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Materials, Methods& Information Booklet

The Green Book

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Administrative Offices Tel: 046 90 68200 Abbey Road Fax: 046 90 29821Navan Email: education@meathvec.ieCo. Meath Web: www.meathvec.ie

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Pages 01-Introduction 01

02-Terminology 03

03-General Information 09 » Did you Know? » Government Bodies » Grants » BER » Useful Contacts

04-Structure 31 » Exterior Mounted Insulation » Cavity Wall Insulation » Internal Walls

05-Roof 43 » Pitched Roofs » Flat Roofs

06-Windows 49 » Types of Glazing

07-Floor Insulation 55 » Existing Floors

08-Draught Proofing 59 » Cost Savings

09-Electrical Reduction 63 » Electricity in Ireland » Lighting » Filament Bulbs vs. CFLs » Home Energy Monitor / Smart Meters » Electrical Appliances » Calculating your Energy Rating » Electrical Zoning » Energy Saving Tips

10-Heating Systems 77 » Fuel Type » Boilers » Helpful Tips » Types of Boilers » Servicing your Boiler » Boiler Heating Controls » Hot Water Supply System » Calculating your Heating Energy Rating

11-Green Technologies 94 » Active Solar for Electricity » Wind » Hydro » Active Solar for Heating » Heat Pumps » Ground Source Heat Pumps » Biomass/Wood » Rainwater Harvesting » Greywater Recycling » Renewable Energy Tips

12-Carbon Reduction 115 » Carbon Footprint » Carbon Offsets » Carbon Reducing Plants

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Introduction01The aim of producing this booklet was to constitute a helpful volume of information on green issues. The hope is to create awareness of various methods regarding environmental affairs, and to enlight readers regarding suitable approachs to green technology research.

This book will be user-friendly and is intended to educate its reader both on academic and practical levels. It will cover basic elements such as common terminology and government bodies involved in environmental awareness, while simultaneously discussing enhancing construction methods that will better a building’s environmental performance.

“The Green Book” is part of a larger series of projects promoting environmental awareness and energy efficiency within all schools in county Meath.

I hope “The Green Book” will be of benefit.Noel Hughes

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Terminology02

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To facilitate your understanding of eco terms, below is a glossary of frequently used phrases and their definitions.

•Absorption - Process by which a substance of particle is drawn into the structure of another•Acid Free - materials which are free from traces of acid. i.e. made under neutral sizing conditions•Acid Rain - The precipitation of dilute solutions of strong mineral acids, formed by the mixing in the atmosphere of various industrial pollutants (primarily sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) with naturally occurring oxygen and water vapour.•Aerosol - Suspended droplets of liquid or liquid dispersions in air.•Air Pollution - The presence of contaminants or pollutants substances in the air that interfere with human health or welfare, or produce other harmful environmental effects•Alternative Energy - Energy from a source other than the conventional fossil-fuel sources of oil, natural gas and coal (i.e. wind, running water, the sun).•Aluminium - Aluminium is a lightweight, silver-white, metallic element that makes up approximately 7% of the Earths crust. Aluminium is mined and used in a variety of ways, but perhaps most familiarly in the manufacture of soft drink cans. Recycles well and suffers no loss in quality when recycled.•BER -Building Energy Rating•Biodegradable - A ‘biodegradable’ product has the ability to break down, safely and relatively quickly by biological means into the raw materials of nature and disappear into the environment.•Biosphere - The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.•Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - Produced by burning fossils fuels or wood based, that raises atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and contributes to the greenhouse effect.•Carbon Emissions - Emissions to the atmosphere principally from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Increased atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases trap more of the earth’s heat leading to the phenomenon known as global warming•Carbon Footprint - A representation of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in units of carbon dioxide).•Carbon Neutrality - Having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset. For example, biofuels are carbon neutral. As the plants convert the same amount of CO2 to oxygen, as is given off when they are burnt as fuel.•Carbon Offsetting - Offsetting the amount of carbon emissions (CO2) produced in the manufacture, production, transport, energy, food etc with the planting of trees•Carbon Tax - A charge on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) based on their carbon content. When burned, the carbon in these fuels becomes carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a significant greenhouse gas.•Chlorofluorocarbons - (CFC’s) Stable, artificially created chemical compounds containing carbon, chlorine, fluorine and sometimes hydrogen. Chlorofluorocarbons, used primarily to facilitate cooling in refrigerators and air conditioners, have been found to deplete the stratospheric ozone layer which protects the earth and its inhabitants form excessive ultraviolet radiation.•Climate Change - The term ‘climate change’ is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency. The term more often used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another. In some cases ‘climate change’ has been used synonymously with the term ‘global warming’.•Climate Neutrality - The same concept as carbon neutrality, except it does not just over CO2, but also covers other greenhouse gases, namely: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).•Compost - Process whereby organic wastes, including food wastes, paper and yard wastes, decompose naturally, resulting in a product rich in minerals and ideal for gardening and farming as a soil conditioner, mulch resurfacing or landfill cover.

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•Conservation - Preserving and renewing, when possible, human and natural resources. The use, protection and improvement of natural resources according to principles that will ensure their highest economic or social benefits.•Contaminant - Any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter that has an adverse effect on air, water or soil.•Contamination - Introduction to water, air and soil micro organisms, chemicals, toxic substances, wastes or wastewater in a concentration that makes the medium unfit for its next intended use.•Dioxin - Any of several heterocyclic hydrocarbons that occur especially as persistent toxic impurities in herbicides. Also formed by burning plastics that contain chlorine, i.e. PVC•Disposal - Final placement or destruction of toxic, radioactive or other wastes; surplus or banned pesticides or other chemicals; polluted soils; and drums containing hazardous materials from removal actions or accidental releases.•Ecology - a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environment.•Ecosystem - An interconnected and symbiotic grouping of animals, plants, fungi and micro- organisms that sustains life through biological, geological and chemical activity.•Emissions - The release of gases, liquids and/or solids from any process or industry. Liquid emissions are commonly referred to as effluents.•EMS - (Environmental Management System) An internal system for handling environmental issues within a company. It sets requirements for how activities impacting the environment shall be accounted for and documented. The existing standardisation systems in Europe are ISO 14001 and EMAS.•Environment Footprint - For an industrial setting this is a company’s environmental impact determined by the amount of depleting raw materials and non-renewable resources it consumes to make its products and the quantity of wastes and emissions that are generated in the process.•Environmental Impact - Any change to the environment whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from human activity, industry or natural disasters.•Fossil Fuels - Fossil fuels are the remains of plant and animal life that are used to provide energy by combustion, coal, oil and natural gas.•Fair-trade - Producer or organisations that supply Fair-trade products are inspected and certified by FLO (Fair-trade Labelling Organisations International) and receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production together with an extra premium which is invested in social or economic development projects.•FSC Wood - Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests are managed to ensure long term timber supplies while protecting the environment and live of forest-dependent peoples.•Glass - Most commercial glass is made from molten mixture of soda ash, sand and lime. An excellent material for re-using and recycling. The recycling process can be repeated endlessly without any loss of quality.•Global Warming - A process that raises the air temperature in the lower atmosphere due to heat trapped by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs and ozone. Applied to the warming predicted to occur as a result of human activities. (i.e. emissions of greenhouse gases)•Greenhouse Effect - The warming of the earth’s surface and lower atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide and water vapour in the atmosphere, which results in an increase in temperature.•Greenhouse Gases - The most important greenhouse gases are Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons and Ozone.•Gypsum Plaster - Is basically, calcium sulphate, the raw material for fine plaster, used for finishing the interior surfaces (walls and ceilings) of a building, which sets rapidly on addition of water. Most gypsum is mined, but it is also available as an industrial by-product. Gypsum plaster is not suitable for exterior use but does have good fire retardant properties.

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•Habitat • The natural home of an animal or plant • The sum of the environmental conditions that determine the existence of a community in a specific place.•Hydrocarbons (HC) - Chemical compounds that consist entirely of carbon and hydrogen.•HDPE - High Density Polyethylene. A type of plastic that is commonly used in milk cartons.•Landfills • Sanitary landfills are disposal sites for non hazardous solid wastes spread in layers, compacted to the smallest practical volume and covered by material applied at the end of each operating day • Secure chemical landfills are disposal sites for hazardous waste, selected and designed to minimize the chance of release of hazardous substances into the environment.•Life Cycle of a Product - All stages of a product’s development, from extraction of fuel for power to production, marketing, use and disposal.•Life Cycle Analysis - (LCA) The assessment of a products full environmental costs, from raw materials to final disposal, in terms of consumption of resources, energy and waste - ‘from the cradle to the grave’•Life Cycle Inventory - (LCI) An accounting of the energy and waste associated with the creation of a new product through use and disposal.•PET - Polyethylene Terepthalate. A type of plastic used to make soft drink bottles and other kinds of food containers. PET is also used to make fabric.•Non-renewable Energy - Energy derived from depletable fuels (oil, gas, coal) created through lengthy geological processes and existing in limited quantities on the earth.•Non-renewable Resource - A resource that cannot be replaced in the environment (i.e. fossil fuels) be cause it forms at a rate far slower than its consumption.•Ozone Hole - A thinning break in the ozone layer. Seasonal ozone holes have been observed over the Antarctic and artic regions, part of Canada, and the extreme north eastern United States.•Ozone Layer - The protective layer in the atmosphere, about 12-15 miles above sea level, which absorbs some of the sun’s ultraviolet rays, thereby reducing the amount of potentially harmful radiation that reaches the earth’s surface.•Pathogens - Micro-organisms (i.e. bacteria, viruses or parasites) that can cause disease in humans, animals and plants.•Post-Consumer Waste - Post consumer waste is collected through commercial and household recycling schemes and recycled content could include both post-consumer waste and post-industrial waste.•Post-Industrial Waste - Post industrial waste (or pre-consumer waste) is produced during the manufacturing process, for instance paper off-cuts from printing processes or mill-broke.•Recycling - Process by which materials that would otherwise become solid waste are collected and separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream to be reused in the form of raw materials or finished goods.•Re-Use - To find a new function for an item that has outgrown its original use, use again waste saving.•Sustainable - Sustainability is all about preserving the world’s natural resources for future generations. A fully sustainable industry would be one that has zero impact or a positive impact on the environment.•Toxic - Capable of having an adverse effect on an organism; poisonous; harmful or deadly.•Waste to Energy - Burning of industrial waste to provide steam, heat or electricity. Sometimes referred to as waste-to-fuel process.•Waste Neutral - When a greater weight of products made from recycled materials is the same or greater weight of materials sent to be recycled, Waste Neutral will be achieved.

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•K-value - (Thermal Conductivity) This a mesureare of a material’s ability to conduct heat. The higher the value, the better the material is not conducting heat. The K-value unit of measure is the watt per kelvin square meters (W/(m²K). It is the old name for U-value and the two are the exact same.•R-value - (Thermal Resistance) Is the measure of insulation’s heat loss retardation under specified test conditions. It is inverse of the U-value. Thusly, the bigger the figure, the better its insulation properties. The R-value’s unit of measure is the kelvin square meters per watt (K·m²/W).•U-value - (Thermal Transmittance Co-efficient) Basically, a measurement of heat loss. Technically, it is calculated on the rate at which heat transfers through 1m² of a structure where the temperature difference between the inner and outer face is 1 degree Celsius or Kelvin. The lower the figure, the better its insulation properties.The U-value’s unit of measure is the watt per kelvin square meters (W/(m²K).

Please note

All monetary costs are based on a typical three-bedroom dwelling (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft or 90m² - 110m²). Please adjust all figures to match appropriate area of any buildings in question.

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General Information03

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General Information

This chapter will introduce you to general concepts and ideas on energy saving and sustainability. It will also include information on government bodies and other useful sources.

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Did you know?

● Energy use is responsible for two- thirds of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions.● Irish homes account for around one quarter of the country’s energy use – that’s even more than industry.● The average home consumes almost 40% more electricity than it did in 1990.● Renewable energy currently accounts for just 2% of Ireland’s energy supply.● The average home consumes 21% more electricity than it did in 1990 and is responsible for emitting on average 8.2 tonnes of CO2, made up of approximately 5 tonnes from fuel use such as oil, gas or coal for heating and 3.2 tonnes arising from electricity use. The average family car is responsible for approximately only 4 tonnes of CO2 emissions.● The average penetration of electrical appliances in Irish house holds has doubled in the last 20 years.

