Local Notes: Huge potential to cut energy bills in Ballyhaunis
Members of Ballyhaunis Foróige Club at the Mayo Foróige 3rd Years Prom Ball, held at the Great National Hotel, Ballina, recently. Picture: Trish Forde
A new report on energy use in Ballyhaunis suggests millions of euros could be saved in energy expenditure in local homes, offices and public buildings while radically improving the comfort of the structures.
Titled ‘Energy Master Plan for Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) of Ballyhaunis’, the report was launched by Ballyhaunis Sustainable Energy Community on May 19th at the Community Hall.
Speaking for Celtic Dynamics Engineering Ltd, a consultancy which was paid through an Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) grant to produce the plan, Marcus MacDonnacha said €3 million per year could be saved by all homes in the town of Ballyhaunis upgrading to a building energy rating (BER) rating of B2.
The report also found that an investment of €400,000 in local community and sports buildings audited by Celtic Dynamics would yield an annual saving of €54,000 in annual energy expenditure, suggesting a pay back of less than eight years for actions taken. Those buildings, which were audited on factors such as energy efficiency and insulation, included the Enterprise Centre, Friary House, Ballyhaunis Rugby Club and Ballyhaunis GAA clubhouse.
Ten Ballyhaunis homes that were surveyed for the report have an average BER of C2 while overall the town’s 1,364 homes have an average BER of D2, suggesting much scope for improvement given homes built to current standards have a BER of A1 or A2.
The cost of a range of measures to reduce energy consumption including improved insulation and solar panels would be paid back in a quicker time given rising global energy prices, explained MacDonnacha.
The launch of the report at the Community Hall was appropriate, said Cllr Alma Gallagher, who pointed to the extensive refurbishment of the building using external insulation and a heat pump heating system as well as rooftop solar panels. The launch was timely, she said, given the rising cost of fossil fuels prompted by American-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year.
MacDonnacha suggested solar power is one of the easiest ways to reduce carbon emissions while generating more clean energy in Ballyhaunis with savings of up to 48% on annual electricity bills possible with an installation costing €3,435 to the householder atop an SEAI grant of €1,800.
Aside from more PV on rooftops, a two-hectare solar farm would enable the area to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in line with the government Climate Action Plan which aims to halve CO2 emissions by 2030.
“A switch to biofuels and biogas would be a renewable way for industries to generate high temperatures," he remarked.
The potential to reduce energy bills can be achieved by cutting carbon emissions warming the planet to levels which could ultimately be prohibitive for humans.
“Climate change is here, the data is clear,” said Orla Nic Suibhne, a mentor engaged by SEAI to help communities in Mayo to come up with a sustainable energy community and action plan.
Ms Nic Suibhne pointed to actions which can be taken to reduce heat loss from the home, thus cutting energy bills and related emissions.
“Some 30% of heat loss happens through your roof and you can fix this for approximately €2,000 of which up to 90% is covered by a grant. A house’s walls account for another 30% of heat loss while door and windows account for 10% and floors 20%.”
Homeowners can take several paths to SEAI support: those on social welfare can avail of the Warmer Homes Scheme which is administered by local companies appointed by SEAI. Applications under the One Stop Shop programme meanwhile are also handled by SEAI-appointed firms with all works required to bring the home to a BER rating of B2 supervised by the appointed firm.
However, even with grant aid, this approach can be expensive if a house has a lower BER rating, thus many homeowners choose to go a third route: procuring their own contractors to do the work step by step and drawing down grants from the SEAI for each individual aspect of the retrofit.
“You have to do the legwork but the grants are very substantial, for instance 90% for re-insulating a cavity wall,” Ms Nic Suibhne explained.
Housing accounts for 25% of Ireland’s energy consumption but heating homes takes up 80% of the energy bill with the remainder spent on electricity.
Also speaking at the event, David Doherty, who runs Ballinlough-based solar company Switch 2 Solar, explained how the rising popularity of electric vehicles has spurred a surge in demand for batteries, with homeowners taking advantage of low night-time rates for electric vehicles to also charge their home battery at night at a special lower rate and using that to power their home in the day time. Daytime energy generated from their solar panels was used at that time to export electricity to the grid at a higher price.
“In some cases, the EV charging rate is 6.8 cents per unit while the feed in tariff is 18.5 cents per unit, so you pocket the difference.”
