Incentivising retrofitting

Stephen Brophy, principal officer leading the public sector and enterprise energy efficiency section at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, talks to Ciaran Brennan about what the Department is doing to incentivise retrofitting.

Ciaran Brennan (CB): What is the Department doing to drive retrofitting uptake?

Stephen Brophy (SB): We have substantially increased funding every year since 2020; 2026 will be another record year for funding for domestic and non-domestic retrofits. We have grant levels that are up to 80 per cent for some works, 100 per cent grant funding for energy audits for businesses. Beyond that, we have a supply pillar where we work closely with the Department of Further and Higher Education and SEAI to deliver the skills and the people to deliver retrofits, working across the supply chain to ensure that we have everything that we need to make a homeowner’s journey really smooth when they arrive at a one-stop shop when they decide they want to retrofit.

“There has to be a product or an upgrade journey that works for everybody.”

CB: What is one measure the Department is implementing which has been effective?

SB: Solar panels have been extremely popular. I think they give that wow factor for people. People like to see solar panels on their house, they like to show the app at their dinner parties and explain to people how they are exporting energy and how their electricity bills have gone down. Schools are really keen to have solar panels installed, business like to have them as a visual. I think the micro-generation support schemes have been way more successful than even we hoped.

CB: What challenges does the Department face?

SB: Heat pump take-up is a lot lower than we would really like. It is not a unique problem for Ireland, it is something that we see across Europe. I think there is a combination of fear of the unknown, consumer resistance, and that really high upfront cost compared to a gas boiler. That is a challenge we have to attack on multiple fronts.

CB: How do you navigate demystifying retrofit technologies?

SB: It is just time. There is research that you need to tell people things a lot of different times and in a lot of different ways before it really flips how they think about something. One thing that has come up which has stuck with me is that a couple of years ago we were in the middle of Covid. People have actually fundamentally changed how they use their houses since then. Hundreds of thousands of people now work from home. That means they are using their heating in a steady state, that means that a heat pump makes even more sense than it did but that message has not percolated through yet. I think time and hitting those messages will really transform that market.

CB: How does the Government’s target to deliver 300,000 homes by 2030 impact the Department’s retrofitting activities?

SB: That is about 10 houses every day. The numbers have to keep coming through the doors of all those one-stop shops. All those parties have to be engaged, ready to hit the right message for the right person. Our thing is that there has to be a product or an upgrade journey that works for everybody.

Do one measure and then you get a passport which shows you the next thing you can do and then you can plan. When you are ready to pick up the phone, we will get the next one done for you. It is about meeting people where they are and being ready to have a product that works for them.