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Carbon Facts

●The effects of our CO2 production are already showing - the ten hottest years since the 1860’s have been in the last 15 years.●By turning down your central heating thermostat one degree, fuel consumption is cut by as much as 10%, and insulating your attic reduces the amount of energy loss in most houses by up to 20%.●In September 1992 the ozone hole (caused by CFCs and other pollutants) above the Antarctic was nearly the size of North America - by 2001 the Ozone hole was three times larger than North America●More than 30 million acres of tropical forest are destroyed each year, which means at current rates of destruction there will be no rainforest at all in just 40 years.●Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen by a third since industrial times, and are expected to double in the next hundred years.●Recycling 1 tonne of paper saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months) and 3.2 cubic meters of landfill space.●The average European is responsible for nearly 2.5 times as much atmospheric carbon as a Latin American. The concentration of CO2 has increased 25% since the industrial revolution; half of this rise has been in the last 30 years. It is expected to double within decades●Depending on where you live in the world, the average human can produce up to 22 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) each year. That’s the equivalent of 30 trees which would need to be planted to offset your personal CO2 contributions.

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General Waste

●The average household in the Ireland produces more than a tonne of waste every year. Put together this comes to a total of 31 million tonnes per year.●On average, each person in the Ireland throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks.●Ireland households throw away between €300 and €500 of potentially edible food every year.●How long it takes for rubbish to break down: Organic Material - 6 months, Cotton and Rags - 6 months, PLASTIC - 500 years●Every year the average dustbin contains enough unrealised energy for 500 baths, 3500 showers or 5000 hours of T.V.●Babies nappies makes up about 2% of the average household rubbish. This is equivalent to the weight of nearly 70,000 double-decker buses every year. If lined up front to end, the buses would stretch from London to Edinburgh.●1 million tonnes of nappies are thrown away each year, which are 8 million nappies every day. Each child uses a total of 5850 nappies in their lifetime. 1 million tonnes of nappies are thrown away●In one year there would be enough waste to fill dustbins stretching from the Earth to the Moon.

Plastics

●Recycling just one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60W light bulb for 6 hours●Ordinary plastics do not biodegrade, micro organisms do not break down in the way they do natural materials. So the plastic cup that is thrown away today will be still around for hundreds of years.●We produce and use twenty times more plastic today than we did 50 years ago.●Every year an estimated 127.5 billion plastic bags are given away by supermarkets. This represents over 130,000 tonnes of plastic - enough to cover an area the size of London twice with a layer of bags.●Ireland generates some 2.8 million tonnes of plastic waste each year; this figure is rising by 2% each year.●Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.●Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photo degrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them

Glass

●On average, every family in the Ireland consumes around 330 glass bottles and jars a year.●Recycling two bottles saves enough energy to boil water for five cups of tea.

Paper

●About one fifth of the contents of household dustbins consist of paper and card, of which half is newspapers and magazines. This is equivalent to over 4kg of waste paper per household in the Ireland each week.●If an average family recycled all of their paper, this would save 3 trees worth of paper every 6 months.●Each person in the Ireland uses 15 trees worth of paper every year●Every year we need a forest the size of Wales to provide all the paper we use in Britain.

Packaging

●Every year each person produces 4 times as much packaging waste as their luggage allowance on a jumbo jet●Over 60% of the total plastic waste in Western Europe is packaging, which is typically disposed of within one year of sale.

Oil

●1 litre of oil can pollute 1 million litres of fresh drinking water●Waste oil from nearly 3 million car oil changes in Ireland is not collected. If collected properly, this could meet the annual energy needs of 1.5 million people.

Aluminium Cans

●Recycling aluminium cans saves 95% of the energy used to produce them originally●Recycling 1 aluminium can save enough energy to power a television for three hours●All the aluminium cans sold in the Ireland would fill 8 million dustbins each year●We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminium cans every year

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Government Bodies

SEI

Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), formerly the Irish Energy Centre was set up by the government in 2002 as Ireland’s national energy agency. Their mission is to promote and assist the development of sustainable energy

SEI provides a focus for activities designed to promote renewable sources of energy in line with various EU Directives and energy policy objectives, including the target of achieving 13.2% penetration of renewable electricity generation to total consumption by the year 2010.

Their website www.sei.ie, has a wealth of knowledge on a variety of sustainable topics and available grants.

SEI is involved with the funding and planning of many school projects aimed at improving energy and environmental performances.Examples include O Fiaich College in the Dundalk Energy Zone project and Tory Island Wind Project.

An Taisce

An Taisce in conjunction with SEI has setup their Green Flags Program. The aim of this is to promote sustainable awareness in school children. It also intends to set up a Green-Schools Travel programme to act as a life learning tool. It intends to use interactive touch screen displays linked into real-time building andmanagement information of participating schools energy use and carbon output.

An Taisce also funded a number of school refurbishments to increase their BER rating.

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Energy Saving Trust

The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation jointly funded by the British Government and the private sector in order to help fight climate change by promoting the sustainable use of energy, energy conservation and essentailly, to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the UK. The activities of the Trust include:

●Consumer level advice on climate change, energy saving, domestic power generation, waste, and water conservation. ●Advice to the businesses on green fleet management ●Technical guidance and advice for the building industry, local authority and other housing providers. ●Policy Analysis and Research

Their website www.energysavingtrust.org.uk provides useful information on a varity of energy saving issues.

Carbon Trust

Carbon Trust is a government trust created by the UK government to help businesses and public organisations reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, through improved energy efficiency and developing low carbon technology. Its stated mission is to acclerate the move to a low carbon economy.

The Carbon Trust has a three stage approach to reducing businesses’ carbon emissions:

●Firstly, by increasing energy efficiency and reducing direct carbon emissions ●Secondly, by identifying and reducing carbon emissions in the supply chain ●Thirdly, by considering offsetting the remaining emissions through a valid and additional source when the first two have been maximised where relevant.

Their website www.carbontrust.co.uk provides useful information on a varity of energy saving issues.

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Grants

Public & Commercial Sector

Financial support is available on a limited restricted basis to public sector and commercial organisations. Grants are intended to stimulate the innovative application of more sustainable design strategies, technologies and services in new and retrofit projects. These designs will act as both an exemplar for good practice and as a demand leader for the services and technologies involved.

Support is available for high quality proposals in the following categories:

●Generic Design Studies – Public and Commercial Sector Organisations●Model New and Retrofit Building Projects – Public and Commercial Sector Organisations●Energy Management Bureau Services – Public Sector Organisations

Further details on the programme can be found in the following document:Sustainable Energy Projects in Public and Commercial Sector Buildings

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Generic Design Studies – Public and Commercial Sectors

Financial support is available to public and commercial sector organisations to undertake design or feasibility studies of generic relevance within the non-domestic buildings sector. Such studies will be expected to relate to whole building solutions for typical building types (e.g. local authority buildings, shopping centres and commercial offices). Generic design studies should evaluate the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative energy systems (e.g. renewable energy systems, combined heat and power and group or district heating). Applicants should demonstrate how their proposals will positively influence the energy performance of future projects. The level of support available to successful applicants is 50% of the additional design or feasibility study cost relating to the innovative energy features.

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Model New and Retrofit Building Projects – Public and Commercial Sectors

Financial support is available for the innovative application of more sustainable energy technologies or solutions in new and retrofit building projects that demonstrate a significant improvement on commonly accepted norms. Applications are invited for projects that incorporate improved specifications for building fabric, mechanical and electrical building services and equipment, fuel systems, and the use of renewable energy sources. Projects will be expected to demonstrate a minimum 40% reduction in annual electricity and fuel consumption (kWh/m²) and related CO2 emissions (kg/m²) relative to pertinent norms for the building type concerned. Applications that incorporate innovative whole building solutions are particularly encouraged. Participation is open to both public and private sector organisations and their professional advisors.

Support of up to 50% of eligible costs is available to either underwrite risk or offset the marginal cost of additional energy saving features. The support limit, save in exceptional circumstances, will be €500,000 per proposal. Projects should make a significant statement in terms of energy savings and associated environmental benefits and have high replication potential. However consideration may also be given to smaller scale investment solutions which meet the objectives of the scheme.

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Energy Management Bureau Services – Public Sector Only

Financial support is available to non-commercial public bodies in respect of outsourced energy management to monitor and report on energy use and identify energy economy and investment opportunities. Energy Management Bureau Services support is open to public sector applicants with single or multiple sites that can demonstrate how outsourced energy management can assist their operation.

The scheme provides for funding over a three year period, at up to 50% of eligible costs of service provision. The public sector organisation will commit an agreed level of matching funds to ensure the effective operation of the energy management bureau. At the end of this period, it is expected that the public sector organisation and the contracted energy management bureau, based on its actual and anticipated performance, will be in a position to commit the necessary resources in order to continue to operate and maintain the bureau service.

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Funding for the Low Carbon Homes Programme

The Low Carbon Homes programme is the successor to the successful House of Tomorrow Programme. It aims to significantly reduce the energy usage and associated CO2 emissions. The programme will explore the technical solutions that have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from energy use in a typical new home by at least 70% relative to a “reference dwelling” built to baseline Building Regulations 2005 standards.

Programme DetailsThe new programme will support and promote low energy consumption and low carbon dioxide emissions in new dwellings. There are a number of basic requirements. The dwellings must reach the following targets:

●A Building Energy Rating (BER) of A2 or better●Generate electricity onsite (for supply or export) per unit to the equivalent of 10 kWh/m2/yr (primary) or greater.

The onsite electricity can be produced via a number of methods including, wind turbines, photo voltaic, combined heat & power etc. The key thing is that it is generated on-site and not imported from the grid.

Further requirements state that all generated electricity is used (whether directly on site or by exporting it to the grid). This will encourage the use of smart metering.

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Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Deployment Programme

In the 2006 Budget presented to the Dail in December 2005, the Minister of Finance announced the allocation of €65 million over the period 2006 to 2010 to “launch several innovative grant schemes relating to biofuels, combined heat and power, biomass commercial heaters and domestic renewable heat grants”. An indicative allocation of €11M was made for a CHP programme to run in the 2006 to 2010 time frame.

The new SEI CHP Deployment Programme will provide grant support to assist the deployment of small-scale (<1MWe) fossil fired CHP and biomass (anaerobic digestion (AD) and wood residue) CHP systems. It supersedes the “Combined Heat and Power RD&D” Programme.

At present the Programme includes feasibility studies, to assist investigation into the application of CHP across all size ranges and technologies and investment grant support for small-scale fossil fired CHP with a capacity ≥ 50kWe and < 1MWe.

In order to stimulate the deployment of CHP via conventional installation or an ESCO model SEI has expanded the scope of the feasibility study grant to include package applications from CHP suppliers and ESCOs in certain market segments. Further details and rules for “package applications” are available in the CHP Application Guide Version 1.2. Applications will be considered for funding at the discretion of SEI, from 14th April 08.

The grant payment is subject to any clearances required from the Commission of the European Union and any consents, clearances or licenses which might be required from any other competent body. SEI reserves the right to alter or amend any aspect of this Programme as a consequence of any directions, conditions or requirements of any such consents, clearances or licenses.

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Renewable Heat Deployment Programme (ReHeat)

Launched in March 2007, the Renewable Heat (ReHeat) Deployment Programme provides assistance for the deployment of renewable heating systems in industrial, commercial, public and community premises in Ireland. The programme is administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and is an expansion of the previous Bioheat Boiler Deployment Programme which supported woodchip or pellet boilers only.

The grant payment is subject to any clearances required from the Commission of the European Union and any consents, clearances or licenses which might be required from any other competent body. SEI reserves the right to alter or amend any aspect of this Programme as a consequence of any directions, conditions or requirements of any such consents, clearances or licenses.

Background to the ReHeat ProgrammeIn the 2006 Budget presented to the Dail in December 2005, the Minister of Finance announced the allocation of €65 million over the period 2006 to 2010 to “launch several innovative grant schemes relating to biofuels, combined heat and power, biomass commercial heaters and domestic renewable heat grants”. An indicative allocation of €22M was made for a Bioheat Boiler Deployment Programme to run in the 2006 to 2010 time frame. In the 2007 Budget presented to the Dail in December 2006, the

Minister of Finance announced the allocation of an additional €4 million to expand the Bioheat Boiler Deployment Programme to include Solar Thermal Systems and Heat Pumps.

