Despite experiencing a week with more rainfall than sunshine, it appears that solar energy has gained popularity among Irish households, according to data from ESB Networks.
Over 100,000 residences throughout the country are now contributing electricity to the national power grid from solar panels installed on their rooftops, catering to a large portion of their own energy requirements. Remarkably, 20% of these connections were made since the start of this year. The number of microgenerator connections is currently being processed at an impressive speed of 750 per week by ESB Networks.
Collectively, these households are pumping 400 megawatts of eco-friendly power into the grid, yielding up to 21 cents per kilowatt-hour. This contribution is far from trivial. When compared to the nationwide output of large solar farms, which is barely double of that produced by individual households, the significance of these figures becomes evident.
Meanwhile, separate numbers have been released by the ESRI this week demonstrating considerable eagerness in investing in retrofitting houses to varying extents. This includes exploiting grants provided by the Sustainable Energy Association of Ireland for such projects.
According to the data, roughly one-fourth of households were seriously considering undertaking some retrofit work on their homes. Nearly 30% expressed openness to the concept as they foresee some renovations in the future, despite not having made tangible moves towards exploring retrofit alternatives.
Interestingly, the ESRI study, conducted by John Curtis, Gianluca Grilli, and Muireann Lynch, found the homeowners’ willingness to consider retrofit projects was influenced by the potential mess and intrusion the process could cause.
On average, households were prepared to invest €31,000 for a retrofit resulting in a 30% reduction in energy costs. However, the more disruptive the project, the less money they were willing to allocate.
Reflecting on the numbers from ESB Networks, it appears that solar energy could be perceived as a less disruptive retrofitting option than some others.