Energy usage and energy efficiency are of increasing concern in Ireland. Regression analyses on a large household micro-dataset reveal that those homes that have more energy-saving features are also likely to have a high ‘potential energy use’. Statistically significant dwelling features...

Past research into the determinants of appliance ownership has identified associations with socioeconomic characteristics of households. Few studies have examined the intensity with which different sorts of households use the appliances they have. This paper uses microdata to examine the factors...

This research examines the impact of a home energy efficiency upgrade programme on social housing tenants. Employing a quasi-experimental approach we examine a range of self-reported and objectively measured outcomes, including metered gas consumption, for a control and upgrade group, before and...

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Homes (BEH) scheme to provide a financial incentive for home owners to engage in energy efficiency retrofits. This study analyses the BEH data and Building Energy Rating data for BEH-participant homes to examine the...

Energy performance certificates provide a measure of and raise the awareness of the energy efficiency of homes. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates a grant aid scheme to incentivise residential energy efficient retrofits known as the Better Energy Homes (BEH) scheme,...

The common EU framework for assessing the energy performance of residential buildings and awarding Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) is an important resource in the context of informing effective policy measures to improve energy efficiency. However, properties that have been assessed...

In this paper we study the recent awareness and persuasion campaign launched by the Irish government to increase energy efficiency and we assess its effect on residential natural gas consumption. We first analyse changes in the daily consumption of natural gas and find that advertising leaflets...

This study examines energy efficiency retrofit depth in Ireland using data from a national residential grant scheme for energy efficiency upgrades. We specifically examine both the number of retrofit measures adopted per dwelling, and also the comprehensiveness of retrofits upgrades, which are...

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates the Better Energy Homes (BEH) grant scheme to incentivise residential energy efficient retrofits, an ongoing scheme which was implemented in 2009. This scheme provides a financial incentive for home owners to engage in energy efficient...

An Energy Service Company (ESCO) is a firm that offers to reduce its client’s energy bill, with the cost saving being split with the client. ESCOs in the full sense of the term offer finance for their projects, will accept the risk of the project and are remunerated in proportion to the...