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Programme SupportsUnder the ReHeat Deployment programme, grants are available for the deployment of qualifyingrenewable heating systems in the following categories.●boilers fuelled by wood chips and/or wood pellets ●solar thermal systems●heat pumps

Installations can be in the commercial, industrial, services and public sectors and also includes community organisations and Energy Supply Companies (ESCOs), in Ireland.

Programme AimsThe Renewable Heat Deployment Programme aims to:●Increase the deployment of renewable heating systems in commercial, industrial, public and community premises.●Achieve carbon emission savings and fossil fuel displacement;●Increase customer awareness and confidence in heating from renewable sources.

Solar Thermal Space and or Hot water heating (Evacuated Tube) €300 per m²(to max.6m² )

Solar Thermal Space and or Hot water heating (Flat Plate) €250 per m² (to max.6m² )

Heat Pump - Horizontal ground collector €2,500 Heat Pump - Vertical ground collector €2,500 Heat Pump - Water (well) to water €2,500 Heat Pump - Air source €2,000 Wood Chip/Pellet Stove €800 Biomass / Wood pellet Stove with integral boiler €1,400 Wood Chip/Pellet Boiler €2,500 Wood Gasification Boiler € 2,000

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Domestic Grants

Greener Homes Scheme

The Greener Homes Scheme provides assistance to homeowners who intend to purchase a new renewable energy heating system for existing homes. The scheme is administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (“SEI”) and aims to increase the use of renewable energy and sustainable energy technologies in Irish homes.

What Level of Funding is Available?

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Home Energy Saving (HES)

The Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme provides grants to homeowners who are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their home in order to reduce energy use and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme is open to all owners of existing houses built before 2006. Sustainable Energy Ireland administers the scheme.

Landlords and owners of multiple properties may also apply. However they must submit a separate application form for each property. If you are a landlord or a management company considering an entire building upgrade, please contact SEI before applying online for the grant.

Assistance will be provided by way of fixed grants towards the costs of implementing upgrade measures. The types of measures currently eligible under this scheme are roof insulation, wall insulation, high efficiency boilers and heating control upgrades. There is also a grant for households who choose to get a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment ‘Before and After’ the works are completed. However this is not mandatory.

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Low Income Housing Programme

It is estimated that 10% of household incomes are needed to achieve an acceptable heating level of comfort and amenity. Around 60,000 Irish households are estimated to live in persistent fuel poverty and a further 160,000 or so experience intermittent fuel poverty. Fuel poverty has been defined as the inability to heat ones home to an adequate (i.e. safe and comfortable) level owing to low household income and poor energy inefficient housing.

Fuel poverty has a major impact on the lives of the people affected – in terms of financial issues, comfort, health and the quality of the home. In general, low income householders are unable to afford the capital investment measures that would improve the energy quality of their homes. Income supports and fuel allowances do not address this structural deficiency in this part of the housing stock. Fuel poverty is a phenomenon experienced in pri-vate and social housing alike, both urban and rural. As energy prices continue to increase, the numbers of households experiencing fuel poverty could well increase also. In 2003 SEI carried out A Review of Fuel Poverty and Low Income Housing. This report gives an overview of the current situation in Ireland.

SEI’s Low Income Housing Programme was set up to help establish and implement a national plan of action to systematically address the problem of fuel poverty. The SEI’s published Low Income Housing programme strategy outlines the context, objectives and work programme for the period 2002 – 2006.

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Warmer Homes SchemeCore delivery is through the Warmer Homes Scheme. This scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and comfort conditions of homes occupied by low-income households, as well as establishing the systems and growing Ireland’s capacity to install such measures. This approach is founded on a social employment delivery model. This model facilitates regional community based organisations in acquiring and applying the skills to carry out necessary work such as attic insulation, draught proofing, lagging jackets, energy efficient lighting, cavity wall insulation and energy advice. For more detail read the Warmer Homes Leaflet. Eligible homes are identified locally via networks drawn from the statutory and voluntary sector. The focus is on privately owned and rented homes, which are more diverse and difficult to access than local authority homes, and the latter are catered for elsewhere.

Who is involved in the Scheme?To view all the groups and the areas covered with contact details please download the Warmer Homes Scheme Table.

The benefits of the programme will be seen in improved levels of comfort, economy and health in low-income households serviced under the scheme, and also in the consolidation of national frameworks for addressing fuel poverty by structural energy efficiency actions.

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BER - Building Energy Rating

A BER is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance, like your fridge. The label has a scale of A-G. A-rated buildings are the most energy efficient and G the least efficient.

A BER is based on the characteristics of major components of the dwelling (wall, roof and floor dimensions, window and door sizes and orientations) as well as the construction type and levels of insulation, ventilation and air tightness features, the systems for heat supply (including renewable energy), distribution and control, and the type of lighting. It covers annual energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting and associated pumps and fans. BER is calculated on the basis of a notional standard family with a standard pattern of occupancy.

A BER does not cover electricity used for purposes other than heating, lighting, pumps and fans (i.e. does not include for cooking, refrigeration, laundry etc).

From the 1st of January 2009, a BER certificate is compulsory for all buildings being sold or rented. A BER is valid for up to 10 years provided that there is no material change to the dwelling that could affect its energy performance.

All BER testing must be carried out by specially trained BER assessors, registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). A list of over 2700 registered BER Assessors is available on the SEI website. It is an offence for persons not registered with SEI as a BER assessor to carry out a BER assessment service for the purposes of the Regulations.

Sample BER Certificate

Typical Running Costs of each BER Energy Band

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Useful Contacts for Further Information

For information on energy efficiency measures●SEI, Glasnevin, Dublin 9

For information on renewable energy in the home●SEI Renewable Energy Information Office, Shinagh House, Bandon, Co Cork

For information on sustainable living●ENFO Information on the Environment, 17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (www.enfo.ie)

For information on solar technologies●Energy Research Group, UCD School of Architecture, Richview, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14.

●Irish Solar Energy Association, 17 Kildare St., Dublin 2.

●SEI, Renewable Energy Information Office, Shinagh House, Bandon, Co. Cork.

For information on radon●Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, 3 Clonskeagh Square, Dublin 14.

●ENFO, 17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2. (www.enfo.ie)

For information on insulation●Insulating Contractors Association, Construction Industry Federation, Federation House, Canal Road, Dublin 6.

For information on building products standards●National Standards Authority of Ireland, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

●Irish Agrément Board, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

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Structure04

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Introduction

Because a building loses about 25 to 30% of its total heat through its walls, it is key to address wall insulation when increasing a building’s thermal resistance.The following chapter will describe three major methods of increasing insulation in old internal and external walls.

External Insulation ● External Mounted Insulation● Cavity Wall Insulation

Internal Installation● Insulated Plasterboard.

This chapter will discuss the processes involved in installating insulation. General figures oninstallation cost, annual saving, CO2 saving and payback period will be provided.

Please note.All monetary costs are based on a typical three-bedroom dwelling (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft or 90m² - 110m²). Please adjust all figures to match appropriate area of any buildings in question.

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External Mounted Insulation

One method of increasing the insulation value of any external wall is to attach a form of external insulation to the outside face of the brick or block.

External insulation is similar in construction to the insulated gypsum wallboard that are used on internal walls.

The method involves adding a decorative weather-proof insulating treatment to the outside of your wall. The thickness of the insulation needs to be between 50 and 100mm and is usually installed where there are severe heating problems or the exterior of the building requires some form of other repair work providing the opportunity of adding insulation.

External wall insulation is more expensive than cavity wall insulation but will generate a saving of € 600 a year on energy bills and is likely to recoop the cost in around 11 years.

A three bedroom semi-detached house could save around 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year.

Pros●It will increase the thermal value of the existing walls●Will reduce the building’s carbon footprint●The construction will cause little interference with the internal workings of the school●The installation method is straight forward and should not take long to complete

Cons●The insulation used in construction is not environmentally friendly.●The new plaster finish will not be as durable as the existing brick work.●This method is expensive compared to other methods of walls insulation augmentation.

Kingspan image

CO2 saving per year Annual saving (€ /yr) Installed Cost € Payback Period Around 2.5 tonnes Around € 600 Around € 550 Around 12 years

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Cavity Wall Insulation

This section will outline the forms of injected, cavity wall insulation which can be used in any building with a cavity wall. It is possible to reduce a building’s fuel costs by up to 35% (depending on the building’s existing level of insulation).

The cost of cavity wall insulation depends on a number of factors, including the width of the cavity, but is typically in the region of €5 to €7 per square metre. For a typical semi-detached house, this totals to approx €550-€700. With annual fuel savings of approx €100 to €160, the pay-back period will be in the region of 4 to 7 years.

Installing this form of insulation is relatively simple. The cavity wall is injected with insulating material by drilling holes in the external wall, through the mortar joint. Holes are generally of 22-25mm diameter and are repaired after injection. Each hole is injected in turn, starting at the bottom. The insulation comes in the form of small foam beads. These beads are injected into the cavity by compressed air and as the bead enters the cavity it is lightly coated with an adhesive. This method can work on new and existing walls up to a height of 12 m.

Pros●Only general building maintenance required●Will reduce the building’s carbon footprint●Saves energy in your home ●Reduces heating costs●Increases heat retention ●Exceeds current regulation●Life-time guarantee ●IAB - Irish Aggregate Board Approved ●Professional practices and standards●Reduces the heating by 35%

Cons●The installation beads are made from environmentally unfriendly material (except Cellulose Fibre insulation) ●Incorrect installment may lead to problems with condensation and airflow within cavity walls. This in turn may lead to performance and possibly structural difficulties

CO2 saving per year Annual Saving (€ /yr) Installed Cost € Payback Period Around 800kg Around € 100-160 Around €550-700 Around 4-7 years

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There are several different types of insulation:● Bonded EPS bead (white expanded polystyrene beads)● Glass wool (Yellow or white in colour)● Rock wool (Grey/brown in colour)● Urea formaldehyde foam (white foam)● Cellulose Fibre (grey paper mulch)

A description of the different types of cavity wall insulation will follow on the next pages including their respective performance details.

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Bonded EPS bead (White Expanded Polystyrene Beads)

A bonded bead system consists of an expanded polystyrene material injected in bead form directly inmplanted into the cavity by a compressed air gun. The bead is coated with an air drying adhesive which enables the bead to flow freely in the cavity ensuring a full fill of the cavity wall.

Properties● Thermal Conductivity: The U-value of White expanded polystyrene bead should be taken as 0.038 W/m²K - 0.040 W/m²K . The U-value of Carbon (Grey) expanded polystyrene bead should be taken as 0.032 W/m²K - 0.034 W/m²K

● Density: A typically installed density is 12kg/m³ +/- 2 kg/m³

● Fire: The use of polystyrene bead for cavity wall insulation does not prejudice the fire resistance properties of the wall.

● Water: The material is resistant to water penetration and will not transmit water across the cavity by capillary action or from below DPC level.(Damp Proof Coursing). Any rainwater penetrating the outer leaf will drain harmlessly to the footings.

Glass wool (Yellow or White in colour)Rock wool (Grey/Brown in colour)

The mineral wool used for cavity wall insulation consists of mechanically granulated spun glass or rock wool, treated with a binder or water repellent during manufacture. Once installed, mineral wool is sufficiently stable to remain an effective insulation for the life of the building.

Properties● Thermal Conductivity: For the purpose of U-Value calculations to determine if the requirements of the building (or other statutory) regulations are met; the thermal conductivity of the insulation may be taken as 0.040 W/m²K.

● Density: Typically installed densities range from 18 kg/m³ for glass wools to 40 kg/m³ for rock wools

● Fire: Blown Mineral Wools are non – combustible

● Water: Mineral Wool is resistant to water penetration and will not transmit water across the cavity or from below DPC level by capillary action. It does not however act as a water vapour barrier.

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Cellulose Fibre (grey paper mulch)

Cellulose fibre is a grey coloured cellulose fibre insulation made from re-cycled newsprint. It has been treated with inorganic salts to provide pest and fire-resistance and is non-irritant to handle and touch. Cellulose fibre loft insulation (Pre-blown) is available in 10Kg bags and will give coverage at 100mm depth of 2.6 m2. 3.85 packs are required for every 10 m2.