As the average BER in the Ballyhaunis area is D2, there is huge scope for improvement, said Cllr Gallagher.
Some householders however are overwhelmed by the complexity of the grant process, she said, “and sometimes they’re getting conflicting advice from contractors".
The establishment of the SEC and publication of the master plan is intended to offer advice and support, she said.
The increased volume of applications has led to longer waits for SEAI-funded works to be completed, acknowledged Ms Nic Suibhne, in response to a question from one homeowner present at the launch who has been waiting nearly two years for the works to be completed. Nationally, the government has set a target of retrofitting 500,000 homes to a BER of B2 annually.
Mayo County Council will close the R929 through Ballyhaunis from the town square on Saturday, May 30 to Monday, June 1, to facilitate the Ballyhaunis Summer Festival which this year includes a large car show on Main Street on May 30 as well as a music festival on May 31.
Promising musical acts perform in a Battle of the Bands hosted by local pubs and Ballyhaunis Rugby Club. Local bars will also play host to a popular annual inter-pub table quiz during the festival.
Organised by Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce, the festival is expected to draw large crowds to the town.
Anne Lyons sends a 'huge thank you' for the amazing support received over the past few months while fundraising prior to walking the Camino in Spain last month.
“With the amazing generosity of family, friends and the Ballyhaunis community, I raised an incredible €10,769 on top of the cost of the trip. The group collectively raised €43,500 for Breakthrough Cancer Research. Your support will help BCR in their mission to make more survivors of cancer through research and fund research teams who are working to find better, smarter and kinder ways to prevent, diagnose or treat cancer.”
On Saturday, May 30, the Community Garden in Ballyhaunis will host a Biodiversity 'Gardening for Nature' workshop from 10am to 1pm in collaboration with Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns and supported by Community Foundation Ireland.
Gardener Hannah Mole from Strokestown-based Earthcare Permaculture will lead the workshop which will demonstrate how to shape a garden in a manner more friendly to nature. The workshop will be followed by a meet-up from 1 to 3pm at the Garden, which is located in the Friary grounds.
The art of dry-stone walling is very much alive and well judging by the demand for a dry-stone walling workshop in Kilmovee this bank holiday weekend.
Stone mason Dominic Keogh, who is delivering the workshop on May 30 and 31, said the workshop was fully booked.
“I didn’t even get to properly advertise it before it was full," he noted.
Grant aided by Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education Training Board and run by Kilmovee Heritage, the annual workshop features two days of stone walling using the sandstone unique to the area and to Kilkelly, its more geometric shapes making it easier to build with than the more irregularly shaped limestone common to most of county Mayo.
Once a feature of the Irish agricultural landscape, dry stone walls have traditionally been a haven for wildlife but have sadly been a victim of field expansion which has characterised the amalgamation of farms and the creation of large paddocks for dairy farming.
Dominic in his day job runs Memento Mori Stonework and has worked on restoration projects across the country from his base in Kilmovee. He was recently commissioned by Creative Places and Roscommon County Council to create a piece of public art sculpture for the new park at the Plots in Ballaghaderreen along with the artist Anna King.
St Mary’s Abbey, commonly known as the Friary, has been given €25,000 in the latest round of funding announced by the Heritage Council under its Community Heritage Grant Scheme.
The funds will go towards the drafting of a masterplan for the preservation of the abbey site which is being planned by the Abbey Trust, the body made up of representatives from the local community and Mayo County Council that holds the property in trust since the departure from Ballyhaunis of the Augustinian Order in 2002.
Locals are invited to drop by an Irish language event titled ‘Gaeilge agus cupán tae’ on May 29 at the Community Hall in Ballyhaunis.
Organised by Ballyhaunis Community Council and Ballyhaunis Language Café to coincide with the local Summer Festival, the event at 5pm will allow those with all levels of Irish to chat while enjoying tea and coffee. The hour-long gathering will be “very friendly and welcoming atmosphere” stress the organisers.
A genealogy clinic is being organised by Mayo Genealogy Group and the Community Council from 4 to 6pm. It will advise visitors on how to research their family tree in the Ballyhaunis area.
From 5 to 7pm there will be a kids' music open mic event, allowing kids to sing or play a tune with sound and instruments provided by Ballyhaunis School of Music and pizza provided by Ballyhaunis Community Council. The evening finishes up with a line dancing hoedown at 8pm with Mary Kathleen Henry.
