Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 May 2017
247. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the cost to the State to extend the warmer home scheme to include the upgrade of windows and doors over five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26147/17]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme on behalf of my Department. The scheme provides energy efficiency upgrades free of charge to people who meet the eligibility criteria. Typical measures available under the scheme include attic and cavity wall insulation, draught proofing, lagging jackets and low energy light bulbs.
The measures currently offered under the Warmer Homes schemes were selected as the best balance that could be achieved between the limited resources available to the scheme, the number of homes that can receive support and the energy savings that can be delivered. In short, the measures supported are those that can deliver the most energy savings at the lowest cost to the highest number of people. While upgrading windows and doors does improve the energy efficiency of a home, the cost of these measures is high in relation to the energy efficiency gains made.
For example, SEAI estimate that the cost of installing a basic energy efficient window package is €6,000 per home. The inclusion of windows under the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme, which is free to those in receipt of the Fuel Allowance, would increase the average cost per home to €8,641 rather than the 2016 average of €2,641. In 2016, this would have required an extra €41m to complete the same number of homes, or could have meant that 4,800 fewer homes in energy poverty would have received upgrades from the 2016 budget allocation.
Nevertheless as we move towards deeper renovation of homes, as will be necessary to meet our 2020 and 2030 climate and energy goals, window and door replacement could become cost effective as part of a wider package of upgrades to the fabric of a building. My Department and SEAI are now testing out the channels for carrying out deeper renovation in homes across the country to inform future policy.
For this reason window and door upgrades are eligible for funding under the Better Energy Communities scheme in 2017, when carried out as part of a combined fabric upgrade, which also includes upgrades to insulation and ventilation. Grant funding is available for up to 50% of the cost of these works in homes and up to 95% funding is available for those in energy poverty.
Additionally, under the Warmth & Wellbeing pilot scheme, energy efficient windows and doors are installed wherever a surveyor deems them necessary. This scheme is currently only available in certain areas of Dublin but an independent research project is underway to determine the health benefits the efficiency improvements deliver and at the conclusion of the pilot I will consider the scope for the wider expansion of the scheme.
The Deputy may also note that the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government funds the Housing Aid for Older People scheme. This scheme is administered by Local Authorities and provides grants to older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Eligible works include structural repairs or improvements, re-wiring, repairs to (or replacement of), windows and doors, provision of water supply, sanitary facilities and heating.