Properties● Thermal Conductivity: the U-value of cellulose fibre should be taken as 0.035 W/m²K

● Density: A typically installed density is 14.8kg/m³. (An 8.5% settlement is expected after insulation).

● Fire: Boron salts enhance the natural fire resistance to comply with regulations. However this form of insulation is not as fire resistance as those made from man-made materials.

● Water: Cellulose fibre can absorb and release moisture without significant loss of thermal resistance. It is therefore suitable for use in ‘breathing’ wall construction.

Urea formaldehyde foam (White Foam)

Urea Formaldehyde Foam is injected into the cavity in a wet foam state 90-95% pre expanded through 19mm holes; it completes its expansion by moulding itself to the unusual shapes within a cavity and sets to form a rigid insulation.

Properties● Thermal Conductivity: the U-value of U.F. foam should be taken as 0.040 W/m²K for design purposes.

● Density: A typically installed density is 10kg/m³ (expressed as dry weight per dry unit volume).

● Fire: The foam does not burn, but tends to shrivel and char when exposed to fire. It complies with Class B (not easily ignitable)

● Water: The cured foam is resistant to water penetration and will not transmit water across the cavity by capillary action, or from below DPC level. However, the foam still breathes and is not a water vapour barrier.

CO2 saving per year Annual saving per year € Around 2.4 tonnes Around €75-€150

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Internal Walls

There are essentially only two types of internal walls. The first is a solid block wall; the second, a stud wall.

Insulating internal stud walls involves a simple procedure of applying a wool, bead or solid insulation into a cavity of the wall. Solid internal walls can be insulated by applying wall-mounted insulation boards. As a rule of thumb, the thicker the insulation board is, the better the insulation.

Internal insulation costs more to install than cavity insulation, and because it is generally installed in smaller thicknesses, energy savings will be lower. It is most cost-effective to install internal insulation when the inside of a building is being refurbished.The additional costsare circumstancial, but annual fuel savings of €75 to €150 can be expected for a typical semi-detached house.

A three bedroom semi-detached home could save around 2.4 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Benefits●Only general building maintenance required●Will reduce the building’s carbon footprint●Saves energy ●Reduces heating costs●Increases heat retention

Type of Insulating Board Annual Saving (€/yr) Installed Cost € Flexible Thermal Lining Around € 430 Around € 50/m²

Rigid Thermal Board Around € 450 Around € 50/m²

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Stud Internal Wall.

Insulating new internal cavity walls is relatively simple, and basically involves filling the spaces between the studs with insulation and then covering them with a plasterboard finish.

However, trying to apply the insulation to an already existing internal stud wall is a fruitless exercise, as the most cost efficient way of doing this would be to replace existing walls with new ones.

Solid Internal Walls

This method usually consists of plasterboard backed with insulating material totalling to a thickness of up to 90mm. Use of the laminates reduce the amount of heat which would otherwise pass externally through the wall. There are numerous construction methods for this type of installation, namely plastic die bonding, adhesive bonding, use of a metal frame system, fixing to camera buttons, or mechanical fixing. All are straightforward, and do not require heavy machinery.

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Roof05

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Introduction

The roof space of any building is one of the most important areas with regards to insulation.Up to 25% of a building’s heat loss escapes through its roofing structure. However, insulating the roof is a simple and effective way to reduce overall heating bills. In fact, as much as 15-20% of heating costs escape through the roof.

The recommended depth for mineral wool roof insulation is 270mm. However, there are several other materials with varying depth requirements.

Roof insulation will remain effective for at least 40 years, and it will easily pay for itself as it is generally the cheapest form of insulation that can be install in any building.

Adding or topping up your roof insulation is a great way to reduce energy usage, carbon footprint and your overall impact on the environment.

Insulating the 50m² (540 sq.ft.) attic space of a typical house costs around €400 and could save approximately €130 a year with a pay-back period of three years. Insulating a flat roof of the same size could cost about €1,000 and will recoup costs in approx five years.

Please note.All monetary costs are based on a typical

three-bedroom dwelling (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft or 90m² - 110m²). Please adjust all figures to match

appropriate area of any buildings in question.

Roof Insulation 50m² (540 sq.ft.)

Annual saving per year (€) Around €130 Installed cost (€) Around €400 Installed payback Around 3 year

CO2 saving per year Around 1 tonne

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There are two types of insulating roofs, cold roofs and hot roofs.

Cold RoofsThis is when the insulating layer is on top of or in-between the ceiling joists. This means that relatively little heat enters the roof from the structure below, therefore the attic area is colder than in a non-insulated building.

Hot RoofsThis is when the insulating layer is under or in-between the rafters. This means that all the structure’s heat enters the roof space and is held there by the insulation, therefore the attic area is warmer than in a non-insulated building. This method is necessary if the attic is inhabited or in use.

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Pitched Roof

A pitched roof with an attic space can be insulated in several ways. Probably the simplest approach is to lay a quilt, such as glass fibre quilt or mineral fibre quilt in a roll between the ceiling joists and a second layer in the opposite direction over the joists.

Semi-rigid insulation boards can be used as additional forms of insulation. These include expanded polystyrene boards, extrudedpolystyrene boards, glass fibre batts, mineral fibre batts, urethane foam boards or phenolic foam boards. Alternatively, shredded glass fibre, mineral fibre or cellulose fibre can be blown into theattic space between and above the ceiling joists. This process requires a professional contractor. Be careful not to compress fibreglass insulation, otherwise it will lose part of its insulating value.

After the attic is insulated at joist level, its temperature is reduced, so it is necessary to insulate the water storage tank and pipes also.

Insulation Type U-value (W/m²K) Extruded polystyrene board 0.025 Polyurethane board 0.025 Phenolic foam 0.025 Cellulose fibre 0.035 Expanded Polystyrene board (HD) 0.035 Glass fibre / wool bat 0.035 Expanded Polystyrene board (SD) 0.037 Glass fibre / wool quilt 0.040

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Flat Roof

The type of insulation used in new flat roofs is dependent on the roof structure. On a new concrete slab with a screed, semi-rigid insulation boards such as expanded polystyrene boards, extruded polystyrene boards, glass fibre batts, mineral fibre batts, urethane foam boards or phenolic foam boards are laid under the roof covering. In a new timber structure, glass fibre and mineral fibre quilts can be laid between the joists.

If you have an existing flat roof, insulation can be increased externally with extruded polystyrene or foamed glass, or internally with an insulated lining board such as mineral fibre or polyurethane foam backed plaster-boards.

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Windows06

Annual saving (€/yr) CO2 saving per year Double Glazing Around €250 Around 720kg

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Introduction

A structure’s windows are one of its most weakest points in terms of heat retention. This is because glass allows heat to escape more readily than any other materials within the majority of buildings. For example, given the same area of wall and window, the window will allow up to eight times more heat to escape. Double glazing can cut heat lost by half, as well as saving €250 on annual heating bills. Furthermore, it will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) by 720kg a year.

Pertaining to the above information, it is important that all windows within any building are upgraded to at least double glazing standards. There are however, other glazing systems which surpass double glazing in terms of terminal ability and work considering.

While standard double glazing is a great improvement over single, even more advanced glazing systems are now available on the market at affordable prices.

Currently Building Regulations insist that any window installed today should have a U-value no worse than 1.8 W/m²K. To meet this minimum standard requires for example, a double-glazing with a 12mm air gap and soft low-E glass.

Please note.All monetary costs are based on a typical

three-bedroom dwelling (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft or 90m² - 110m²). Please adjust all figures to match

appropriate area of any buildings in question.

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Glazing unit U-value (W/m²K) Single Glazing 6.25

Double Glazing 2.84

Low-E Double Glazing 1.48

Triple Glazing 1.00

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Types of Glazing

Single GlazingDouble GlazingTriple GlazingArgon Filled Double GlazingLow-E Double Glazing

Double Glazing

Double glazing is superior to single glazing because of the space between the two panes of glass. This gap is filled with air (which is a poor conductor of heat) making it more difficult for heat to bridge the gap between the internal and external pane.

Double glazing reduces a window’s heat emissions by 50% compared to single glazing.

Triple Glazing

Triple glazing surpasses double glazing in the same way that double glazing improves on single glazing. In triple glazing, the gaps between the three panes are again filled with air.

Triple glazing can cost 20 - 40% more than standard double glazing, but this will vary from one manufacturer to another. Triple glazing reduces a window’s heat emissions by 74% compared to single glazing.

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Argon Filled Double Glazing

In this form of double glazing, the cavity between the two panes of glass is filled with the inert Argon gas (other gases are available) which conducts less heat than air. This improves the window’s overall energy efficiency.

Argon filled double glazing generally costs about 10 - 20% more than standard double glazing, but will vary from one manufacturer to another.

However, it reduces a window’s heat emissions by 55% compared the single glazing.

Low-E

Low-E glazing or Low Emissivity glazing is a more complex glazing system.

The outside face of the internal glass pane is coated with a special material, which allows light to pass in through it while very little heat is allowed to pass out.

When light hits an opaque surface, much of its energy is turned to heat. Heat is similar to light in that they are both forms of energy which travel in waves. However, heat has a much longer wavelength than light.

The specially applied coating on the glass prevents the long wave heat energy from escaping. It also prevents much of the heat generated in a home heating system from escaping. It acts as an additional layer of insulation on the inside of the window.

Low-E glazing will generally cost between 10-15% more than standard double glazings, but is very energy-efficient. Low-E reduces a window’s heat emissions by 68% above single glazing.

Low-E can be combined with other glazing systems. For example, low-e gas-filled double glazing or triple glazing.

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Floor Insulation07

Detached Two-Storey Building 103 mm Detached Single-Storey Building 90 mm

Semi-Detached Two-Storey Building 90 mm Mid-Terrace Two-Storey Building 60 mm

Insulation Type U-value (W/m²K) Extruded polystyrene board 0.025 Polyurethane board 0.025 Phenolic foam 0.025

Cellulose fibre 0.035 Expanded Polystyrene board (HD) 0.035

Glass fibre / wool bat 0.035 Expanded Polystyrene board (SD)

0.037

Glass fibre / wool quilt 0.040

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Introduction

Heat loss through the ground floor of any two-storey building typically accounts for approximately 10% of total heat loss. In a one-storey building the figure is rising to15%. However, if a house is well insulated everywhere else except for the ground floor, this percentage will be significantly higher.

The amount of ground floor heat loss depends on the type of soil – houses built on wet soils tend to lose more heat through the ground than those on dry soils.

The 2002 Building Regulations, Part L, Conservation of Fuel and Energy, recommends that the U-value (a measure of the rate of heat loss) of the ground floor in new houses should be no greater than 0.25 W/m²K.

The amount of insulation involved depends on both the number of storeys and type of building in question.

This insulation should cover the full floor area, not just the perimeter. Also, if under floor heating is to be used, an additional 30mm or so can help to avoid increased heat loss from the warmer ground floor.

Please note.All monetary costs are based on a typical

three-bedroom dwelling (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft or 90m² - 110m²). Please adjust all figures to match

appropriate area of any buildings in question.

90m² - 110m² Building (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft)

Annual Saving Per Year (€)

Payback Period (Years)

CO2 Saving (Years)

Floor insulation Around €80 2 years Around 250kg

Filling gaps between floor and

skirting board Around €40 1 years Around 130kg

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Existing Floors

A relatively simple way to reduce heat loss through the ground floor is to lay a carpet with foam backing or a foam underlay. Both carpet and underlay should be ‘wall-to-wall’.

Timber floors can be insulated by lifting the floorboards and laying mineral wool insulation supported by netting between the joists. It is possible to use other forms of insulation depending on the condition of the sub-floor. It is important to note that all ventilation openings to the sub-floor space should not be blocked.

Sealing of gaps in the ground floor will help to reduce draughts, and also radon levels in houses with radon problems. Any regular tube sealant can be used to fill gaps between floorboards and skirting boards to stop draughts.

Sealing all gaps will save around €40 on annual heating bills. Insulating underneath the floorboards on the ground floor will save around €80 a year.

About 400kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year can be saved by combining both these measures in a 90m² - 110m² (1000 sq.ft-1200 sq.ft) building.

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Draught Proofing08

Draught Proofing Annual Saving (€/yr) Around €50 Installed Cost (€) Around €250 CO2 Saving Per Year Around 150kg

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Introduction

Typically 20 per cent of all heat is lost through ventilation and draughts. Draught proofing involves simple filling gaps in the building’s structure and decreases cold air enterance from the exterior.

