Author: Marion Jammet
While Irish and EU policies have made the energy renovation of buildings a priority[1], the rate of energy renovation remains low. Several studies have shown that cost and energy savings are not the only factors driving energy renovation in the residential sector[2]. The “Reviewing the Co-Benefits of Energy Efficiency in an Irish Context” paper highlights the environmental, health, social, and economic benefits, which arise from energy efficiency measures. More specifically, it stresses the importance of measuring these benefits and of understanding how they interact with one another to ensure that any analysis of energy renovation projects and programmes is comprehensive, unbiased, and supports sound policymaking. The paper highlights that a more holistic approach to energy renovation is key, not only to reduce building and transport emissions, but also to improve public health and make our village, town, and city centres more liveable. It concludes by examining the next steps that should be taken to support quality energy efficiency upgrades at scale.
Gaining a better understanding of the benefits of energy renovation
The operation of our buildings accounts for 23% of our national emissions, making energy renovation crucial to meeting our climate targets. But, beyond the decarbonisation benefits that arise from energy efficiency measures, there are also considerable environmental, health, social, and economic benefits, which are rarely measured and are often overlooked. For instance, high quality energy renovations can mitigate health issues such as cold- and heat-related stress, allergies, asthma, as well as pulmonary and respiratory risks, while reducing the number of households at risk of fuel poverty. According to Velux’s latest healthy homes barometer, 24% of the Irish population is exposed to an indoor climate hazard, such as damp or excess cold. Living in a home that is too cold in winter is the most damaging building deficiency from a health perspective, energy renovation has a key role to play there. Energy efficiency measures can also significantly lower the subsidy burden emanating from the state, by reducing pressure on public health and social welfare budgets. A study on the costs and benefits of renovating 7.4 million energy-inefficient dwellings (class F-G) by 2025 in France estimates that an energy efficiency programme delivered at scale could result in €758 million in annual savings for the healthcare system. Furthermore, delivering energy renovation at scale can support job creation and local employment – many of these jobs being in labour-intensive industries and non-transferable in nature. Against this background, the paper highlights the need for a more integrated approach to energy renovation, as this could also have a positive impact on manufacturing and transport emissions, resources used, pollution, and a myriad of social and economic benefits. It stresses that renovating vacant and under-used buildings in our village, town and city centres to a high-quality standard would not only reduce operational emissions, but also contribute to a reduction in transport and embodied carbon emissions, while making these areas more vibrant and addressing major sources of air pollution.
Delivering high quality energy renovation at scale
Capturing better quality data on the many benefits of energy renovation is a first necessary step to increase the rate and depth of energy renovation, while avoiding unintended consequences and supporting a just transition. It could also contribute to an increase in appetite for energy renovation, but it’s clearly not sufficient on its own.
Figure 1: Example of a Dashboard developed by the IGBC as part of Build Upon² project to capture better data on the impacts of energy renovation.
To reach Ireland’s energy renovation targets, and to ensure that these co-benefits materialise, several actions are recommended in the paper. The roll-out of renovation training courses through Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across the country, and recent increases in multi-annual funding for energy renovation are extremely positive developments, but publicly funded retrofit programmes must deliver real carbon savings, improve indoor air quality, and support a just transition. This in turn requires making high-quality energy renovation easier to undertake, more affordable, as well as actions to attract more people to the industry and to encourage upskilling.
Too often, homeowners who want to retrofit do not know what to do and where to start, and practical information can be hard to come by, especially for non-experts. The introduction of “retrofit roadmaps”, providing a clear plan for how to improve and retrofit buildings that can be implemented over time would help[i]. The roadmaps should be developed by independent energy renovation advisors that homeowners could identify through a regulated register. This would not only improve trust in the outcomes of energy renovation, but it would also incentivise upskilling in the industry and across society. Clearly as current labour and skills shortages make the delivery of retrofit targets highly challenging, further actions are required to attract more people to the industry[ii]. To deliver and facilitate deep energy renovation at scale, businesses need to be in a position to train staff, build new business models, and guarantee long-term work opportunities for re-skilled employees.
Given that the embodied carbon emissions of a deep residential retrofit are typically about a quarter of that of a new build and given that transport is Ireland’s second highest source of carbon emissions, better connecting energy efficiency grants and support for the reuse of vacant and under-used properties should be a priority. For instance, a one-stop-shop for reuse to make it easier for building owners/prospective buyers to bring back properties into use could be piloted. Reducing embodied carbon emissions associated with energy renovation through a greater use of re-used and biobased materials must also become part of the discussion. Given its large agricultural sector, Ireland has a strategic interest in identifying, encouraging, and developing local low-carbon biobased solutions.
Finally, further actions are needed to engender a just transition. In particular, the definition of energy poverty and funding programmes to tackle this issue should be reviewed. While the existing supports for people living in fuel poverty mainly seek to target households living in income poverty, this assistance does not necessarily reach all households who experience energy poverty. In particular, and although challenging in the current housing crisis, there is a need to focus more on private rental accommodation and the split incentive that exists between tenants and landlords. For the ‘able to pay’ market, low interest loans have a role to play, but the rate needs to be truly low (probably below 2%) to support the deep energy renovation at scale that the paper seeks to promote.
Marion is Head of Policy & Advocacy at the Irish Green Building Council. The “Reviewing the Co-Benefits of Energy Efficiency in an Irish Context” paper was developed for the IIEA’s Climate & Energy Group. The IGBC is currently working on several projects to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment across its whole life cycle, including Building Life. A working group was recently set up to explore how residential retrofit can be further supported in Ireland. More information here.
[1] See Ireland’s Long-Term Renovation Strategy 2020 and 2023’ Climate Action Plan, as well as the proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
[2] See SEAI’s Behavioural insights report (SEAI, 2017) and Velux Healthy Homes Barometer 2016.
[i] Under the proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), building renovation passports must be introduced by member states by 2025 on a voluntary basis.
[ii] See initial findings of the Build Up Skills Ireland – BUSI2030 project.
