SEI Grant

MargeS22

Is it true that the grant for renewable energy for new builds is gone. That the house has to be over a year old. Would it not make better sense to get people to put the renewable energy in in the first place. Is there any way around this. On the form they ask for ESB number. I think this is rediculous.

CJhaughey

MargeS22 wrote: »

On the form they ask for ESB number. I think this is rediculous.

What is ridiculous? That they ask for the ESB number? or that the grants have gone?

MargeS22

That the grant is gone for new builds. And the way they keep track of it is by asking for ESB number.

No6

And the MPRN (ESB number) goes on the BER certificate and which will be submitted to the SEI around completion of the project therefore giving the SEI a very good idea of when the house is acutually complete. Dont be supprised if they use the submission date of the BER cert asthe start of the year for assesing eligliabilty for the grants!! :eek:

CJhaughey

At the risk of offending a load of people, I will state that the SEI grant system is better off gone.
A 1% or 0% Vat rate on Solar Thermal systems would have been a far better and more equitable way of encouraging the uptake of renewables, instead the grants spawned an army of installers that in many cases will not be around when their shoddy systems have failed and the homeowner will be left to try and fix it themselves.
Far better to buy direct from the continent and install yourself with the help of a competent plumber, at least then you will know what is involved in the setup of a solar system.
Not to mention cheaper than paying for overpriced goods here.

No6

CJhaughey wrote: »

At the risk of offending a load of people, I will state that the SEI grant system is better off gone.
A 1% or 0% Vat rate on Solar Thermal systems would have been a far better and more equitable way of encouraging the uptake of renewables, instead the grants spawned an army of installers that in many cases will not be around when their shoddy systems have failed and the homeowner will be left to try and fix it themselves.
Far better to buy direct from the continent and install yourself with the help of a competent plumber, at least then you will know what is involved in the setup of a solar system.
Not to mention cheaper than paying for overpriced goods here.

I agree with most of that CJ dont know about buying direct from the continent, but youre probably right there too!!

CJhaughey

In Germany and Austria DIY installation of Solar DHW is common, most communities have night classes or courses in solar installation available to attend.
This means that solar thermal is an accepted and conventional technology there, as opposed to many purveyors of snake oil and smoke and mirrors here.
It also means that solar thermal componentry is widely available, look at ebay.de for solar technik and there are multiple systems available for roughly 1/2 the cost of here, even taking into account shipping and installation the savings are there to be made.
I am not knocking all Irish installers and perhaps the grants have stimulated the development of the sector, but I think the correct way should have been to use the money to develop training courses and advisory services, and couple this with low VAT for the componentry.

badolepuddytat

IT's against some EU/ Irish legislation to grant aid mandatory stuff in the building regs.... hence about 7 days after the new regs came in.... solar grants for new homes went out the window.

sydthebeat

from an overall energy conservation point of view, it makes sense to take the focus off new builds and put it onto existing housing stock. new builds have to be built to a certain high degree of conservation (B3 in the new regs approx)

Most existing housing stock would be at D or E levels so from a governance point of view, grant aiding a saving of, say, 75 KWHyr has more bang for buck in a D or E house compared to a C1 or B3.

I agree with this change. Anyone building a new dwelling should be automatically encouraged to make it more energy efficient due to energy costs, they shouldnt need a carrot and stick approach.