Draught proofing is an easy, cost effective way to reduce heating bills. There are numerous methods and materials available to reduce drafts, from brushes, foams and sealants to strips and shaped rubber or plastic. For the majority of buildings, draught-sealing doors, windows and other gaps can be an inexpensive way of improving comfort and reducing heating bills while helping to protect the environment. For older buildings, more than half of the cold air entering the house enters through the windows and doorsIn many cases, a perfect seal is neither practical nor desirable, and it is sufficient to form a seal which excludes most of the draught.

By installing draught proofing you could save around €50 a year on your heating bills and reduce your emissions by around 150kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

The following table gives approximate costs, savings and paybacks for draught proofing:

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Cost Savings

The costs of draught sealing, varies depending on the type and quality of products purchased.

Self-adhesive foams are generally inexpensive, though rubber mouldings on rigid supports are more expensive, but will be more durable and longer lasting.

If the job is to be carried out by a contractor, it is worth investing in a high quality, long-lasting product. In many cases, draught-sealing will pay for itself through reduced heating bills in a matter of months rather than years.

As a rough guide to determine whether it is worth draught stripping a building, ask yourself the following five questions:

● Are the windows and doors poorly fitted, with gaps around the edges?● Are there obvious draughts in the building?● Is the building sited on a location exposed to wind?● Is there a high level of heating required?● Are the building’s fuel bills high?

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Electrical Reduction09

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Introduction

The use of electricity within buildings accounts for approximately one third of the total electricity use in Ireland. While electricity makes our lives more comfortable and convenient, it is becoming increasingly important that we recognise how many things we do in a typical day that adds to our consumption of electricity. This chapter will explain some of the fact behind electricity, and some of the methods that can be used to produce the effect consumption of any building.

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Electricity in Ireland

Electricity in itself is a very clean form of energy. However, it is the way it is generated in conventional power stations that produces considerable amount of greenhouse gases and other polluting emissions.

Approximately 60% of the energy used in electricity generation is ultimately wasted through generation plant and transmission line losses. That is to say that for every five units of fossil fuel energy used in electricity generation only two units of electrical energy is available to us for end use. This goes some of the way to explain why electricity commands a premium in terms of price. Indeed one third of all energy used in Ireland every year is used in electricity generation.

In Ireland approximately 93% of electricity is generated through the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal which results in substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted into the atmosphere. Increasingly we are seeing that are CO2 and other greenhouse gases is having a devastating effect on the climate, both nationally and globally, through the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

Increasingly, however, electricity is being generated from renewable and carbon free sources such as wind energy and hydro energy. Within the Government, the Green Paper-Towards a Sustainable Energy Future published in autumn 2006, sets out ambitious targets set to have 30% of all electricity consumption from renewable resources by the year 2020.

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Lighting

A building’s lighting system is one of the major contributors to its electrical consumption. Luckily, efficiency can be easily improved in this area. This part of chapter will look at ways to reduce electrical consumption through lighting.

Natural / DaylightBefore you even consider electric lighting make sure you make maximum use of all available natural sunlight. Daylight provides a healthier indoor climate, can provide higher standards of visual comfort and makes for more enjoyable interiors.

● Rooms should be furnished to allow daylight in and activities for which daylight or sunlight is essential should be positioned near windows.

● Furniture and other obstacles should not obstruct daylight penetration of the room. Net curtains hamper daylight penetration of a room.

● Paint the surfaces of rooms, including ceilings, with colours of high reflectance to maximise the day lighting opportunities (and also the effectiveness of artificial light). Light colours can reflect up to 80% of incident light while deep dark colours might reflect less than 10% of incident light.

● Dirt on vertical windows can reduce performance by 10% and even more if the dirt is allowed to build up on roof-lights.

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Artificial LightingArtificial light consumes a lot of energy but worthwhile savings can be made by sensible use of efficient electric lighting. Simply put, lights should remain off as long as there is sufficient daylight and the lighting should be as efficient as possible to meet the household requirements.

Artificial lighting levels should be kept as low as the activity permits. Generally the more intricate the task, the greater the lighting level required. On this basis, rooms where activities are performed, typically require about twice the lighting level of hallways. Having several independently switched lights in a room allows the appropriate lighting level to be selected to suit the activity.

Use task lighting (e.g. desk or reading lamps) when required for local high levels of light. A desk located away from a window may need additional artificial lighting, while a desk near the window may often have more than sufficient daylight.

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Filament Bulbs vs. CFLs

There are many types of lighting available for use in the home today. Lighting choices have improved a lot in recent times and now offers us the following alternatives.

All light bulbs are now labelled for efficiency in a similar way to kitchen appliance labelling (though generally it is printed directly onto the product packaging) so you can always check how efficient your chosen product is before purchase. The label will also allow you to check on other important lighting information which will help to inform your purchase, including the average rated lamp life. For most people the choice will be between the conventional incandescent and CFLs. And while an individual CFL may be more expensive, they last significantly longer (up to 10 times, or in some cases even more) meaning they actually cost less to purchase in the long run and they use only one fifth of the energy.

In some situations the use of strip fluorescent lighting may be appropriate – if this is the case then be sure to use the 26mm tubes which are 10 -15% more efficient than their 38mm counterparts.

●Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) use 80% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than ordinary light-bulbs.

● Dirt can reduce lamp efficiency by 20-25%.

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What Can You Save?

Replacing 3 x conventional light bulbs with CFLs can save a building up to €37 per annum and if every building in Ireland did the same it would save €24m nationally, with CO2 savings of over 115,000 tonnes per year.

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Home Energy MonitorSmart Metres

A home energy monitor provides prompt, convenient feedback on electrical or other energy use. These devices can also display the cost of energy used, and estimates of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced in real time.

Various studies have shown a reduction in home energy consumption of 4-15% through use of home energy display. Electricity use is measured with an inductive clamp placed around the electrical main, via the electric meter (either through an optical port, or by sensing the meters actions), by communicating with a smart meter, or by direct connection to the electrical system. The display portion is remote from the measurement, communicating with the sensor using a cable, power line communications, or using radio.

Smart metres provide a means of reducing household energy consumption, by displaying real-time feedback to the building’s occupants, allowing individuals to change their energy using behaviour.

Recently, low-cost energy feedback displays, such as The Energy Detective, Eco-eye, Wattson, Power Watch, or Cent-a-meter, have become available.

Upon getting into the coalition government in 2007, Eamon Ryan, the Green Party Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, pledged to introduce smart meters for every home in the country within a five year period.

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Electrical Appliances

Electrical appliances use a lot less electricity than they did 20 years ago. This can be attributed to the fact that manufacturers have made technological developments that meet the demands of an increasingly discerning market who are better informed by energy labelling. But even today there can be substantial differences in energy consumption between different models. Even small reductions in the amount of electricity consumed daily can add up to significant savings over the lifetime of the appliance which could be as long as 10-15 years.

Energy labelling of appliances was first introduced in Ireland in 1995 under EU legislation. The legislation currently covers washers, dryers, combination washer dryers, fridges, freezers, fridge-freezers, dishwashers, ovens and air conditioners as well as lighting.

Appliances are labelled to indicate energy consumption and are rated from A-G, with A being the most efficient. Energy efficient appliances will save you money on your energy bill and are less harmful to the environment.

Energy labelling of appliances helps consumers to make a more informed choice when buying an appliance by allowing you to easily compare the energy consumption of different models. In addition, other performance information allows you to choose the best appliance for your individual needs.

In some instances, the indicative range on labels has been adjusted or adapted as a result of either legislative or market led interventions. These include:

●On the basis of the significant improvements in efficiency of refrigeration appliances since the introduction of energy labelling, the EU introduced a Minimum Standards Directive so that all such appliances are now only in the A – C range.

●On foot of a voluntary agreement among the majority of large appliance manufacturers / suppliers in Europe, most washing machines available in retail outlets will now fall in the A – D range.

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Calculating your Energy Rating and Cost Rating

A building’s “energy rating” is a figure that compares annual energy usage to the internal floor area of the structure. In other words, it measures annual energy consumption per square metre of floor area in a particular year. It is quoted as kWh per m² per year.

To calculate an “energy rating”, first estimate the approximate floor area of all the rooms in the building which are heated. Do not include garages or outhouses unless they are heated or have high electrical loads.

For example, a house of 120 m2 areas, which uses 7,002 kWh of electricity and 27,456 kWh of heating energy in a year, has an energy rating of 287 kWh/m² per year. Similarly, having spent €890 on electricity and €985 on heating oil, this home will have a cost rating of €15.61/m2. If gas is the source of home heating an expenditure of €686 will result in a lower cost rating of €13.45/m².

But whatever type of building that is in question; it should be possible to improve its energy-rating year on year.

For a more detailed outline on how to calculate a buildings ‘Energy Rating’, please visit www.sei.ie (‘Energy and You’ section).

73

Calculating your Energy Savings

By calculating exactly how much energy a building is using at present, one can easily track the savings each project you undertake will make. To do this, divide energy usage into two separate categories: electrical energy and heating costs.

Calculating your Electrical Consumption and Costs

Collect your last six two-monthly ESB bills, covering a one-year period. Calculate your electrical energy use by subtracting the “Previous” reading on the first bill from the “Present” reading on the sixth bill.

This gives you the total number of “units” of electricity used in the year. These units stand for kilowatt-hours (kWh), which are used for measuring energy use.

To calculate your electrical energy costs, multiply cost per kWh, or “unit” (i.e. the tariff you pay) by the number of kWh used. This is the cost of your electricity.

Add the two monthly standing charges x 6 and then the VAT to get the total cost of electricity.

74

Electrical Zoning

Electrical Zoning is when a building is divided into a number of areas, each with its own individual electrical properties. It works on the same principle as heating zoning.

Different areas of the building are set out because of the similar energy need. This allows for specific electrical properties to be applied to an individual zone. For example, the lighting in each zone can be programmed to turn off at an appropriate time, based on its usage.

The benefits of electrical zoning, is that it’s allow for the prevention of energy wastage when an area of a building is no longer in use (i.e. at weekends, evenings etc).

The drawback of such intelligent electricals systems is that it requires a modern electric grid in a building and may not be feasible in older structures.

It is advisable to consider such electrical systems if new wiring is going to be installed in any building.

75

Energy Saving Tips

●Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) use 80% less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than ordinary light-bulbs.

●Dimmers allow you to only use what level of lighting you require at any time and so control the amount of energy you use. Dimmers cannot always be used with CFLs so check the product packaging or manufacturers details before use.

●Movement sensors, time delay switch etc. are all available to improve lighting efficiency, but good manual operation of lighting in a building is vitally important.

●Always turn off lights when you leave a room.

● Dirt can reduce lamp efficiency by 20-25%.

●Configure your computer to “energy saving” mode in which it will automatically change to the state of low consumption when not in use.

●Switching off the screen can save even more than just letting the screen saver run.

●Remember you should turn off your computer whenever you are not going to use it for more than an hour. Turning your computer off at night instead of leaving it on will save on average 25% of its annual energy bill.

76

77

Heating Systems10

78

Introduction

A building’s heating requirements; along with its electrical consumption is the largest consumer of energy in any structure. With the rise in fuel prices and the introduction of BER ratings, it is necessary that we examine the means but which we heat our buildings and hot water.

It is increasingly important that we gauge both the efficiency and method of heat generation.

This chapter will explore mostly boiler use in general and fuels such as gas and oil. For an in depth analysis of renewable heating technologies, such as wood pellet burner and heat pumps, please refer to the next chapter.

79

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80

Considerations for Fuel Choice

AvailabilityCheck with local fuel suppliers as to availability of particular fuel types.

StorageSome fuels (i.e. solid fuel, oil, LPG, etc) will require you to provide space for storage. This may be bulky or unsightly or may have safety or insurance implications.

CostsThe annual running costs of a heating system depends largely on the cost of energy used taking account of the efficiency of the heat generator employed. The associated table demonstrates energy costs for each fuel and at the associated efficiency at which they are used.

Environmental IssuesAll fossil fuels when burnt will emit emissions to the atmosphere,mainly CO2 emission, the primary greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. In addition to carbon dioxide and water vapour, some fuels will also emit smoke particles, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen into the air which will further reduce our overall air quality.

