Public sector grants and investments in private homes can be money very well spent. Deep retrofit do have global, regional, and individual benefit including:
- Can save householders money in energy bills
- Can make a warmer, drier, and less drafty home
- Reduces a major stream of GHG emissions associated with heating and powering the home
- In some cases significantly reduces harmful particulate emissions in and around the home (especially if home was heated with solid fuels)
Even with this new grant aid, deep retrofits still have a significant cost, but this is a really important step. Commonly questions arise as to the uptake if a homeowner still needs to invest €25K in addition to the grant money to fully fund a proper deep retrofit. Will there also be low-interest loans to support this very large upfront investment?
According to our recent 2022 EMP the simple payback period is on the longer side from 20-47 years, with the lowest-rated homes prior to retrofit having the fastest payback period.
Original article on the Irishtimes.com: