One third of Irish people cannot afford to make their properties more energy efficient, a study by Savills Ireland has found. 

Making a property more energy efficient saves homeowners’ money in the long-term and helps reduce the nation’s carbon emissions and its dependency on foreign energy. 

Grants are available to offset the cost of insulation, heat pumps and solar panels but many still cannot afford to pay such large sums upfront.

“The cost of retrofitting a home easily runs into tens of thousands and the high cost of a home energy upgrade is clearly a barrier,” Savills New Homes Divisional Director Beverly Ensor said. 

“While this could be an indication of just how hard-pressed household finances are across the board, it also suggests that the opportunity cost of a home retrofit is simply beyond the reach of many household budgets. 

“Perhaps more needs to be done to encourage the take-up of the Government’s home retrofit grants, as well as the availability and accessibility of those grants.”

D2WARH Bungalow with solar panels on roof, Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, UK

The study also found that men are slightly more interested in retrofitting their home for the sake of the environment than women are; 26% of men cited the planet as a reason compared to 18% of women. 

Respondents were also less environmentally minded in older age groups; of those over the age of 55 17% cited the environment as the main reason to retrofit a home, compared to 36% of those aged between 18 and 24. 

The Government has committed Ireland to reaching net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.

Main image: A man installing a rooftop solar panel array. Picture by: Alamy.com