The most effective way to protect our environment are by insulating our homes sufficiently and through the use of effecient heating systems. Therefore, through monitoring our fuel use we will reduce our impact on the environment.

Fuel Types

Solid FuelTurfWoodCoal

OilKeroseneGas oil

GasNatural gasLPG

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82

Boilers

The majority of modern conventional boilers should achieve a maximum efficiency of 84% regardless of what type of fuels they burn.

Typically, any oil or gas boilers over 15 years old are unlikely to achieve efficiencies greater than 70% .

Increasing the operational efficiency of your boiler by this amount represents an actual fuel saving of more than 25%. In other words, by replacing an older, low efficiency boiler with a new, high efficiency boiler, you can cut your fuel bills by a quarter.

A building’s heating system should be efficient, not only at full load, but also at lower loads. No matter what type of fuel, whether it is oil, gas or solid fuel boilers, you should always ensure that your boiler complies with the EU boiler efficiency directive.

If you have a natural gas supply then it is likely to be the lowest cost option in terms of both boiler in-stallation cost and running cost. If you don’t have a natural gas supply then the choice is between oil, LPG or pellet boilers. For rural areas or areas that are off the national gas grid, both oil and LPG are viable solutions.

CO2 Emissions g/kWh

Energy Costs €/kWh

Natural Gas 227.2 0 .0185 Oil 290.3 0 .0769

Solid Fuels (Wood Pellets*/Timber/Peat Blocks) 389.1 0.0176

Electricity 896.9 0.0769

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* Wood Pellets are a ‘Carbon Neutral’ fuel. Meaning all the CO2 that is given off while thepellets are burning is offset by the CO2 absorbed by plants as they are grown. The two amounts are equal so no extra CO2 enters the atmosphere.

Helpful Tips

●Ensure all hot water cylinder s are properly lagged. A lagging jacket will keep the water hotter for longer and will pay for itself in a matter of months. Factory installed insulation is even more effective.

● Use the timer on all immersion heater. This should supply you with enough hot water as and when you need it.

●Make sure any hot water cylinder immersion heater thermostat is working correctly – over heating water is not only wasteful but also potentially very dangerous.

●A thermostatic mixing valve can be used to set the water at the same temperature, every time a tap is turned on.

●Consider fitting a spray tap. It delivers as little as a cup of water for every half a bucket that an ordinary tap delivers, but still allows you to wash in the same way.

●Never leave hot water running unnecessarily.

●Generate hot water only when it is required and store hot water efficiently.

84

Types of Boilers

Condensing Boilers

Where possible, you should consider installing the highest efficiency boiler available to you. Condensing boilers have a much higher efficiency than non-condensing boilers; however, there are some rare situations where installing one may not always be feasible.

Condensing boilers are highly efficient. They use less fuel and have lower running costs than other boilers. Higher efficiency levels are made possible by extracting heat contained in the combustion gases, which would otherwise have been lost to the atmosphere.

This is because both oil and gas contain hydrogen locked within a chemical structure called hydrocarbons. When oil or gas is burned, the hydrogen breaks its links with the carbon atoms and instead links with oxygen in the air to form H2O (water). This water (as vapour) can be seen from the exhausts of cars on cold days. The vapour (or steam) contains about 8% of the total fuel’s energy and capturing it makes energy efficiency sense. This is exactly what condensing boilers do. They “condense” the vapour and capture the energy con-tained there, making modern boilers so much more green.

Condensing boilers burns gas or oil at approximately 92% or higher. These boilers are more costly to buy than conventional boilers but the price difference will be recovered over 10–15 years due to reduced annual running costs.

These boilers, which operate at maximum efficiency when running at lower temperatures and are ideal for under floor heating systems. For radiator systems operated at lower temperatures, the radiators may need to be oversized to provide the required heat output. A condensing boiler will omit a plume of water vapour to the atmosphere during operation, but this is normal and harmless.

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Combination Boilers

Combination boilers are capable of providing instant hot water and heating while saving space within a home.

The conventional arrangement in Ireland is to have a normal boiler which heats the radiators via a sealed water circuit. By “sealed” it is meant that the water is contained within the system, going around in a loop between the radiators and the boiler.

To heat the “domestic hot water” (i.e. the water that comes out of the hot taps), the storage cylinder in the hot press has a coil in it through which the “radiator water” flows.

The disadvantage with this arrangement is that if the cylinder does not have hot water in it you have to wait some time for the coil to heat it up.

A ‘combi’ boiler is a boiler which combines both a conventional boiler for radiators and an independent water heater, together in the one unit. This dispenses with the hot water cylinder in the hot press. But better still, it means that hot water is always available instantly and for as long as you need it.

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Servicing Your Boiler

As with all heating appliances, your boiler should be serviced on a regular basis to ensure that it is operating efficiently and safely. The service should be carried out by a qualified and experienced service technician / service engineer.

When carried out by a competent technician, a boiler service should entail little disruption to theboiler’s running. A typical service should take around an hour and leave you with a safe and efficiently operating appliance. A service engineer will perform a number of tests on the boiler during a service. This will depend in part on the fuel and boiler.

Regular servicing of your boiler is important as it ensures that the boiler is working to the specifications designed by the boiler manufacturer. This will help prolong the life of the boiler as well as reduce the risk of faults and expensive repairs down the line.

The efficiency of boilers, of all types, deteriorates with use. There are several reasons for this, the key ones being:

●Soot production from the combustion process coats the heat exchanger surfaces.●The critical air-to-fuel combustion ratio changes due to gradual component wear.

A boiler service will remove any soot and, by adjustment, will re-establish the optimum combustion conditions. But while optimising operating efficiency is paramount in these days of rising fuel costs, there are other important benefits in having your boiler serviced:

●By checking the safety controls, early failures can be detected and rectified in good time.●A variety of operational systems and components will be checked including: - Gas/Oil leaks - Boiler start-up performance - Noises that give an early warning signal of pending component failures.

Boilers can operate for many years without servicing but generally with fuel consumption penalties, undermined reliability and even safety implications.

87

Because of the difference between individual installations, it is difficult to predict what saving servicing will bring for a particular house.

The following chart is conservative and gives the increase in fuel costs each year that the boiler is not serviced.

For example, servicing a kerosene boiler, which has not been serviced for 3 years, will bring about an immediate fuel reduction of some 5%.

88

Boiler Heating Controls

Automatic controlsHeating system controls should be installed to ensure that heat is provided only when and where it is needed. The Building Regulations require thermostatic radiator valves that allow control of temperatures in individual rooms.

Helpful tips●A time clock limits the running time of your heating system, thereby reducing wasteful use of energy.

●The thermostat, controlling the heat output from the boiler to the house, should be installed in an area that is indicative of the general heat conditions of the building. Remember, a reduction of 1oC on your thermostat can reduce annual space heating costs by 10%.

●You should have your boiler professionally serviced at least once a year.

●If you have an old central heating control system it may be worth installing a new one.

●Optional Boiler Controls:- A weather compensation system regulates the heating system based on both indoor and outdoor temperatures.- An optimiser is an intelligent control that also reads indoor and outdoor temperatures. It then switches on the heating for the shortest possible time to provide the ideal level of comfort.

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Heating Zoning

This is a feature of modern central heating systems. From a central control system, it is possible to specify the heating condition in different rooms or areas of the building.

This is a common feature in many modern heating systems. Different areas of the building are set out because of the similar heating requirements. This allows for specific temperatures and on/off times to be applied to an individual rooms and zones. For example, the heating conditions in a hallway are very different to that in a classroom.

The benefits of heating zoning allow for the heating in different areas of the building to be turned on and off at separate times than the rest of the structure. For example, a sport hall will need to have its heaters turned on long before that in the changing rooms.

Unfortunately, such intelligent heating systems may not be feasible in older structures .

It is advisable to consider such a system,when installing a new heating system in any building.

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Hot Water Supply System

IntroductionThe following section of this chapter will discuss the different methods of hot water generation.

Immersion Heater Electric heating elements are installed in the hot water storage cylinder. The typical hot water storage cylinder has two elements. A low rated element, located towards the top, supplies small quantities of hot water for sinks or showers. An element of higher rating, located lower down in the cylinder, heats sufficient water for larger demands such as baths.

Even when the domestic hot water storage cylinder is heated by another fuel, an electric immersion heater is usually installed in the storage cylinder. The electric immersion can be used in the summer months when the central heating is not required.

If the electricity supply to the immersion heater is controlled by a separate time switch then it may be possible to avail of a cheaper night rate tariff.

91

Local Storage Systems

A local hot water storage heater must have an adequate capacity to meet the anticipated demand for domestic hot water for the appliances supplied by the system. The heater must have sufficient rating to return the water stored to the correct temperature in a reasonable amount of time.

Local storage heaters are generally more energy-efficient to heat water than an electric immersion heater.

It is important that the storage device (usually a hot water cylinder) should be well-insulated; factory applied insulation is generally more effective and durable than a lagging jacket.

Gas fired and electrical local hot water storage heaters of the following types are available.

Larger Storage TypeFor baths and multi-outlet applications, a range of gas fired or electric wall or floor mounted domestic water storage heaters are available. With certain types of storage heaters, cold water supply must be from the mains; with others it may be from the attic cold water cistern.

Over-Sink TypeGas fired or electric hot water storage heaters of this type are available for single outlet sinks or basins. Over-sink hot water heaters are suitable where the demand is less than 10 litres at any one time.

Under-Sink TypeElectric under-sink hot water storage heaters are available for single outlet applications.

92

Calculating your Heating Energy Rating and Cost Rating

A building’s “energy rating” is a figure that compares your annual energy usage to the internal floor area of the structure. In other words, it measures annual energy consumption per square metre of floor area in a particular year. It is quoted as kWh per m² per year.

To calculate an “energy rating”, first estimate the approximate floor area of all the rooms in the building which are heated. Do not include garages or outhouses unless they are heated or have high electrical loads.

For example, a house of 120 m² areas, which uses 7,002 kWh of electricity and 27,456 kWh of heating energy in a year, has an energy rating of 287 kWh/m² per year. Similarly, having spent €890 on electricity and €985 on heating oil, this home will have a cost rating of €15.61/m². If gas is the source of home heating, an expenditure of €686 will result in a lower cost rating of €13.45/m².

But whatever the building in question, it should be possible to improve its energy-rating year on year.

For a more details on how to calculate a building’s ‘Energy Rating’, please visit www.sei.ie (‘Energy and You’ section).

Energy Content of Fuel Fuel Unit of Supply Factor Conversion Electricity 1 unit = 1 kWh

Heating Oil 1 litre = 10.5 kWh Natural Gas 1 therm = 29.3 kWh

LPG 1 litre = 6.9 kWh Coal 1 tonne = 8,300 kWh

Anthracite 1 tonne = 8,800 kWh Coalite 1 tonne = 8,400 kWh

Peat Briquettes 1 tonne = 5,400 kWh

93

Calculating Heating Savings

By calculating exactly how much energy you’re using at present, you can easily track the savings you make for each project you undertake. To do this, divide your energy usage into two separate categories: electrical energy and energy for heating.

Calculating your Heating Energy Consumption and Costs

Calculating the amount of energy used for heating will vary depending on the type of fuel used to heat your home. If you use natural gas, the procedure is very similar to the one shown for electricity. The number of kWh, or “units”, and costs are simply totalled for a one-year period and added to the standing charges and VAT.

The procedure for other fuels is also simple. List all the fuels that used for heating (perhaps these include coal or oil) and estimate how much you use in a year. Now use the Energy Content of Fuels table provided to covert the fuel amount purchased into energy consumed in kWh.

94

95

Green Technologies 11

96

Introduction

The term ‘Green Technologies’ covers a variety of topics, but for the most part they relate to renewable energy technologies and technologies that maximise the potential of natural environmentally sound resources.

Therefore, they are technologies that maximise the potential of the following resources:●The Sun (solar energy)●Wind●Water (hydropower, wave and tidal energy)●Heat below the surface of the earth (geothermal energy)●Biomass (wood, waste and energy crops).

These resources are abundantly available in Ireland. However, only a fraction of their potential output, have been tapped so far.

‘Green Technologies’ and renewable energy offer sustainable alternatives to our dependency on fossil fuels, as well as a means of reducing harmful greenhouse emissions and opportunities to reduce our reliance on imported fuels.

