HOME and business owners in Limerick City and County are wasting thousands of euro every year on heating poorly insulated homes, a recent study has found. According to research conducted by the Tipperary-based SERVE (Sustainable Energy for the Rural Village Environment) Project, over 2,900 Limerick buildings and 90,000 buildings nationwide will need to undergo significant energy upgrades every year up to 2020 if the country is to achieve its legal obligations under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.
The Project claims that 4,500 jobs in the construction sector would be created if its recommendations for a more energy efficient future and policies were taken up.
The EU-funded SERVE Project carried out its research in the context of a five-year project in North Tipperary that has delivered an investment of €10.5m in sustainable energy in the region.
The project has resulted in 400 buildings receiving significant energy upgrades, and the development of an eco-village in Cloughjordan that is 100 per cent supplied by renewable heating system. It has the largest solar array (506m2) in Ireland.
The final event of the project was the SERVE Energy Week and Conference running October 1-5. This Conference was to showcase the results from the project and outline plans for the future.
The Directive was adopted by the European Parliament on September 11 last and is expected to come into force in November. EU members states will eventually face fines if they fail to comply with the new Directive, which is aimed at driving energy efficiency improvements in households, industries and transport sectors.
The SERVE project estimates that one million Irish buildings will be required to undergo energy upgrades within a decade in order to comply with this Directive and the National Energy Retrofit Programme.
SERVE warned however, that Ireland is unlikely to meet the target in light of its research indicating that less than 50,000 buildings will undergo energy upgrades in 2012.
It pointed to a reduction in Government grant levels, the lack of public investment in energy efficient projects due to the economic downturn, and lowering public support for energy efficiency measures as principal causes behind the poor figure.
The Project’s research has found that fewer Irish people feel that the environment is a priority due to the economic crisis.
