Avail of SEAI Grants of between 35% and 80%
If you’ve ever tried to wade through the jargon that can sometimes come with trying to save money on your energy, you’ll see why the Dunleer Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) has become so trusted in the local community.
The idea came to fruition in 2015, when members of the community of Dunleer in County Louth came together to provide leadershipon addressing the challenges of climate change by reducing energy use and using more renewable energy.
The aim was to simplify the while process, and make sure that people got the best value for money, from reliable and independent sources.
‘We set up the Energy Team five years ago and since then we have equipped 260 homes across Louth, Meath, Fingal and Monaghan with measures to reduce energy use and save people money, achieved through the drawdown of grant funding from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
(SEAI )saving of 10 Million kWh of electricity and taken 2000 tonnes of CO2 out of the environment,’ says Eugene Conlon one of the founding members.
‘We’ve also built an education programme for home owners to assist them in reducing their energy use and using more renewal energy, bringing this education to 700 people in communities across six counties, to inspire people at local level to take actions in addressing climate change, also assisting and motivated these people to participate in energy saving projects.’
The work of this not for profit organisation has been recognised internationally and nationally most recently when it was shortlisted by the Energy SEAI within the Inspirational Energy Community category of its national awards.
‘In our experience, most of us as homeowners are confused about what we should do in our homes about our energy needs and we are bombarded with marketing spin on new heating equipment, insulation, zoning, Solar and PV, stoves etc,’ says Eugene. ‘What we in the Energy Team provide to homeowners is a team they can trust and where we provide an objective assessment of their home, advice on what is needed, quality non disruptive installations and advice on the management of their ongoing energy needs.
To achieve greater impact the group recognised the need to partner with key players and has formed a partnership with the Centre for Renewables and Energy at Dundalk Institute of Technology (CREDIT), The Sustainable Energy section at Louth County Council and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).