Eco Evolution Blog

~Online Home Energy Self Survey and Building Energy Rating Integrated into Grant Scheme~

On June 8^th, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will introduce two new features to the Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme, designed to further empower consumers, first by guiding them on suitable upgrade works and secondly informing them of the impact of works undertaken.

The Home Energy Saving scheme, administered by SEAI provides grants to homeowners for insulation and heating system upgrades and continues to prove very popular with over 58,000 homeowner applications approved since the scheme was launched in March 2009.

Online Home Energy Self Survey

The smart online Home Energy Self Survey will only take minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works.  This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and will also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre.  The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other resources including the Buyers’ Guides.

Integral BER Requirement

At the same time a Building Energy Rating (BER) is to become an integral part of all grant applications under the HES scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER to measure the impact of works undertaken.  This will give homeowners a thorough and objective assessment of the energy performance of their home following upgrade works, including a BER certificate with a A-G performance rating.  The first such BER assessment will attract grant aid of €100.

At the time of completing the BER, the assessor will also provide an estimate of the energy performance of the home before upgrade works, based upon the pre-works condition of the house.  This will inform the homeowner of the effectiveness of the upgrade works in terms of energy and CO2 emissions improvements. 

Householders making applications  on or after Tuesday 8^th June will be required to use the new application system or  the new application forms.

Source: http://www.seai.ie/News_Events/Press_Releases/New_Consumer_Features_to_be_introduced_to_HES_Scheme.html

The Evance R9000 Advanced Wind Turbine is the result of 10 years of dedicated research and development, and is based on the experience of designing utility scale turbines. Specifically designed to work with the wind to capture more energy at lower wind speeds, the R9000 is the most efficient 5kW turbine available, producing more energy a year than other 5kW, 6kW and even 10kW turbines. Combining patented state of the art technology and elegant design, the R9000 belongs to the ‘next generation’ of small wind turbines, offering class leading quality, performance and reliability.

The R9000 is manufactured in the UK at new purpose-built facilities near Loughborough. Using automotive experience, each one is assembled under strict quality control. Every R9000 undergoes final testing to ensure that it complies with Evance exacting standards.

Eco Evolution appointed official Evance resellers/installers for Leinster area. ReGen(NI) have licenced Eco Evolution as resellers of Evance wind turbines.
Evance is the commercial brand name of Iskra wind turbines. Eco Evolution covers the counties of Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow, Laois, Kildare, Offaly & Dublin.

In November 2009 an Evance R9000 Windturbine was installed in Emyvale, Co. Monaghan under the SEAI(Sustainable Energy Association of Ireland)  Micro-Generation pilot scheme. This turbine was installed on a 12 meter tower and is a grid connect system. Joe was delighted with the install and  the performance of the turbine.

This is what Joe had to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td5E8tj8ebU

The Evance 5kW Wind Turbine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FRjstX_HcQ

For further information visit our website http://www.ecoevolution.ie/index.html

Eco Evolution were invited to the climate change conference by the Wexford County Development Board. 

The speakers on the day were from the EPA, Wexford County Council, NUI Maynooth, Teagasc and Courtown Waterworld.

Wexford County Development Board, (CDB), wanted to highlight and discuss the implications of climate change. The CDB launched its strategy “Action for change 2009-2012″ last year. Action 7 calls for a  local multi-agency response to climate change. The aim of the conference was to raise local awareness and consider how Wexford can adapt to the likely impacts.

In time, the impacts of climate change will be more apparent in Wexford. There continues to be debate but predicted effects include:

• More intense storm and rainfall events
• Water shortages in the Summer and the need to irrigate crops
• Effects on fish species that are sensitive to small temperature changes
• Accelerated coastal errosion

The purpose of this conference was to localise the issue, to highlight the effects of climate change for our economy and public services and our citizens and their environment. The conference illustrated the impact of climate change at County level and also the possible adjustments that may be needed to manage longer term change.

