"External Insulation fitted along a terrace in Windy Arbour"
Without a shadow of doubt, the short to medium term development of the Irish housing stock lies in the energy efficiency retrofit measures. As a result of our shoddy building practices Ireland is currently one of the poorest performing countries in Europe when it comes to residential energy efficiency. However it most of the time it is cheaper to save energy than it is to buy it, this is the rational for the nation, behind investing in energy efficiency
The Macro Environment for Retrofitting
Investing in energy efficiency has many great knock-on benefits for society and the economy. For example, it can reduce carbon emissions, create employment, generate enterprise opportunities for business, favourably impact Ireland’s balance of trade, and increase energy security at a time of increasing energy uncertainty. Reducing Irelands dependency on fossle fuels as we build up our own wind and wave renewable energy supplies will free Ireland from a great deal of strife.
The EU adopted an integrated energy and climate change policy in December 2008, including ambitious targets for 2020. It hopes to set Europe on the right track - towards a sustainable future with a low-carbon, energy-efficient economy - by:
- cutting greenhouse gases by 20% (30% if international agreement is reached)
- reducing energy consumption by 20% through increased energy efficiency
- meeting 20% of our energy needs from renewable sources.
IIEA research indicates that up to 1.2 million houses in Ireland are in need of an efficiency upgrade and the existing programmes are only scratching at the surface. What we will see is a series of more and more draconian initiatives from Governments to ensure that Irish homes reach the C1 standard as a minimum.
The human level case for Retrofitting
If we as individuals want to reduce the load we place on the planet we need to stop wasting energy. Our homes account for more than a quarter of Irish energy-related carbon emissions. How we use energy in our dwelling is for most of us the most tangible and direct impact we have on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Insulating along a terrace.
This has been a very long introduction to establish the point that we will see more retrofitting of external insulation and not less in future. So what happens in to a pair of Semi Detached homes when one has been insulated and the second home decides that they want to save money also? Or when some homes along a terrace have been insulated and the “infill” homes want to join in? In this case study we look at a home in Windy Arbour (Na Glasáin to any Luas users) near Dundrum in South County Dublin. You can see that retrofitting external insulation leaves a matching contemperous finish to a set of homes even when they are done at different stages. 
The house to the left had already been insulated. This layer of insulation has been applied over a wet dash finish and finished with a smooth render. A quick check showed that the final 200 mm of insulation was a class A fire resistant rockwool. This means that a firebreak already exists so there is no need create a second. The house which we are insulating this time will also have a smooth rendered finish, but in a different colour. We carry a full range of coloured renders so we can match our clients requirements.
You the reader can judge for yourself if these externally insulated homes in Windy Arbour have been bended well together. What we can say is that the clients are all very happy and more people in that development are getting external insulation fitted to their walls.
If you would like to check any of the figures quoted for energy efficiency and External Insulation in this case study please look up “Jobs, Growth and Reduced Energy Costs: Greenprint for a National Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme” written by Joseph Curtin for more information
Contact us now to learn how your home can benefit from External Wall Insulation.
Click here to return to examples of external insulation projects in the Dublin Area.