One Stop Shop versus BEC (Better Energy Community Programme)

kdowling

I have a 130 year old stone house that has a very poor energy rating.

I was looking to get the One Stop Shop done as we need wall, floor, attic insulation, water to heat pump, windows etc.

I hadn't heard of the BEC scheme before but when chatting to one of the approved contractors they said that its a much better option

than the One Stop Shop as you get to chose the individual contractors and can price around for each one.

So whereas its more work for me, I would get a much better price as he said that everyone bumps up their price for the One Stop Shop.

He said that the grants are the same for both.

Just looking to see if anyone has any experience using the BEC scheme and if it really is the best option.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058306507/one-stop-shop-versus-bec-better-energy-community-programme

the big difference in the community scheme is obviously that there needs to be an organised community application so a critical mass of people are needed to come together to make the application. You cannot simply apply yourself under that scheme, unlike the OSS route.

hesker

Yes a critical mass of people needed but that’s not a problem at the moment.

I’m part of a BEC application and the company I went with managed this. No different to a one stop shop from what I am required to do as far as I can see.

kdowling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120898464#Comment_120898464

What do you mean thats not a problem at the moment?

The guy who was advising me to go down that route never mentioned anything about needing more people although I can see

from the name of the scheme that it looks like it would be needed!!

hesker

It’s not a problem in my opinion as there is huge demand and there should be no problem getting enough interested people to constitute a community. From what I recall a community is just a collection of properties and not necessarily all living beside each other. I don’t know anyone else who is going to be part of my particular BEC.

Reading between the lines it seems to be designed to make reviews easier for SEAI as there are less individuals to deal with.

kdowling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120899177#Comment_120899177

Do you mind me asking how you went about getting the other people who are part of your BEC?

hesker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120899322#Comment_120899322

I didn’t.

I contacted a company who did EWI for someone I know. I asked if they were a registered One Stop Shop and they said no but they had done BEC submissions and I could proceed as part of a future one of those.

That’s the extent of my dealing with BEC. Work on my house is due to start soon.

kdowling

Thanks for that. I contacted the guy who suggested it to me today and he said that our job would be submitted as part of a group submission.

The only thing I would be concerned about is if I am hiring all the individual contractors it may be difficult to get contractors to do specific jobs.

For example, I rang 25 different approved SEAI contractors last month before deciding on doing it all at once, for dry wall insulation and none of them were interested in taking the job!

kdowling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120897832#Comment_120897832

Thanks for reply.

I see you are a technical assessor yourself.

I was told the fee for a technical assessor was €1000 and they would apply for a €350 grant for me so it would cost €650.

Do all technical assessors charge a fixed fee per square ft of the house they are assessing or does it vary much? ie is it worth shopping around?

Also if a one stop shop / BEC company assist you with the grant for technical assessor can you still go with a different approved contractor

after that or are you then tied in with them?

Thanks