AFTER TWO DECADES living in her home in Lucan, Co Dublin, Martina Delaney found that things were getting a bit frosty inside.

“The insulation was terrible. You’d put the heating on and it would be hot when it was on, and then it was freezing,” she says of the 30-year-old house. “It was awful. Our bills were sky-high.”

She knew that a complete home energy upgrade was needed, but didn’t know where to start. For help, she turned to the SEAI’s One Stop Shop home energy upgrade scheme.

“I went online, I filled out a form. They sent the assessor out to do the BER assessment. They gave us a quote of what needed to be done. The One Stop Shop did everything,” she enthuses. The work began in October and was done by the end of November.

The 30-year-old windows and doors were replaced by triple glazed newer versions. Six solar panels were placed at the back of her house, and a heat pump and insulation were installed. Before the energy upgrade, her home was rated D1 BER – it’s now rated A2.

It was a recipe for a much toastier home. “I walk in the door now and it’s warm from the moment you walk in,” she says.

Thanks to the investment in insulation, a heat pump and solar panels, Martina’s energy bills have significantly reduced. Plus she has added value to her home.

She was extremely impressed by how much of the project the SEAI-registered One Stop Shop organised. “They hire the skip, they have the project manager, and they do all the work on the grants,” she says.

Martina would recommend the SEAI-registered One Stop Shop “in a heartbeat”. Her home is now warmer, and as a result her day-to-day living has been improved too. Rather than being a source of stress, her cosy home is a place to relax and spend time with family.

Would she recommend the One Stop Shop to others? “It’s put value back in our lives and also back in our house. So it’s a no-brainer,” says Martina. 

One Stop Shop

Martina in her cosier kitchen

A SEAI-registered One Stop Shop service provider will take care of the entire home energy upgrade process, including all of the following steps.

• Home Energy Assessment: Your One Stop Shop will assess your home and compile a report which outlines the best upgrades to bring your home up to a B 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 grant value upfront from the cost of your works, saving you time, energy and money.
• Project management: Your One Stop Shop 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: When you apply for individual energy upgrades or a complete home energy upgrade in one go, through an SEAI-registered One Stop Shop, you can also avail of the Home Energy Upgrade Loan scheme. This is a Government-backed low-cost loan, helping homeowners finance their energy upgrades.
• Grant values for homeowners: By choosing to carry out a complete home energy upgrade in one go through SEAI’s One Stop Shop scheme, you will have access to a wider range of grants to support you in reaching that minimum B BER rating.

To find out more about SEAI Home Energy Upgrade grants visit: SEAI.IE