Mr. Brian O'Mahony:

We can get the details of this particular study and revert to the committee on it. In regard to heating controls, typically what they do is help to manage the heat, as Mr. Randles mentioned. They can lead to energy efficiency savings. They are still an eligible measure and they have a place in helping people to save money. We completely agree with that, but one thing that can happen is that the level of savings depends completely on the starting point, the level of insulation and energy performance of the home. Many times with these types of controllers and measures people propose, they look at the energy savings from a theoretical perspective and they may see a BER improvement of 36% or an energy performance improvement of 36%. However, in programmes, we also take into account the comfort aspect and behavioural aspect. This is because what can happen is, when somebody does an intervention in their home, such as attic insulation, cavity wall insulation, retrofit or heating controls, they sometimes take some of those savings in improving the comfort of their home. Instead of their home being very cold, therefore, they may heat more of the rooms more frequently. We always have to take account of that when looking at the energy savings delivered.