For full details of the Conference speakers presentations follow the link below:

http://www.wexfordcdb.ie/cdb/ClimateChangeConference/#d.en.14835

EPA Press Release: 28th April 2010.

• Latest greenhouse gas emissions projections show Ireland will comply with Kyoto Protocol without any more purchases
• Achieving more stringent 2020 targets will require further reduction measures yet to be identified
• Growth in transport emissions projected to slow significantly to 2020 compared with annual growth rates 1990-2008
• Carbon sinks (such as increased afforestation) crucial for 2020 target

The EPA today released projected emissions of Ireland’s greenhouse gases up to 2020. These projections, produced on an annual basis, give a picture of Ireland’s ability to meet international targets with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and update those published in March 2009.

The projections are reported on a sectoral basis and highlight, once again, that the key sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland are agriculture, energy and transport.

Commenting on the projections Dr Mary Kelly, Director General, EPA said:

“National greenhouse gas projections are important in understanding Ireland’s greenhouse gas profile in the medium term, and in assessing the effectiveness of policy measures designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  The projections released today reflect the effects of the economic downturn, and the anticipated recovery, based on ESRI economic forecasts. Even with reductions due to the downturn it is projected that Ireland will still be 2.8 million tonnes per annum of CO2e above the non-ETS target in 2020 taking the most ambitious scenarios set out in Government policies and assuming that forestry sinks are fully included.”

Complete EPA Report: http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2010/name,28091,en.html

Proposals to reintroduce domestic water charges, with new water meters being installed in every home in the State, are to be brought to Government in about two weeks.

The proposals – which were approved in principle as part of the Budget – will be brought forward by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

However the Minister admitted today it is unlikely that water metering will be in place by June 2012 – which means domestic water charges will not be reintroduced before the next general election.

Mr Gormley acknowledged taht the insisting the charges would be politically unpopular but insisted they were necessary. “I think everybody who understands the environment … they know that this is an absolute necessity,” he said. “You just can’t go putting your head in the sand on these issues any longer. Water is a precious resource.

“All the evidence shows that when you actually charge for water people conserve it, people use it wisely.”

He would not be drawn on how much each of Ireland’s 1.1 million households would be charged but said a speculated figure of €400 per household was wide of the mark. He pointed to other EU countries as a possible indicator.

Mr Gormley revealed his plans as part of his announcement of a “reprioritising” of the €1.8 billion Water Services Investment Programme for the next three years.

The reprioritised programme will now give priority to projects which target environmental compliance issues, in a bid to avoid the imposition of fines by the European Commission, and achieve sustainable supplies.

The Minister stressed Ireland had not yet been fined by the EU for its confirmed breaches of the Water Framework Directive, a feature he said was as a result of the Government’s openness to take whatever remedial steps were necessary.

The programme will also target repairs to the water networks to eliminate waste and protect water basins. It is estimated that “lost” water ranges from 16 per cent to 58 per cent of supplies across the State. The programme provides €320 million over the three year period for remedial works.

A much greater emphasis on water conservation through the introduction of water metering and inducements for householders to cut down on usage, also forms a significant part of the new programme.

Mr Gormley told a press conference today he did not believe it made sense, from an economic or environmental perspective, “to invest in expanding water treatment capacity if there is a significant loss of treated water in damaged or aging networks”.

Mr Gormley said in January the Government intends to raise as much as €1 billion per annum from water metering charges when they are introduced.

Labour today welcomed the investment programme but said it was overdue. The party’s environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy said the Government’s approach to investment in water needs to change. “There needs to be a national water strategy rather than the piecemeal approach of the past,” she said.

“The priority of State investment has to reduce the amount of public treated water that is lost through leaks. The other priority has to be bringing waste water treatment facilities up to standard to ensure safe drinking water.

“It raises the question as to how, when the Government was spending up to €500 million per year on water infrastructure projects, our distribution was allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair,” Ms Tuffy said.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0419/breaking42.html