Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 31 glazing and roof insulation. The grant has been fully taken up in a matter of weeks with a total of 499 beneficiaries benefitting from this scheme. Further to glazing, roof or wall insulation introducing shading devices may also further support Heat thermal transmission and minimise cooling operations. Other grants which have been introduced are the air to water heat pumps which can provide efficient heating and cooling for your household. An air source heat pump transfers heat from the outside air to water, which heats your rooms via radiators or underfloor heating. It can also heat water stored in a hot water cylinder for your hot taps, and showers. This grant may also be adopted by multi storey apartments which do not have access to a roof but would still like to invest in energy efficiency measures. The grant which has been once again launched during this year has already attracted over 80 beneficiaries. Lighting and Appliances Lighting systems are technically of a higher impact in an industrial settings, however research performed by the National Statistics Office, implies that lighting is responsible for a significant portion of the energy footprint within the existing residential building stock. In fact, it contributes to approximately 30% of the total energy footprint. As a result, the choice of energy efficient products especially in our homes can have an positive impact on energy consumption. This mostly applies when one is choosing their appliances based on their energy efficiency. Opting for smart solutions through automation such as presence and occupancy sensing coupled with high efficient appliances, may result in being the best solution. Water Heating Water heating consumes the second highest proportion of domestic energy. Several solutions exist for water heating, which also conserve energy more effectively than the electric storage tank water heaters. Instant gas water heaters heat only the amount of water that is required, rather than continuously heating a full tank. Heat pumps use a vapour compression cycle to extract energy from a low temperature source and transport it to a high temperature reservoir. Solar Water Heaters are also a viable option, particularly flat plate solar water collectors. The investment of government in grant schemes for energy efficiency measures in the domestic sector between 2013 and 2021 amounted to € 4M with 6,561 beneficiaries. The grant schemes provided grants on the purchase of solar water heaters, double glazing and roof insulation and as from 2018 also on heat pump water heaters. Onsite Renewable Energy Generation Renewable energy production can also help in reducing climate footprint. One should first adopt a reduction in energy demand and then seek to opt for alternative renewable energy solutions. The Ministry for Environment, Energy and Enterprise has worked significantly in this area. Over the past years incentives in relation to battery storage, hybrid inverters and combination of such technologies were introduced. The total number of beneficiaries at the end of 2021 for these nationally funded photovoltaic schemes was 2,311 and the total amount of grants paid to these beneficiaries was €6.3M. The demand for photovoltaic solutions in households coupled with battery storage systems has increased exponentially over the past year with a total committed investment of €2.4M over this year alone until end of July. This constitutes to a total of electricity consumed by nearly 800 households in a single year from this scheme alone for households. Apart from this grant there is the Feed in tariff scheme for households. The FIT is set at €0.15c committed for 20 years. This is amongst the most competitive FITs within Europe. The maximum capacity allocation for this scheme is 8MWp which if taken in its whole entirety would constitute to a total of electricity consumed by nearly 2,900 households in a single year. During this year alone, to date this scheme has been committed by 500 beneficiaries with a government investment of €14M committed over 20 years. Decarbonising our existing and future building stock through the deployment of the right technologies, is the right way forward. This needs to make not just financial sense, but environmental, health, reputational and labour- market sense too. This is why the quality of life of people very much depends on the space they are living in. The Government is incentivising the general public to invest more in energy efficiency measures. Ensuring that new buildings are more energy efficient, and that existing buildings are decarbonised, is key to our efforts to combat climate change.It is therefore encouraged that there is uptake of these measures in a timely manner, to ensure appropriate time for adjustment. Be the first to Activate Change!

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