External Wall Insulation
The Better Energy Homes Scheme includes rented and second homes as well as private homes and is available to houses built before insulation and heating regulations were introduced in 2006.
Households can expect to reduce their heating bills by around €700 a year by reducing the amount of oil or gas used to heat their homes. Download: A detailed guide to insulating your home.
External Wall Insulation Systems (EWIS) can be used on new or existing buildings using an insulation board bonded or mechanically fixed to the external blockwork wall and finished with an approved render system. The undercoat would have either a glass fibre mesh cloth or stainless steel mesh fixed to the insulation board for added adhesion and finished with a number of different textures and colours. It is recommended to use systems accredited by the Irish & European Agrement Board. This is why Young Design Build installs Irish accredited systems.
Young Design Build takes before and after photos using our thermal imaging camera to show levels of heat loss through poor levels of insulation in the building fabric.
Different insulations can be used which have different thermal properties and costs. The most common insulation used is expanded polystyrene (30mm to 300mm).
In some existing buildings the cavity can be pumped with a Irish Agrement Board bead insulation, but this depends on the house location in Ireland. The combination of both systems or the External Insulation along can bring existing walls to Passive House standards helping to drastically reduce heating bills and provide a comfortable internal environment.
Young Design Build can provide U-Value calculations and technical details to junctions such as existing windows/doors, roof overhangs and ground (plinth) details for insulation upgrades to the external walls and attic space to existing housing. When EWIS is finished up to the external windows and doors it will help improve the buildings air tightness and reduce drafts giving greater comfort internally.
Grants of up to €3600 are available towards the installation of external wall insulation system and now that the SEAI requires a Building Energy Rating (BER) at completion of any approved upgrade they will also provide a €50 grant towards it.
There are some important details and choices to be made when external insulation is the selected upgrade or new build solution for a home or building. I shall cover some of the important details which have an effect on both cost and efficiency.
Details:
A selection of the Irish Agrément approved external wall insulation systems promote and show solutions which retain the existing concrete window cill and just over clad with an aluminium window cill. Not that there is anything wrong with aluminium as a material, it is more so the detail were the aluminium is directly supported by the existing window cill with no thermal break between them which creates a cold bridge. This can be prevented by adding an insulation strip between the new aluminium cill and the existing concrete window cill, this is effective but may not have enough insulation when renovating to passive house standards.
There are other alternatives to the aluminium cill such as insulated window cills which are either formed onsite such as the Kilsaran Ceresit External Wall Insulation System and rendered on site. These two alternatives give a greater depth of insulation over the existing concrete window cill and more efficient.
Below is an image of a pre-finished insulated window cill on a recent home upgrade by Young Design Build at Lavarna Road, Dublin.
Details: The Soffit.
Below is a thermal image of a recent home upgrade with external wall insulation by Young Design Build in Dublin where the insulation was not continued above/behind the soffit. The parts of the image in blue represent the cold element of the wall with a 4.4 degree difference to the externally insulated part of the wall. Note: Insulating behind the soffit is part of a phased home upgrade program.
Internal Wall Insulation
Young Design Build can be contacted advise and help you decide on the correct internal insulation to suit your existing external wall.
Grants of up to €1800 are available towards the installation of internal wall insulation and now that the SEAI requires a Building Energy Rating (BER) at completion of any approved upgrade they will also provide a €50 grant towards it.
Attic Insulation
Young Design Build can be contacted advise and help you decide on the correct attic insulation to suit your existing attic space or roof.
During installation it gives an ideal opportunity to improve the air tightness in the attic space and help reeduce heat loss.
Grants of up to €200 are available towards the installation of attic insulation and now that the SEAI requires a Building Energy Rating (BER) at completion of any approved upgrade they will also provide a €50 grant towards it.