In these difficult times, we want to make sure the money we spend on our homes will add real value. Grainne & Michael need to get better use out of the space they have but with limited options and no room to extend, the balance between cost and value is going to be tricky to achieve.

Also featured in this issue:

• George Clarke of Channel 4′s ‘The Home Show’& new series, ‘Restoration Man’, answers some common home improvement questions;
• Niall Browne of Browne Architects reviews current costs for hiring tradesmen and builders in Ireland;
• A Guide to Installing Solar Panels to reduce water and space heating costs;
• Making Budget Home Improvements – under 1k, 5k & 10k,

plus £1000 worth of reader giveaways and lots more!

If you have a space problem in your home and would like my help to find a solution that works for you, call me or drop me a line to book a 2 Hour Home Design Consultation – see right for contact details. Or if you know someone who could use some help in creating their dream home, we now offer gift vouchers – the perfect birthday, anniversary, wedding or house-warming gift.

Alternatively, if you’d like to be featured in a future issue of the magazine, we require the following info:

• photos of your house – an external shot of the front & internal shots of the problem areas;
• a floor plan, if you have one – even a rough sketch will do!
• a description of your home, highlighting the problems you’re experiencing.

Send these to anthea@decorateireland.ie, with ‘Property Potential Feature’in the Subject line. Decorate & Improve Your Home is a Quarterly magazine and we can only feature one home potential project per issue, so if you aren’t selected initially, please keep trying!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

The Hidden Potential in Your Home

It’s Not About Looks: Good Design Works

Putting the Home into a Home Office

Did you find this article useful? Do you have any any pet peeves about housing? Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this subject or any other home improvement / design issues you’d like to know more about.

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January 2010 was the coldest in Dublin for 45 years. The snow brought transport, pedestrians and businesses to a halt, the threat of low gas supplies and then water shortages with the thaw – one snap of bad weather and we are all reminded of how reliant we are on our infrastructure systems and networks to live our lives in comfort and how vulnerable we are when they break down.

For me, this past month brought into sharp focus everything I’d learned whilst participating in the ‘Community Powerdown’ course run by the Cultivate Centre in Dublin, last year – an exploration of the challenges we all face as the supply of carbon-based fuels like oil and gas run out.

From 'Energy & Power' - a 1971 oil use projection

The phenomenon is known as  ‘Peak Oil’, coined by M. King Hubbert in the 1950′s as he investigated the rate of oil production over time – the bell-shaped graph above is a typical projection of how oil production will fall off sharply, as resources become exhausted. Since Hubbert’s time, world population has grown; technology is more advanced and prevalent and, as a result, our energy demands have more than doubled.

Schools of thought vary on the timing of Peak Oil but whether it is in our near future or our near past, we have reached a turning point where the resources we are reliant upon for our current way of life will steadily become more scarce:

• more difficult to access,
• more likely to cause friction and aggression as competition to find and control dwindling resources increases and, of course,
• more expensive as supply drops and demand increases.

To put this into perspective – in 2008, 80-90% of total worldwide energy consumption came from burning fossil fuels.

As part of the ‘Community Powerdown’workshops, each week a dozen of us, from different age groups, backgrounds, interests and awareness of environmental issues sat down to look at how Peak Oil would affect us and what measures we could put in place to make our lives more resilient to this kind of change.

Reading this,  you may think changing your heating to something more sustainable like wind power, a couple of solar panels or a wood-chip boiler, in the future, will take care of the problem – as I did before I embarked on the course – but the impact of Peak Oil goes far beyond the question of how we heat our homes.

'Leavin' on a jet plane... don't know if I'll be back again'

Without oil, how do we travel? Cars, buses, motorbikes, mopeds, trains and planes all rely on carbon-fuels and the impetus isn’t there to develop alternatives whilst these fuels are perceived to be in plentiful supply.

Who made your lunch today?

What will we eat? It takes ploughs, tractors, sowers, reapers to tend the land in this time of large scale industrial farming. Ingredients have to be transported to factories, which have to be heated and whose machines have to be powered and whose products then have to be transported around the country and the world.

