Written answers
Thursday, 30 May 2024
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Energy Conservation
Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the retrofitting of local authority homes with heat pumps; if he is aware of concerns that this is leading to higher-than-expected bills; if he plans to increase education/spread awareness about heat pump usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24419/24]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme (EERP) aims to retrofit a local authority home to a BER of B2/Cost Optimal Equivalent. It is expected that 36,500 local authority owned homes will be retrofitted under this Programme out to 2030.
Works eligible under my Department's revised EERP include attic/cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation where required, windows and doors replacement, heat pump installation and ancillary and associated works. The funded measures achieve the B2 or cost optimal equivalent (BER).
The number of heat pump installs carried out since the newly revised Programme commenced in 2021 is detailed below:
| Year | Total Number of Heat Pumps |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 750 |
| 2022 | 1898 |
| 2023 | 2215 |
Heat pumps are extremely efficient and very economical to run offering lower energy costs as well as reduced carbon emissions. The National Heat Study was published in February 2022 and can be accessed on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) website at the following link: www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/national-heat-study/.
It found, that in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of domestic heating, heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for domestic heating systems, with district heating also identified as a competitive option that can be widely deployed. The Government has established a Heat and Built Environment Delivery Taskforce and will publish a new National Policy Statement on Heat to guide the Government’s overall response to the National Heat Study across all sectors.
On 20 March 2024, the SEAI published two reports on behavioural research on heat pump uptake with several policy recommendations including running a widespread heat pump awareness campaign. The SEAI has also published a Homeowner’s Guide to Heat Pump Systems. Both the reports, and the Home Owners Guide can be accessed on the SEAI website at the respective link:
SEAI launches new behavioral research on heat pump adoption in ‘heat pump ready’ oil-heated homes | News and Media | SEAI
Homeowners-Guide-To-Heat-Pump-Systems.pdf (seai.ie)
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