Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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190. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that applicants for the SEAI better energy schemes are expected to employ a BER assessor and also retain the services of an air tightness consultant which is adding to the cost of any works under the retrofit scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22994/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Earlier this year, Government approved a package of supports as part of the delivery of Ireland’s residential retrofit programme. These measures are aimed at making it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home energy upgrades, for warmer, healthier and more comfortable homes, with lower energy bills. Included in these measures is the establishment of the new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, offering increased grant levels of up to 50% of the cost of a typical B2 home energy upgrade with a heat pump (up from the current level of 30-35%).

The new grant rates available for relevant measures under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme will also be available under the Better Energy Homes Scheme. This will help to ensure that homeowners are clear about which grant scheme is most appropriate to their needs.

An air tightness test helps identify air leakage areas which need to be addressed and would be an important measure for homeowners considering the installation of a ventilation system.

As schemes administrator, SEAI advise that where a heat pump grant is being sought, an airtightness test may be necessary in order to achieve the required Heat Loss Indicator, particularly if fabric measures are likely to improve airtightness. However, the SEAI also note that an air tightness test is not mandatory.

Under the Better Energy Homes scheme, for homeowners seeking to install a heat pump, a technical assessment will be required to assess the homes suitability for the heat pump. It would be expected that this assessment should include an assessment of the ventilation heat losses in the dwelling based on certain characteristics, e.g. number of chimneys, wall vents etc.

Furthermore, the SEAI advise that a post-works air tightness test may be a useful measure to carry out as it can help ensure that the work has been done correctly and encourages quality during installation. A post works Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment is a mandatory requirement under the Better Energy Homes Scheme.

Under the Better Energy Homes scheme, grants are available for the heat pump technical assessment (€200) and the post works BER (€50).