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Climate Action

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There are lots of technical words and acronyms associated with the retrofitting process and so it’s easy to be confused. 

NZEB? BER? PIR? U values?

But don’t let this put you off. 

Check out this glossary of energy upgrade and retrofit terms.

a

  • Attic Insulation:  Uses materials like mineral wool or fibre glass to prevent heat loss through the roof of a house.

B

  • BER (Building Energy Rating): This is used to rate a home’s energy efficiency from A (best) to G (worst). It includes information on energy use for heating, lighting and ventilation. A BER certificate is needed when selling or renting a property.

C

  • Central Heating System: Distributes heat throughout the home, often via radiators or under-floor heating.
  • Coefficient of Performance (COP): A heat pump’s efficiency rating. The higher the COP, the more heat is produced for each unit of electricity consumed, so a higher COP means a better performance.

D

  • Decarbonisation: The removal of carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing and energy processes. 
  • Deep Retrofit: Involves multiple improvements like putting in insulation, replacing windows and doors, installing a heat pump, and introducing renewable energy systems.  It will take a house to at least a BER of B2.
  • District Heating: Distributing heat generated from a central location through a network of pipes to residential, commercial or industrial buildings
  • Draft Proofing: Sealing gaps around windows and doors to reduce heat loss.
  • Dry Lining: Insulating the inside of externally-facing internal walls by fixing insulated plasterboard or other insulating materials directly to the inside of the wall.

E

  • Energy Efficiency: Reducing bills and greenhouse gas emissions while still performing the same tasks
  • Electricity Interconnector: High-voltage land and subsea cables that connect the electricity systems of neighbouring countries.

F

  • Fabric First Approach: Making initial improvements to a building’s structure (e.g., insulation, windows) before installing renewable technologies.

g

  • Green Loan: A loan for financing environmentally friendly or energy-efficient home upgrades, often with lower interest rates
  • Heating Controls: Devices such as thermostats, timers and zone controls that allow you to manage and optimise your home’s heating system for improved energy efficiency and comfort.
  • Heat Loss Indicator (HLI): A measure of how much heat escapes per square meter of your home. Used to determine eligibility for SEAI heat pump grants.
  • Heat Pump:  A system that transfers heat from outside to inside, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.  A heat pump can extract and transfer heat from air, water, or the ground into your home.  Check out how they work in the animations here 
  • Hot Water Divert: Redirects surplus solar electricity to heat water in the immersion tank.

I

  • Insulation:  Materials used to reduce heat loss in a building. Common types include attic, wall and floor insulation.
  • Inverter (for Solar): Converts the direct current (DC) from solar panels to alternating current (AC) suitable for use in your home.

k

  • Kilowatt-Hour (kWh): A unit of energy measuring electricity consumption; 1 kWh equals 1,000 watts used for one hour.

m

  • Microgeneration: Surplus energy from renewable sources like solar panels can be fed back into the grid for financial credits that are added to your electricity bill.

n

  • NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building): Buildings that meet high energy efficiency standards with most energy coming from renewables.
  • Net Zero Home: A home that produces no overall (net) carbon emissions, typically achieved by combining high energy efficiency with on-site renewable energy.

o

  • One Stop Shop: An SEAI-registered full-service solution for deep retrofitting homes, managing home energy assessments and grant applications etc

p

  • Passive Home: A design standard that achieves thermal comfort with minimal heating and cooling by using insulation, airtightness, appropriate window and door design, ventilation systems with heat recovery, and elimination of thermal bridges.
  • Peak Time (for Electricity Use): Time when electricity demand is highest, placing greatest demand on the grid. Typically, 17:00 to 19:00hrs in Ireland.

r

  • Renewable Energy: Energy that is generated from natural sources like sunlight, wind or water.
  • Retrofitting: The process of modifying or upgrading a building to enhance its performance

s

  • SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland): The Irish state agency promoting sustainable energy.  It offers information and grants and resources for increasing your energy efficiency.
  • Smart Meter:  A digital meter that tracks electricity use in the home. 
  • Smart Tariff: By using your Smart Meter to understand electricity use you can avail of an energy plan that can potentially to reduce bills.
  • Solar Battery: Excess electricity generated by solar panels can be stored in batteries and used later.
  • Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Panels:  Converts sunlight (daylight) into electricity
  • Solar Thermal Panels: Use the sun’s heat to provide hot water

t

  • Triple Glazing: Windows with three panes of glass. They improve the thermal comfort of the home and reduce external noise compared to double glazing.
  • Thermostatic Radiator Valve (TRV): A valve on radiators that allows you to control the temperature of individual rooms.
  • Thermal Bridges: Weak points in a building that allow heat to pass through.  They occur at junctions at walls, floors, roofs, windows etc. 

u

  • U-Value: Measures how much heat passes through a material; a lower U-value means better insulation

v

  • Ventilation:  The process of removing stale indoor air and replacing it with fresh outdoor air.  There are different types: - Demand-Controlled Ventilation (DCV) Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV), Mechanical Ventilation