Energy conservation in 2024 and beyond

Renewable energy resources, such as solar energy and wind energy, help homes and businesses to conserve energy. Fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, are at risk of exhaustion, and they pollute our environment. Solar energy is an affordable energy alternative that can easily be installed in a home or business. When you install your own energy system, you'll be able to manage energy consumption better.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers renewable energy grants to help homeowners and businesses adopt solar energy, heat pumps and a whole host of home energy upgrades. Taking advantage of such grants and choosing an installer with good terms, can help homes and businesses get reliable energy systems without necessarily incurring great upfront costs.   

Installing your own energy system ensures that you are completely in charge of your energy conservation goals. When you rely on national or main grids for electricity, you may end up receiving high energy bills due to the constantly fluctuating energy prices. Also, such sources are known for power interruptions and outages. Thus, installing a renewable energy system is one of the key ways of conserving energy.  

Once you’ve installed your own energy system, you can efficiently regulate consumption levels throughout your home. You can set the periods when to switch on heating or cooling systems without having to worry about your electricity provider's reliability, making this one of the major steps toward energy conservation and independence.

Homes and businesses that conserve energy are usually well insulated to seal against air leaks. When a home is not well insulated, warm air can easily be lost via cracks and other open spaces within a home. More energy will be used to warm a home when the heated air keeps vanishing through spaces in the wall. Insulating such spaces will ensure that minimal energy is used for heating a home. 

Different types of insulations can be carried out at your home to ensure you do not use more energy than needed. These insulations include; cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, internal wall insulation, and attic insulation. 

Approximately 35 per cent of a home’s heat is lost via external walls. If your home has cavities that are not insulated, it is time to seal them to improve energy conservation. 

For concrete walls without cavities, external wall insulation is another great option. External wall insulation involves wrapping a layer of stable and rigid insulation around your home. If the internal room's space is not an issue for your house, you may also consider internal wall insulation where extra insulating cardboard will be put inside your home. A home’s heat can also be lost via attics. To avoid heat loss through the attic, it is good to insulate the attic using a thick layer of insulating material. 

When a home is properly insulated using some of the mentioned insulation options, energy is conserved from the heating requirements of that home. This ensures that a home retains its heat within the inside without having to use extra energy to provide warmth. 

Homes that use incandescent light bulbs to illuminate are wasting a lot of energy. Incandescent light bulbs consume a lot of energy to perform their lighting work. These light bulbs are very inefficient, and about 90 per cent of energy is emitted as wasted heat, with just 10 per cent released as visible light. 

To conserve energy at your home and business, ensure you’re using compact fluorescent lights (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. CFL and LED light bulbs are very efficient, and they consume 25-80 per cent less electricity than incandescent bulbs. These bulbs are also 3 to 25 times longer lasting than traditional light bulbs.

Energy-efficient light bulbs may be more expensive than incandescent ones, but their energy-saving capability yields better returns in the long run. 

A core component of the modern Irish smart home, a smart, programmable thermostat can easily be set to turn on and off automatically when you’re away from home or asleep eliminating energy waste. 

It allows you to set the desired temperatures, which switch on and off automatically. This means you can turn on your home's heating system automatically while at work to have it warm before you arrive. 

Our latest estimates indicate that a smart thermostat can save you up to €200 per year. They usually come in different models that can be programmed to fit your weekly schedule. 

Some smart thermostats such as the Hive Active Heating System that we offer at Bord Gáis Energy also have additional features that can be used to alert you when it’s time to replace air filters and warn you when there are technical errors throughout your home heating system, making it a truly innovative way to conserve energy.

A significant amount of heat can be lost through windows and doors. High energy-conserving windows are specifically designed to keep heat inside your home when needed. They are also designed to keep external heat, cold, and humidity outside. They usually entail multiple glazes, low E-coatings, and energy-saving capabilities. 

The upfront cost of such windows and doors might be high, but the long-run benefits are worth the investment. Upgraded windows and doors also offer comfort for homes. Outdated windows and doors allow uncomfortable drafts into your house, but the upgraded ones eliminate them. Thus, upgraded windows and doors help you to conserve energy. 

Water heating is a significant expense for many Irish homes, accounting for up to 12 per cent of your monthly domestic utilities bill. This alone should help ensure that more efficient water heating forms a significant part of your energy conservation goals. 

There are different water heaters available in the Irish market. The first is a storage water heater which contains a big tank where the water is heated. Secondly, tankless water heaters heat water as it passes via a circuit, thus eliminating the need to use a tank. 

Tankless water heaters such as heat pumps are more energy-efficient than conventional storage water heaters. Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly.

You would also conserve a lot of energy when you use solar water heaters. Solar thermal systems are usually designed to meet 50 to 60 per cent of your overall water heating needs. This means that heating your water with solar thermal systems reduces your energy consumption all year round. SEAI offers solar water heating grants to help you handle the upfront costs. The solar water heating grant value is €1200. These water heaters are a great way to conserve energy. 

Home appliances usually account for about 13 per cent of a home’s energy use. When purchasing a home or business appliance, close attention should be paid to its energy consumption rate. 

The upfront purchasing price of a new Smart TV or sound system may be high, but the long-term conservation benefits will far surpass the initial outlay costs. The operating costs of energy-efficient appliances are usually 9 to 25 per cent lower than conventional ‘non-smart’ appliances. 

When building a new home, it's wise to consider the building's energy efficiency in advance. The initial planning and construction plans should involve projections of energy consumption levels to meet your current and future requirements. 

An increasingly common feature in sustainable home building, the passive solar design usually uses the sun for lighting and heating purposes without incorporating mechanical devices. Adopting such designs can significantly cut your need for additional light and heat sources. 

The construction process should incorporate steel doors, glazed windows, heat-repellent roofing, well-designed and insulated attics, overhangs, as well as other necessary energy-efficient measures and the planning phase is critical to ensure you make the right material choices when building a new home or upgrading to an energy-efficient one.

Conserving energy saves you money on energy costs as a result of reduced utility bills. The energy-saving options addressed above help you reduce the level of energy consumed in your home and business. As you use less energy, the less money you will spend on electrical bills.

When you invest in installing an independent solar or wind energy system, the returns will be greater. You will be completely energy-independent because you're generating your own energy. You won't be worried about electrical bills anymore. 

As you conserve energy generated from your solar energy system, you may have an opportunity to generate some income from the produced energy. Some energy companies allow you to send excess energy generated by your system to their electrical grids. You receive monetary compensation in return for the energy sent there. Thus, as one conserves energy, more energy is available for sale to such electrical grids.  

Conservation of energy via the use of renewable energy leads to environmental conservation as well. Fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, release greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gas emissions are the main drivers of climate change. On the other hand, renewable energy resources are carbon-free. The use of such energy sources leads to environmental conservation. 

When you invest in a solar energy system, the energy produced by your system is carbon-free. This reduces global warming and other adverse effects that result from the use of dirty energy. This benefit proceeds to the use of solar thermal energy for heating purposes in your home, bringing the prospect of greater environmental sustainability that is one step nearer a reality.

Energy conservation measures add value to your home or business. Whether you're planning to rent or sell your property today or in the future, energy conservation upgrades add value to it. Everyone would be interested in buying a home with a high BER rating because they will spend less money on electrical bills.  

Property buyers will also be attracted by energy-conserving windows, doors, insulations, and heating systems integrated into your home. Hence, energy-conserving add-ons increase a home's value.