The launch of the website www.energyquarter.ie today is reflective of the swerve to make homes in the Irish marketplace more energy efficient and reduce overall energy costs in the long term.
Energyquarter.ie will educate consumers on the latest technologies, policies and trends in the marketplace, including information from Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and the relevant schemes for homeowners.
The site has information and advice on how consumers can save energy, reduce carbon emissions and apply for money-saving grants such as SEI’s Home Energy Savings Scheme.
Energyquarter.ie also provides consumers with direct access to suppliers and installers of energy-efficient products and services in the spheres of solar thermals and solar photovoltaics, for instance, along with suppliers of geothermal heat pumps, wood pellet stoves and pellet boilers.
Estelle Cotter, managing director of Energyquarter.ie, explained: “While carrying out our research, we found that awareness among consumers on renewable energy technologies and energy-efficient schemes and grants was relatively low.
“This presented us with the perfect opportunity to fill this gap and assist in educating and helping consumers learn more about what is available to them.
According to Cotter, with 94,000 expressions of interest in the recently launched Home Energy Savings Scheme, along with the latest requirements form the Building Energy Ratings (BER) that all homes for rent or sale from 1 Jan 2009 require a BER certificate, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about making their homes more energy efficient.
“As a result of the launch of these Government initiatives, it is essential to provide homeowners with simple, consumer-friendly guidelines, case studies and step-by-step details of what is involved in applying for these grants and assessments,” she explained.
Those who sign up to www.energyquarter.ie will receive a regular email newsletter, containing tips and case studies on how other consumers have saved money through energy-efficient improvements.
By Carmel Doyle
