HAI hosts nZEB Breakfast Briefing with SEAI

Earlier this month HAI hosted a breakfast briefing on the Nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) and related building regulations with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). The event was sponsored by Kingspan Insulation who provided their own insights.

The morning began with an introduction by Emer Burton, Programme Manager for the Better Energy Homes Programme, who provided an overview of SEAI and their available grants and programmes, along with an update on Government policy regarding retrofitting the residential sector. She provided useful information for merchants on retrofitting homes and available grants for homeowners. Emer identified heat pumps as a key growing trend in home-building and renovation.

The keynote speaker for the morning was Orla Coyle, Programme Manager for nZEBs and High Performance Retrofit at SEAI. Orla provided a detailed breakdown of the regulations and began with a reminder that all new buildings are to meet these regulations by the 31^st of December 2020, and that all new buildings owned and occupied by Public Authorities after 31st Dec 2018.

In a Q&A session that followed an attending merchant expressed concern about potential fines that could hit non-compliant business owners, and it was made clear that more information needs to be made available to builders merchants, business owners and home owners alike. Orla and Emer ensured attending delegates that The SEAI will be releasing information guides and workbooks, along with new updated software that checks for nZEB compliance on non-residential buildings.    

The morning concluded with a presentation from Brett O’Sullivan, Business Development Manager at Kingspan Insulation, who demonstrated the potential impact on building performance levels when nZEB compliant and provided some information and advice for merchants on available products that coincide with the regulations, including wall, flooring, and roofing insulation.

HAI will be running future nZEB breakfast briefings in regional locations, subject to demand. If you are interested in attending future events please contact jim@hardwareassociation.ie.