One of the facts I found most startling is that our current food chain is only 3 meals deep – if anything were to disrupt the flow of supply and demand, we have only enough food to last 3 days before serious problems occur. Think about the lorry drivers strike in the UK a few years back or the snow we’ve just experienced – this is how easy it is to disrupt the systems we rely on.

'Life in the fast lane...'

Where and how will we work? In their book, ‘Microtrends – Surprising Tales of the Way we Live Today’, Mark J. Penn & E. Kinney Zalsne identify not one but two trends around the commuter lifestyle – Commuter Couples whose jobs dictate almost separate lives and who are reliant on travel just to spend time together and Extreme Commuters who travel at least 90 minutes each way daily to get to work. There’s even a Mega-Commuter trend, especially in Europe, where people are reliant on flying to and from work.

Without cheap independent transport, the long-distance work commute, a reality for many in Ireland who could not afford to buy boom-time housing in locations where they worked, becomes completely unsustainable.

'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo...'

Where and how do we live?  The construction industry is one of the largest contributors to carbon dioxide emissions in the world and that’s before we move into our homes and face the challenges of heating, lighting, powering TVs, DVDs, X-Boxes, computers, printers, washing machines, dryers, fridges, cookers, dishwashers etc.

Here today, gone tomorrow?

What kind of communities will we have to create? These are huge problems and whilst each of us can change our behaviour as individuals, there is also a need for us to come together and agree changes that will work at a larger scale – sharing of resources, reduction of waste, sustainable living systems.

At a time when we prize our independence so highly, these are frightening prospects. But it is much more frightening to have change thrust upon us than to look ahead, anticipate a new set of circumstances and start planning for it ourselves.

If you’re interested in learning about these issues, Cultivate are running the course again as ‘Community Resilience – 10 Active Learning Lessons’, on Tuesday evenings from 16th February to 27th April at the Greenhouse, 17 St Andrew’s Street. To book or find out more, contact Cultivate at 01 674 5773 or on the web-site – it costs €180.00 for 10 weeks and there are 2 free places available to those who are passionate about or active in sustainability or resilience development.

In the past 2 years, we’ve seen all too clearly what comes of short-term thinking – there is always a price to pay. Our current thoughts and actions create the world we live in tomorrow – so take a moment and ask yourself, what kind of future am I making today?

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

The DIY Energy Efficient Home

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Is Your Home BER Ready?

Do you have any any pet peeves about housing or home design? Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this subject or any other home improvement or design issues you’d like to read more about.

With Summer fast becoming a dim and distant memory, now is the time to prepare your home for keeping warm this Winter. We all know that saving energy is a good thing – an energy efficient home means lower bills, as well as reducing pressure on non-sustainable fuel sources like gas and oil – it can even add value to your home. But where do you start? Which changes will make a real difference and which just burn a hole in your pocket?

This time last year I attended ‘Basic Domestic Energy Auditing’  – a day long workshop by Andy Wilson of The Sustainability Institute, organised by Cultivate in Dublin. At that time, there was a lot of  emphasis on the new Building Energy Rating certificates, which were introduced at the beginning of this year, and the necessity to upgrade existing houses to improve energy efficiency. Now, Cultivate, in their new premises on St Andrew’s Lane are running the workshop again on Sunday 18th October.

The aim of the workshop is to help homeowners:

• Understand energy use in buildings
• Learn methods and techniques for reducing energy use in the home & workplace;
• Examine renewable energy options
• Develop energy literacy and numeracy.

The Energy Efficient Home

In principle, it seems straightforward enough – the more energy efficient the construction of a house, the less money we need to spend heating it. But what makes a house energy efficient?

Orientation

The position of a house in relation to the sun, how sheltered it is and how much sunlight, rain or wind it is exposed to can impact on its energy use. For example, a house where the main living spaces are orientated toward the South will benefit from the heat of the sun during the day, reducing the need for heating. Obviously, this is more useful as a design tool when planning a new house and, though it is possible to improve orientation when extending, for example, you may have to resign yourself to the direction your house is facing!

Insulation

Building insulation into the external walls, roofs and ground floor of a home keeps cold air out and warm air in, reducing need for additional heating, or eliminating it entirely, as in the principles of PassivHaus design. Although most older houses were not built with insulation, this can usually be retro-fitted and there are many options and products available.

