IF YOU ARE considering improving your home’s energy efficiency, it’s good to know that there are plenty of supports available to help you start your home energy upgrade journey.

Very few of us are experts when it comes to understanding our home’s use of energy. This is why SEAI is encouraging homeowners to learn more about the complete home energy upgrade service, offered by SEAI-registered One Stop Shops, who will manage your entire home energy upgrade from start to finish.

An SEAI One Stop Shop significantly reduces the amount of hassle involved in the process, taking care of all of the following steps.

• Home Energy Assessment: Your service provider will assess your home and compile a report which outlines the best upgrades to bring your home up to a B2 BER rating or better, as well as an estimate for the cost of these retrofit works.
• Grant application: They will apply for and accept all SEAI grants for your project and deduct the values upfront from the cost of your works, saving you time, energy and money.
• Project management: Your service provider will manage all the works at your home and ensure quality checks are carried out.
• Contractor works: They will also assign a contractor to carry out the works on your home.
• Follow-up BER assessment: A registered BER Assessor will complete your post-works BER assessment and publish the certificate.
• Finance options: Upgrading your home through an SEAI One Stop Shop also gives you the option to avail of the Government’s low-cost Home Energy Upgrade loan scheme.
• Grant values for homeowners: Get an idea of the cost of the works and the grant values that the One Stop Shop can apply for on your behalf. Homeowners can choose from a wider range of grants, available through SEAI’s One Stop Shop scheme.

Today, we want to find out how much you know about home energy upgrades and the supports available to you through SEAI. Using the sliders below, slide from between 1 and 10 based on how much you agree with the statement in the box — and see how your results compare with those of the average reader of The Journal.

Visit SEAI online to explore other home energy upgrade options and learn more about what these upgrades can do for you and your home. You can also explore a range of One Stop Shop service providers here.