A gradual shift towards using ‘Green Technologies’ and renewable energy would mean:

●reduced CO2 emissions●secure and stable long term energy supply ●reduced reliance on expensive fuel imports●investment and employment in our indigenous renewable energy projects, often in rural and underdeveloped areas

Today, renewable energy sources meet about 2% of Ireland’s total energy consumption. This figure breaks down in roughly equal proportions to heat from wood fuel in the domestic and wood processing sectors and electricity production from hydropower.

In 2002, the share of renewable energy in gross electrical consumption of EU countries contributed 13.4%. By 2010, it is the objective of the EU to raise this contribution to 22.1%.

EU policy also targets an increase in the contribution of Renewables to 12% of Europe’s total energy use by 2010.

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98

Electricity Generating Technologies

Active Solar for Electricity

IntroductionPhotovoltaic (PV) collects sunlight and are a very different technology to solar water heating as they use the light to generate electricity. Today, the industry’s production of photovoltaic (PV) modules is growing at approximately 25% annually, and major programs in the U.S.A., Japan and Europe are rapidly accelerating the implementation of PV systems on buildings and connection to electricity grid networks.

How it WorksPhotovoltaic solar cells, which directly convert sunlight into electricity, are made of semi-conducting materials, such as crystalline silicon. The power output of a PV cell depends on its efficiency and surface area, and is proportional to the intensity of sunlight striking the surface of the cell.

Groups of PV cells are electrically configured into modules and arrays, which can be used to charge batteries, operate motors, and to power electrical loads. With the appropriate power conversion equipment, PV systems can produce alternating current (AC) compatible with any conventional appliances. They also operate in parallel with and interconnect to the electricity grid network.

PV has the great advantages of being silent in operation with a low visual impact making them particularly suitable for urban areas.

There are two general types of PV systems; stand-alone and grid-connected systems:

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Stand-Alone SystemsStand-alone systems produce power independently of the electricity grid network.In some off-the-grid locations, stand-alone photovoltaic systems can be more cost-effective than extending existing power lines. Direct-coupled systems need no electrical storage because they operate only during daylight hours, but most systems rely on battery storage so that energy produced during the day can be used at night. Some systems, called hybrid systems, combine solar power with additional power sources such as wind or diesel generators. As well as domestic applications, stand-alone systems can be used to power traffic warnings, parking meters, emergency telephones and buildings in remote locations.

Grid-Connected SystemsGrid-connected photovoltaic systems, supply surplus power back onto the grid and electricity is drawn from the grid at periods when demand in the home exceeds the PV output. Grid-connected systems are generally integrated into the structure of buildings, but can also be ground mounted. These systems remove the need for battery storage. In some cases, utility companies allow additional metering, which allows the owner to sell excess power back to the utility company.

InstallationA PV array produces power when exposed to sunlight. They can be installed on an existing roof, be an integral part of the roof covering as panels or tiles installed within roof glazing systems or installed on a nearby structure. It is important that nothing casts a shadow over the area where the PV panels will be mounted. PV panels generate more electricity on bright days but do not require direct sunlight, so normal daylight is sufficient to produce electricity. The ideal orientation for PV panels is south facing, although they still produce around 80% of the optimum output when facing east or west.

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Wind

IntroductionWind is an abundant source of energy, especially in Ireland. Large-scale wind turbines are now installed around the country and off shore to provide for Ireland’s electricity needs and supplying ‘green’ electricity to consumers from the utility grid.

How it WorksFor residential sites tconnected to the electricity grid, the cost effectiveness of installing a wind turbine should be carefully examined. In this situation, the annual electricity demand, wind resource and daily demand profile must be considered. If you wish to purchase electricity from a wind turbine, you may be able to sign up to a ‘green electricity’ supply tariff.Small-scale wind turbines range in size from less than 1kW to 50kW. They can be cost effective in off-grid applications and wind power can be more economic than other renewable options. Energy storage in batteries is necessary in off-grid applications. Large-scale turbines up to 3MW in size, usually installed on wind farms, are generally connected to the grid.

InstallationWind speed and direction will determine the most suitable position for a wind turbine. Wind speed increases with height, so turbines will give a greater output if placed at a higher level.

Further information on local wind speeds can be obtained from www.sei.ie/renewableenergy for ROI or www.actionrenewables.org which has a postcode based wind atlas for NI.

Payback and MaintenanceWind turbines have a number of moving parts so annual maintenance is required and your installer can provide this. The payback period of a wind turbine is dependent on utilisation of the electricity generated, which should be off set against that taken from the grid. Payback is therefore highly variable, but could be as short as 15 years.

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Hydro

IntroductionHydropower has produced mechanical energy for hundreds of years but was first used to produce electricity in the 1870’s. Most Irish installations are run of river installations. As such, hydro installations in this country are generally dependent upon precipitation and have little impact on their surrounding environment.

Hydro electricity has the greatest energy yield factor of the renewable technologies, meaning its lifetime energy production greatly exceeds the amount of energy used in its manufacture, operation and eventual disposal. This is due to the reliability and long lifespan of a hydro system. For example, a modest 20kW scheme would save 70 tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each year from fossil fuelled power stations.

How it WorksThe power generation from a hydro scheme is dependent upon two variables; the height the water falls (i.e. its head), and the volume of water available (i.e. its flow). Water is diverted from a given point on a river, ideally near a weir, and piped through to a turbine house downstream where the water falls through a turbine and drives a generator. The water passes through the turbine and returns to the river unpolluted. Various measures are taken to ensure fish are not directed into the channel which feeds the turbine. These can include mesh screening and electric currents in the water to deter fish from entering. If a hydro scheme is proposed on a fish migratory route, a ‘fish pass’ is built which is designed to guide fish away from the turbine house and up a series of basin-like steps.

InstallationThe feasibility of a hydro scheme will depend very much upon the proposed site as much capital is often spent on civil engineering work such as the weir, water channel and fish passes. A site such as a disused millrace may have an existing weir or water channel and this will reduce the capital per kilowatt outlay.

Communication with downstream water users is essential to unite support. Fisheries and anglers who use the river can be strong opponents and will seek assurances that their livelihoods or leisure activities will not be harmed.

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Heating Technologies

Active Solar for Space and Water Heating

IntroductionActive solar energy systems generally incorporate a roof mounted solar collector, which receives direct and indirect sunlight and changes it into heat. This heat may be used to provide for hot water or in a combined system for space and hot water needs. At the end of 2003, approximately 12 million m² of solar thermal collectors were installed in the EU. There is great potential to increase this further.

How it WorksSolar collectors can provide 50% of the annual hot water demand of a typical home, depending on the orientation, size, mounted angle and efficiency of the collector. The most common application is for water heating and 4m2 of solar collector can provide about 80% of hot water needs in summer and 20% in winter (when there is less solar heat available) for a typical family. The solar water system needs to be backed up with a conventional heat source to provide the remainder of the hot water needs such as an electric immersion in the storage cylinder.

InstallationSolar water heating systems for buildings have two main parts: a solar collector and a hot water storage cylinder. Typically, a flat-plate collector (a thin, flat, rectangular box with a transparent cover) is mounted on the roof facing the sun. The sun heats an absorber plate (usually a black metal plate) in the collector, which in turn heats the fluid running through pipes within the collector. To move the heated fluid between the collector and the storage cylinder, a system either uses a pump or gravity as water has a tendency to naturally circulate as it is heated. Systems that use fluids other than water in the collector’s pipes usually heat the water by passing it through a coil of tubing in the storage cylinder. Evacuated tube collectors can also be used instead of the flat plate. These consist of an array of evacuated glass tubes each containing an absorber tube, which collects solar energy and transfers it to a heat transfer fluid. During the manufacturing process, air is evacuated from the space between the two tubes forming a vacuum. This vacuum greatly reduces heat loss from the system because there is no air to conduct the heat away.

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The heat absorbed by the collectors is then transferred to the hot water storage cylinder through a number of heat exchangers. Evacuated tube systems tend to be more efficient than flat plate systems. However, a similar output could be achieved with a flat plate system simply by increasing the area of the collector.

Ideally, panels need to face directly south. However, a good output can still be achieved between south east and south west. A typical installation will take 2-3 days.

Today, solar thermal systems are readily available, easy to install and are reliable in operation. Flat plate systems are imported from Northern Europe and evacuated tube systems are manufactured in Northern Ireland. Generally systems come with a 10 year warranty. A professional installer will advise on an optimised solution for your specific needs.

Payback and MaintenanceThe payback period of a solar water heating system will vary depending on the cost of the fuel you are replacing and the amount of hot water you consume. A typical correctly installed system has a payback period of between 7 and 15 years and little maintenance is necessary. Most systems are run by an electricity-powered pump, which will cost a small amount to run per year. Generally systems come with a 10 year warranty and their lifetime is about 25 years. See back of booklet for details of suppliers.

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Heat Pumps

Heat is widely available in the ground, air and water around your house. These natural sources of heat are constantly replenished by the sun, wind and rain. A heat pump system will harness these free and renewable energy sources for heating your house and supplying hot water at a very low cost. The role of the heat pump is to ‘pump up’ heat from a low temperature source (e.g. the ground under your lawn) and release it at a higher temperature into your central heating system.

There are three main types of heat pump available on the market; those that take heat from the ground, from water (rivers or wells) or directly from the air. Ground source heat pumps come in two varieties – vertical bore or horizontal loop.

Existing Buildings

When installing a heat pump into an existing buildings it is critical to ensure that the structure is sufficiently insulated and the existing heating system is surveyed for compatibility. The existing heating system should be surveyed by your installer as not all radiators are suitable for use with heat pumps. It is recommend that under-floor Heating (with sufficient insulation) or low temperature radiators are used.

Heat pumps are very economical. For every unit of electricity used to power the heat pump, 3 to 4 units of heat are generated. They work best in conjunction with low temperature heat distribution systems (e.g. under-floor heating). Because they require electricity to run, they are most cost effective when they can use night rate electricity. This requires a night rate meter. A buffer store is required to maximise efficiency as this allows the heat pump to store heat on a constant basisreleasing it as and when required.

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Ground Source Collector see the next page.

Air-Source Heat Pump Air/Air heat pumps take the energy from the air and transfers it to a warm air heating system and Air/Water heat pumps take the energy from the air and transfesr it to the water in a heating system.

Water –Source Heat Pump Water source heat pumps work in a similar fashion to ground source systems and transfers heat from your water source to the house. Water source heat pumps use an open loop collector. Underground water sources such as a well, circulate the water through pipe-work that in turn transfers heat to your house.

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Ground Source Heat Pumps

IntroductionGround source heat pumps, also known as geothermal heat pumps, are used for space heating and cooling as well as water heating. They operate on the fact that the earth beneath the surface remains at a constant temperature throughout the year and that the ground acts as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer. They can be used in both residential and commercial/institutional buildings.

How it WorksThe earth’s surface acts as a huge solar collector absorbing radiation from the sun.In this country, the ground remains at a constant temperature between 11°C and 13°C several metres below the surface. Ground source heat pumps take advantage of this by transferring the heat stored in the earth or in ground water to buildings in winter and the opposite in summer for cooling. Through compression, heat pumps can ‘pump up’ heat at low temperature and release it at a higher temperature so that it may be used again. A heat pump looks similar and can perform the same functions as a conventional gas or oil boiler (i.e. space heating and sanitary hot water production). For every unit of electricity used to operate the heat pump, up to four units of heat are generated.

InstallationThe system has three main components: a series of pipes in the ground, a heat pump and a heat distribution system. Lengths of plastic pipes are buried in the ground, either in a borehole or a horizontal trench, near the building to be heated or cooled. Fluid, normally water with anti-freeze, absorbs or emits heat to the soil, depending on whether the ambient air is colder or warmer than the soil. In winter, the heat pump removes the heat from the fluid and upgrades it to a higher temperature for use in the building, typically in under-floor heating.

A distribution system is needed to transfer the heat extracted from the ground by the heat pump. The heat is often in the form of hot water and is distributed around the dwelling by radiators or a low temperature under floor heating system.