Air Tightness

Thoughtful design, attention to detail and good workmanship can eliminate the typical gaps that occur in the construction of a building and prevent heat from escaping. Many of these will be hidden within walls or behind finishes so you may not even know about them or the amount of heat they siphon from your home. Smoke tests can help identify these gaps but contractors and builders need to be more aware of the problems created by lack of air tightness, as this can be difficult to resolve in an existing house.

Appliance & Energy Source

Are you relying on a fuel that is under threat from diminishing resources and potential price hikes – eg. oil and gas – or one that is renewable and sustainable – eg. solar power or wood pellets? Are your appliances and heating system designed use these fuels efficiently? Heating systems and appliances can usually be updated, but can be costly.

The Workshop

I was interested in attending ‘Basic Domestic Energy Auditing’as much as a period home owner trying to get to grips with improving energy efficiency, without eliminating all those period features that I fell in love with in the first place, as from an architectural point of view. I understand how to build a new home in an energy efficient way but refurbishing older buildings is a trickier process.

The workshop isn’t a BER assessor course but rather a practical hands on approach to help individual homeowners get to grips with Building Regulation standards, how their homes use and lose energy and how much that could be costing them. And it all counts – even the smallest changes can reap rewards.

10 Energy Efficient Fixes for Your Home

As a starting point, I found Andy’s recommendations for DIY jobs to improve the energy performance of an existing house very useful. They boil down to 2 very simple rules – keep heat in, keep draughts out – and here they are in ascending order of ease and cost:

1. Add lagging around the hot water cylinder and all hot water pipes;
2. Draught proof doors and windows – you can buy proprietary metal strips with a brush edge at most DIY stores;
3. Hang heavy curtains to keep cold air out and warm air in (think about using these at external doors as well as windows);
4. Seal any gaps in the external walls of the house – these can occur round doors, windows, pipework, vents etc. – again proprietary sealants are available at DIY stores, just ask for advice on the best type for the location you have in mind;
5. Install an insulated door to your attic or to crawl spaces in the eaves, if you have a converted roof space;
6. Insulate (or re-insulate) the loft and put a floor down over it to protect the insulation. Note: insulation should be laid in two layers – the first between the timber joists and the second laid cross-ways over the first layer to avoid gaps that cold air could pass through;
7. Replace open fires with a solid fuel burning stove to reduce draughts and prevent valuable heat escaping up the chimney, rather than into the room;
8. Upgrade windows;
9. Dry-line and insulate the internal walls;
10. Replace the boiler / central heating sytem.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg – Andy discusses how to analyse your own home to identify problems and then advises how best to solve them. Throughout the day we were encouraged to ask questions about how each topic related to our own homes, so the information provided is very much tailored to suit individual needs – I found it a very useful and informative day and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve both their understanding of energy efficiency and their homes.

The workshop runs from 10am – 5pm on Sunday 18th October, and costs €120 with a discount for Cultivate & EASCA members. For more info, take a look at the Cultivate web-site or call 01 674 5773.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

Is Your Home BER Ready?

BER Update – Grant Assistance

Did you find this article useful? Do you have any any pet peeves about housing or home design? Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this subject or any other home improvement or design issues you’d like to know more about.

Now help is at hand.

As part of the new Home Energy Saving Scheme announced by the Minister for Energy, Eamon Ryan, yesterday, it is possible to apply for a grant of up €200 to cover the ‘before and after’costs of a BER certificate. The energy rating assessment must be carried out before and after the improvement works, in order to be able to qualify for this grant.

The scheme will be run by the SEI and, along with the BER rating assistance, will allow homeowners to apply for grants of up to €4000 for carrying out various measures to improve the energy efficiency of their homes – insulating attics & external walls or upgrading central heating boilers and controls.

Although Prof. Owen Wilson was quoted yesterday as saying that the SEI are ‘open for business’, there web-site is currently stating that the schem is not yet open for applications from homeowners. I contacted the SEI today and confirmed that they are currently recruiting contractors to apply for registration under the scheme – the actual grant application process will open before the end of March. Homeowners who wish to apply for a grant can register their interest with the SEI by sending an e-mail to hes@sei.ie.

