, much harder. I’m a new build this makes sense, but I’d bet 70% of derelict houses aren’t suitable for these targets, and will remain derelict if the standards are so ridiculously high.
The government fucked it. Should have let people submit the receipts for a rebate or use tax rebates but nah instead they just transferred money to builders who essentially increased their prices to pocket the subsidy.
Gombeen economics.
Money and availability of tradespeople who aren’t Arthur Daley.
It’s money but also the hassle of the work.
We’re currently going through a retrofit. The cost of the retrofit is one thing, but we’ve found the entire process a pain in the hole. Despite going through a one stop shop, we’ve had to chase up most things ourselves. Like disconnecting the gas, no one told us we had to contact GNI to arrange this so there’s a delay as its a wait of a few weeks to get someone out. There’s been other things like this, apparently you’re just supposed to know these things.
And also a first world problem, but after the retrofit we’ll have costs on top for decorating etc as the windows/external doors/radiators etc being replaced mean the current paintwork will need to be redone, floors may have to be redone and so on.
We’re only doing it because our boiler died and we needed the windows and doors and heating upgraded anyway. And we’ve decided we’ll be here another 10/15 years. If my house was fine, I wouldn’t bother.
It is failed primarily because it’s so damn expensive.
From speaking to people I know who have had some retrofitting done (primarily with heating systems), they feel like they have been sold a bit of a pup. I forget the exact number but one friend told me before he had spent about 20 5K (excluding grants) putting in a heat pump system, it wasn’t that great on power as advertised but according to him it just didn’t heat the place up near enough.
The SCAI would have been better off if they focused on monitors incremental proven sustainable solutions first like solar panels, more insulation, improving BERs etc. rather than mass promoting and focusing on entire house conversions with newer un-established technologies.
Although I haven’t seen myself he was telling me about people he knows living in new builds without chimneys or Windows that don’t really open to far who are having serious problems with mould..
I am all for retrofitting and efficiency but people need to stop being sold this as some sort of environmental revolution, it needs to be economically marketed and functional.
The same reason EV sales are falling. Once the pool of wealthy people who can afford this is exhausted, it becomes apparent that the entire scheme was a misguided transfer of taxpayer money to the already wealthy.
In the case of EVs, much of the money would have been better spent on a public charging network rather than subsidising people in leafy areas of Dublin to buy new Teslas. Perhaps something similar needs to happen here.
Return on investment is the main concern, there is no point in spending 25K on home improvements if its only going to save you 500-700 euros a year. It would take you 35+ to break even.
For over a course of 3 years I’ve staggered the retrofit projects I’ve done in the apartment ( new windows, doors, internal insulation, HRV ), it’s made a substantial difference in terms of comfort. I didn’t bother going through the scheme because the goal to achieve a B2 rating for my apartment (initial rating of C3) wasn’t reachable unless I had the outside space to install a heat pump or a proper roof to install solar panels on.
I sometimes think of all those house with retrofitted external insulation, over empty cavity walls or cavity/hollow blocks. Seems pretty pointless, all the heat inside goes into the wall, then up up and away.
Grand if the cavity is filled. Or else a big waste of 20k I reckon.
its simple really, its much cheaper and easier to do the work by yourself or with a local builder. especially if you are not gutting the whole house. etc
As far as I can tell most of the companies that do the work with the grants are just price gouging people and most naive people thinks its a bargain because of the grant.
I got a quote of 5k or 3.9k after the grant to insulate my attic with a few insulated boards going down for flooring as well,
I bought the materials and did the work in 2-3 evenings after work for about 1k.
Do the math there,
materials 1k (they most likely get it cheaper from buying in bulk)
labour for guys 2 guys for 2 days – 1k ( 2 guys most likely do it in one full day )
profit margin for the job roughly 3k
most normal construction companies work on 10-20% profit margins.
SEAI gate keeping access to the grants is a massive issue.
The approved one-stop-shop system feels like a scam.
We have a system already in place for maintaining standards in construction why do we need to go through their approved one-stop-shop contractors?
If you have a b3 or lower rated house it simply doesn’t add up. Just put in a bit of extra insulation in the attic and seal up any draughts.
The grants are somewhat extreme in terms of eligibility. Eg first thing I did when I got my house was getting insulation sorted and that was great with the grant. Ended up switching out my front door so that was 3k out of pocket cause I don’t want to shell out for a full retrofit. But I would happily have done the front and back doors and windows if the grant allowed that kind of combo. I’m very much so about incrementally getting things done incrementally and it doesn’t really support that idea.
We are upgrading at the moment. Companies that are SEAI approved for grants literally just add the grant price on. I’m not joking, all of them. Our builder is doing it for us slightly cheaper with no grants at all. That’s ludicrous when you think about it
Everything is imported