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Payback and MaintenanceThe initial capital costs of installing a ground source heat pump system is usually higher than other conventional central heating systems. A large proportion of the outlay will be for the purchase and installation of the ground collector. However, the system is among the most energy efficient and cost effective heating and cooling systems available. Typically, four units of heat are generated for every unit of electricity used by the heat pump and the payback is typically about 8-10 years. The life expectancy of the system is around 20 years. Once installed a heat pump requires very little maintenance and anyone installing a heat pump should speak with their installer regarding a maintenance agreement. See back of booklet for details of suppliers.

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Biomass / Wood

IntroductionThe words biomass or bio-energy is used to describe energy resources derived from organic matter, such as residues from forestry, agriculture and industry or from purpose grown crops. These resources can be used to provide heat, electricity and transport fuels. It provides about 1% of Ireland’s energy needs in the form of domestic and industrial wood heating. Using wood fuel instead of fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas or peat) makes a positive contribution to the environment. Wood is a ‘carbon neutral’ fuel. It absorbs as much CO2 when it grows as is released when it burns – a natural cycle. Wood fuel takes just 5-20 years to grow, whereas fossil fuels such as peat and coal were formed over hundreds of thousands of years.

The main types of wood fuel are chips and pellets. Wood chips are a bulk fuel and are generally unsuitable for domestic properties. However, they are usually a cheaper fuel than pellets and are appropriate for larger buildings such as offices, public buildings or to heat clusters of domestic properties through a district heating system. Wood pellets are compressed wood, usually sawdust or wood shavings. They are typically 6-12 mm in diameter and 6-20 mm in length. Pellets have the advantage of uniformity in shape and composition, are easy to ignite, are dry, create little ash and will flow freely through feeding mechanisms such as hoppers and augers. These properties make pellets ideal for automatic appliances.

Wood fuel can be used to create both electricity and heat, and is a well established renewable energy source in many countries including the USA, Sweden, Austria and Denmark. Furthermore, it has a great potential for use in Ireland, particularly for heating.

How it WorksPellets are highly suitable for houses and can be burned in either a boiler or a stove. Pellet boilers provide full central heating and hot water, with the same convenience normally associated with oil or gas. Stoves provide heating for a single room. Stoves are available in a range of styles, from traditional-looking wood-burning stoves to modern, minimalist designs. Good quality appliances use modern controls to ensure an efficient, clean burning fire. Because they use thermostatic controls and fans to distribute warm air around the room they are safer than traditional stoves, which rely on radiated heat to warm the room, making the room’s temperature uneven and the body of the stove dangerously hot.

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Installation in the HomeThe installation is similar to that of any central heating boiler or stove, and requires a flue and a fresh air supply to be installed for safe and efficient combustion. Many products are programmable to allow you to set the temperature that you require and some can even be controlled by mobile phone remote control.

Stoves contain an integrated fuel hopper that must be filled manually. Once full, the hopper automatically supplies fuel to the stove, allowing it to operate independently for around 20-40 hours. For boilers or larger systems which require a greater fuel input, you may decide to site your storage facility adjacent to the boiler, and install a completely automatic fuel feed system, such as an auger, so that you do not have to re-fill the hopper manually.

Fuel storage is an important consideration as pellets are a bulky fuel, requiring about three times the storage space of oil. However this requirement could be met with more frequent deliveries. The store must also be kept completely dry as pellets disintegrate on contact with water.

Payback and MaintenanceMaintenance is similar to that of conventional stoves and boilers. The ash pans of both stoves and boilers will require emptying, typically once per month for stoves and once every three months for boilers.

Unlike many renewable energy technologies, with biomass you still need to buy fuel. Wood chip boilers are usually cheaper to run than oil or mains gas. Pellet prices vary, but are generally comparable with oil and mains gas. Pellets are usually available in bags or are delivered loose in bulk.

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Water Recycling Technologies

Rainwater Harvesting

IntroductionRainwater Harvesting are systems which collect run-off water from rooftops (although inside half systems are also available). This run-off water is filtered and then used again in appliances that don’t need purified water (i.e., toilets, irrigation, also baths and showers if the water is treated).

How It WorksRainwater is collected from a roof drainage system and then passed through underground ilters before heading to water storage tank.

The filters remove debris from the water and will divert about 90% of it into the storage tank. The remaining water goes to soak-away pits or storm drains in the usual manner.

This water is then supplied on demand by pumps, through specific outlets, usually to WCs or washing plants. These pumps are controlled by dedicated control units which turned pumps on and off as required, thus reducing there energy consumption. These systems are automatically toped up by mains water to prevent damage in times of drought.

Such a system could provide an estimated 30% reduction in water use for the average household.

Payback and MaintenancePayback depends on how much a building pays in water charges. However it does count towards lowering buildings BER rating. Maintenance is not above that of maintaining a septic tank or existing roof drainage systems (down water pipes, gutters).

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Greywater Recycling Systems

IntroductionGreywater, also known as sullage, is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing.

Greywater comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater. Greywater comprises wastewater generated from all of the house’s sanitation equipment except for the septic tank (water from toilets is blackwater, or sewage).

This system recycles water and requires two separate plumbing systems. The first, being a greywater plumbing system, collects wastewater from a buildings sinks, baths and laundry areas. The second is the search plumbing system, which collects all waste from the building’s toilets and delivers it to the septic tank or search mains.

How It WorksGreywater recycling systems operates on the same principles as rainwater harvesting. The only significant difference between the two is that the water harvested no longer comes from the roof but is instead harvested from a wastewater system separate from the sewage plumbing.

This system could provide similar results as ‘Rainwater Harvesting’, at 30% reduction in water usage. However, greywater systems have a higher potential risk of there water supply being contaminated by biological agents (i.e. washing detergents, soap and other chemical agents).

Greywater systems usually contain treatment plants to remove these contaminants. There are a number of methods to do this, namely, chemical methods.Alternatively UV lights can by used as an environmentally friendly method of destroy contaminants, there trade off is a higher electrical running cost.

The danger of biological contamination can be lessened by using the following methods.●A cleaning tank to eliminate floating and sinking items ●An intelligent control mechanism that flushes the collected water if it has been stored for a long enough period to become hazardous. This completely avoids the problems of filtration and chemical treatment.

Payback and MaintenancePayback and maintenance is equal to‘Rainwater Harvesting’.

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Renewable Energy Tips

Renewable Resources: ●Combining solar collectors with a wood burning stove provides an ideal year-round renewable energy heating solution. A solar collector system can provide around 60% of your annual hot water needs for free (80 to 90% in summer).●Simple Passive Solar Design techniques can make a big difference to energy consumption in the home. Just by facing a house south to capture the maximum daylight energy bills can be reduced by 30%.●Transmission of light through windows (passive solar heating) can reduce heating costs - could you allow for passive solar heating in the design of a new home? What about integrating a solar water heating system onto a south facing roof?●Adding an unheated conservatory or sunspace to the south face of your house increases passive solar gains and provides an insulating effect.●Space and water heating account for over 70% of energy used in the home, so switching to clean, renewable energy (e.g. wood fuel, solar energy or heat pump systems) makes a big reduction in the environmental impact of your home.●Wood is a renewable fuel you can use without producing the harmful greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuels. Instead of coal or peat, throw on a log onto a fire. Whereas peat and coal take hundreds of thousands of years to form, wood is a renewable fuel that grows in just 3-70 years.●Using renewable sources of energy like wood and solar energy to heat our homes reduces our reliance on polluting, imported fossil fuels like oil and coal.●If you recycle glass and paper, you save on a great deal of energy, raw materials and pollution.

Alternative Heating Systems: ●Ground source heat pumps, which collect solar energy stored in the ground, are ideally suited to the Irish climate and can provide year round space and water heating for the fraction of the costs of a conventional system.●A modern wood burning stove can achieve efficiencies of up to 80% compared to only 20-30% for a traditional open fire.

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Carbon Reduction 12

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Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product.

An individual, nation or organization’s carbon footprint is measured by undertaking a greenhouse gases emissions assessment. Once the size of a carbon footprint is known, a strategy can be devised to reduce it.

Reducing a Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint can be efficiently and effectively reduced by trying to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions or applying the following steps:

●Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to accurately determine the current carbon footprint ●Identification of hot-spots in terms of energy consumption and associated CO2-emissions ●Where possible, changing to another electricity company to switch from buying electricity to using renewable sources (e.g. wind turbines, solar panels or hydro-electrical plants) ●Optimisation of energy efficiency and, thus, reduction of CO2-emissions and reduction of other greenhouse gas emissions contributed from production processes ●Identification of solutions to neutralise the CO2 emissions that cannot be eliminated by energy saving measures. This last step includes carbon offsetting; investment in projects that are aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, for instance, tree planting.

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Carbon Offsets

A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.

There are two markets for carbon offsets. In the larger compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit. In 2006, about $5.5 billion of carbon offsets were purchased in the compliance market, representing about 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e reductions.

In the much smaller voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. For example, an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel. In 2006, about $91 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market, representing about 24 million metric tons of CO2e reductions.

Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short- or long-term. The most common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural by-products, destruction of landfill methane and forestry projects.

Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient alternatives to reducing one’s own fossil-fuel consumption. However, some critics object to carbon offsets, and question the benefits of certain types of offsets

Carbon Negative is any process that removes carbon, in any form, from the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere in such a way that it cannot return. Carbon negative processes are the opposite of carbon positive processes.

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Carbon Reducing Plants

All planting absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and produces oxygen. By doing this, they trap carbon inside the plant itself. This makes all plants carbon sinks.

A carbon dioxide sink such as plants, algae or any other primary producer that binds carbon dioxide into biomass, are not carbon negative but carbon neutral. A carbon dioxide sink of this type removes carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere to the biosphere.

That carbon in the plant will return to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide as the plant decays or is burned. Otherwise, carbon dioxide will be store in the earth as plant matter in the short term or insoluble carbonate salts as the plant continues to decay. This is all part of the natural carbon cycle of the plant

All plants do not consume the same amount of CO2. A number of plants, weight for weight, have been discovered to consume very high levels of green house gases.

● Areca Palm (Chrysolidocarpus lutescens) 4 shoulder height plants convert enough CO2 into O2 to sustain a person.

●Mother-in-laws Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) 6/8 waist height plants convert enough CO2 into O2 to sustain a person.

●Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum) Removes toxic pollutants from the air. Namely formaldehyde, xylene and benzene. It is toxic to cats and dogs.

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List of air-filtering soil and plants

This list of top performing plants for filtering air was compiled by NASA, as part of the NASA Clean Air Study, which researched ways to clean air in space stations.

Top performers for removing Carbon Dioxide●Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum) ●Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii) ●Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) ●Pot Mum or Florist’s Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium mori-folium) ●Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’) ●Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Warneckii’) ●Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans ‘Massangeana’) ●Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata) ●Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) ●Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) ●Gerbera Daisy or Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) ●English Ivy (Hedera helix) ●Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum) ●Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum) ●Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Phi-lodendron cordatum) ●Snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifas-ciata ‘Laurentii’) ●Golden pothos or Devil’s ivy (Scindapsus aures or Epiprem-num aureum) ●Peace lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’)

Top performers for removing Formaldehyde ●Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii) ●Florist’s mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) ●Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis “Janet Craig”) ●Weeping fig (‘Ficus benjamina)[3] ●Rubber plant (Ficus elastica) ●Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) ●English ivy (Hedera helix) ●Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata “Bostoniensis”) ●Kimberly queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata) ●Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) ●Peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.)

Top performers for removing Xylene and Toluene●Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) ●Dendrobium orchid (Dendrobium sp.) ●Dumb cane (Camilla) (Dieffenbachia) ●Dumb cane (Exotica)(Dieffenbachia) ●Warneckei (Dracaena deremensis “Warneckei”) ●Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata) ●King of hearts (Homalomena wallisii) ●Kimberly queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata) ●Moth orchid (Phalenopsis sp.) ●Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)

The recommendation of NASA is to use 15 to 18 good-sized houseplants in six- to eight-inch (203 mm) diameter containers in a 1,800-square-foot (170 m²) house.

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Carbon Reducing Plants Facts

●Each average-sized tree provides an estimated €7 savings in annual environmental benefits, including energy conservation and reduced pollution.

●A single tree produces approximately 118kg of oxygen per year. That means two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four!

●One tree can absorb as much carbon in a year as a car produces while driving 26,000 miles.

●Over the course its life, a single tree can absorb 900kg of carbon dioxide.

●The average tree in an urban/city area has a life expectancy of only 8 years.

●One acre of trees removes 2360kg of CO2 per year.

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Notes

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Notes

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