Research commissioned by the Irish League of Credit Unions, Energia and House2Home to mark the nationwide launch of the CU Greener Homes scheme has found that almost two thirds (62%) of Dublin households are considering home improvements due to more time spent at home, illustrative of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is higher than the overall national figure of 56% that are considering improvements.
The research shows that comfort and warmth (78%) and saving money on energy (70%) are the two main drivers of future Dublin home improvements. Meanwhile the kitchen (69%) is the room most Dublin people would like to improve, with the exterior of the house (52%) and living room (47%) also popular.
When it comes to preferred home improvements, insulation is the first choice for many in Dublin with 41% wanting to fit exterior wall insulation, while 39% would opt for attic insulation. The research found that almost two-thirds (62%) would spend up to €5,000 on home improvements with 30% planning to spend in excess of €10,000. This indicates a wide range of improvements are being considered and a significant proportion of Dublin households who are prepared to make a large investment in long-term upgrades.
Almost half of all Dublin households surveyed have already upgraded their homes – with 45% having completed home improvements or energy efficiency upgrades in the last 3 years.
Forty two per cent of those Dublin households who borrowed to finance their home improvements did so from a credit union – compared to 68% nationally. Of those planning to borrow to fund their future home improvement plans, 21% of respondents said they will borrow from a credit union, compared to 14% who plan to take a bank loan.
Carbon Footprint and Sustainable Homes
As many as 58% of Dublin respondents feel Ireland isn’t doing enough to reduce our carbon footprint, compared to 57% nationally. In addition, 80% think a better BER or energy rating for their own home would positively impact the environment. This is in line with respondents nationally (77%).
Paul Bailey, Head of Communications of the Irish League of Credit Unions said: “We have been aware for some time, through our member credit unions, of the significant demand for a green home improvement loan. In keeping with the government’s Climate Action Plan, we embarked on an explorative journey with Energia and House2Home to see how we could collaborate to deliver the SEAI preferred one stop shop approach to deep retrofitting. The outcome of this journey is the CU Greener Homes scheme. Our aim is to make the process of deep retrofitting easy and cost effective for credit union members across Dublin. In Energia and House2Home, we have found two partners who share our passion for excellent customer experience and commitment to the environment”.
Picture Conor McCabe Photography.
Further information on the CU Greener Home Scheme is available at https://cugreenerhomes.ie/
CAPTION: Paul Bailey, Head of Communications of the Irish League of Credit Unions with Rory Clarke General Manager of House2Home and Cormac Mannion, Head of Energy Services at Energia.
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