Despite the fact that the SEI already has a list of approved BER Assessors, grant applications for assistance with the before and after certificates will not be available until the overall scheme is up and running.

More info at www.sei.ie

Did you find this article useful? Please leave a comment to let us know your thoughts on the subject and also any other home improvement issues you’d like to know more about.

A new law came into effect from 1st January 2009, that you should be aware of if you are buying, selling, letting or renting a home in Ireland. It is now compulsory for all homeowners to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate when selling or renting a second hand property and make that information available to buyers or tenants.

A BER certificate measures the energy performance of a home and the certificate looks similar to the energy labels you would see on electrical appliances like a fridge or a washing machine.

The calculation of a home’s energy performance takes many factors into account including its size – walls, floors, roof, doors & windows; its orientation (eg. North or South facing); the materials it is built from and type of construction (eg. masonry or timber-frame); levels of insulation, ventilation & draughtproofing; type of heating and lighting systems and their controls (eg. radiators with thermostats fitted) and energy bills. It is based on the house being used in a typical way by a typical family, which may differ from how you actually use the house.

The benefit of the certificate is that it demonstrates the energy efficiency of your home to a potential buyer or tenant and allows them to factor that information into their decision making process. When looking at two similar properties in a similar location,  then knowing that one will cost less to heat is an obvious advantage, particularly at a time when energy prices are rising. A win:win scenario and a potential means of making your home stand out from the crowd in the current highly competitive market.

The SEI have published indicative ratings for typical homes and their annual heating costs. For example a 3 bed semi-detached house constructed in 2008 with a B1 rating would have an annual energy cost of approx. €725 whereas a 1990′s model of the same house with a C1 rating would cost twice as much to heat.

So if you are a homeowner looking to sell or rent a second-hand property, what do you have to do?

All BER energy performance surveys must be carried out by trained BER Assessors, who are registered with Sustainable Energy Ireland and operate to a defined Code of Conduct.

To find one for your area, go to www.sei.ie/BER – click on the ‘Assessor’box  and then click on ‘Find an Assessor’. This leads to a list of all the Assessors operating in different parts of the country, where you can make your selection.

Yesterday I contacted half a dozen Assessors in the Dublin area requesting costs for a report on a 3 bed traditional terraced house and was quoted between €275 – €350. For this, the Assessor will carry out the survey of your home, feed the data into the SEI’s National BER Register which generates the Certificate along with a report indicating where improvements could be made to your home’s energy performance and send the information on to you.

However, there are a few flaws in the system.

There is no set price for a BER certificate and no regulation as yet, so it is worth doing your homework and shopping around. But make sure you know exactly what it is you are getting for your money – from the enquiries I made, it seems that there is disparity between what different Assessors are offering. For example, one talked about a one hour survey, another 3 hours; some merely pass on the SEI automatically generated report on possible improvements of 1-2 pages, and others prepare their own 16 page detailed document. Make sure you are comparing like for like to ensure real value for money.

The BER Certificate is valid for up to 10 years as long as there are no significant changes made to the property in that time that would change its energy performance. If your home achieves a low rating and you decide to carry out the recommended improvements to improve comfort levels or its saleability then you will have to stump up all over again for a brand new assessment and rating.

Also, the training of Assessors to date has been based on the assessment of new-build housing. The SEI advised that an exam for the assessment of second-hand or existing housing will be available mid-year (though some sources are stating October 2009), which existing Assessors will have to pass prior to the end of 2009, to extend their registration. The interim arrangement is that Assessors can proceed with carrying out assessments of existing homes, on the basis that the software used to gather the information has recently been updated to include second-hand properties. It does, however, open up the possibility of BER certificates being called into question at a later date, if the Assessor concerned does not subsequently pass the exam or does not take the exam before the end of the year.

It will be interesting to see how these issues develop over the course of the year.

Any seller or landlord not providing this information is breaking the law and there are penalties – a fine of up to €5,000 and / or imprisonment for up to 3 months.

For more information go to www.sei.ie

Did you find this article useful? Please leave a comment to let us know your thoughts on the subject and also any other home improvement issues you’d like to know more about.