BER upgrade grants

Crowley87

Looking at purchasing a C2 home and renovating it. What’s grants should I be looking out for to improve the BER rating?

L1011

The only ones that are going to apply to a new home owner are the SEAI ones. Many are useless particularly on a C2 - its going to have attic insulation already for instance; and the SEAI grant for that is so poor and the pricing so high you'd be better off doing it yourself.

Plausible upgrades on a C2 would be wall insulation - external or cavity pumping; and solar of both types. There is a vague chance you'd still qualify for the heating controls grant; and a tiny chance that going to a heat pump makes sense.

None of these grants are going to give you anything for free - you'll be paying thousands to qualify for them.

Shoog

We are doing just this at the moment, the only grant I will be looking for will be solar, but to get the solar the house needs to be at B2 already.

The things we are doing are

Internal lining with 100mm backed plasterboard.

Install MHRV.

New triple glazing.

Increase attic insulation from 150mm to 300mm.

Attic hatch sealing

We may also get blown in Wall insulation as it's relatively cheap and will address some of the cold bridging.

We will be going over the place with tape for air tightness.

We will also replace an open fire place with an in room wood pellet stove.

There is no practical option for floor insulation which would be a great help.

The only grant which seems worth applying for is the blown in and the solar, but we have to have a new BER before we can apply for the solar.

I will do a lot of the work myself as getting contractors is prohibitively expensive and very difficult. All work is to be photographed as it's done as proof and all receipts will be associated with the new address.

External insulation would not be justified given the stupid prices currently been charged and the likely payback time.

We were told by our BER assessor that solar thermal makes very little difference to the BER.

Biker1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326866#Comment_121326866

The only time you need a pre works BER is if you are applying for a heat pump grant so it is incorrect to say that the house has to be a B2.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121327323#Comment_121327323

This was what I was told by someone who had solar PV installed.

Crowley87

When you say tiny chance we would qualify for a heat pump grant is that because the BER is not good enough? What do you have to be at to qualify for the grant?

what benefit is the heating controls? Just gives you zones in the house?

Crowley87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326613#Comment_121326613

When you say tiny chance we would qualify for a heat pump grant is that because the BER is not good enough? What do you have to be at to qualify for the grant?

what benefit is the heating controls? Just gives you zones in the house?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121328746#Comment_121328746

You'll qualify but it may be money down the drain, most older houses would not benefit in terms of running costs.

Heating controls is for zoning, you'll also usually get a smart thermostat as part of it

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326866#Comment_121326866

RE this

All work is to be photographed as it's done as proof and all receipts will be associated with the new address.

You will also need to keep the tech spec for all the materials used: thickness and Lambda value asa minimum.

Biker1: IYO will this self certification fly in a post-works BER? which is why I presume he is going to the documenting effort

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121328743#Comment_121328743

HLI of < 2 or < 2.3 in some cases

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121330776#Comment_121330776

Our BER assessor told us to do it this way. Basically they can only give credit for what they can see or default to building regs at time of build. If you have evidence for what you did they cannot refuse to accept it.

With regard to MVHR I think this will be a grey area because in order for it to pass building regs it needs to be commissioned and certified by a registered installer.

Calahonda52

If you have evidence for what you did they cannot refuse to accept it.

No that simple as the assessor has the final call on evidence

headtheball14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121327506#Comment_121327506

they had a requirement a number of years ago for.mimimum ber before solar grant to encourage people to do other measures first but they removed this about two years ago

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121357154#Comment_121357154

ThankS for that.