This document summarizes the results and lessons learned from the SERVE project in Tipperary, Ireland. The SERVE project retrofitted 400 existing homes and built 50 new homes with energy efficient technologies. It also installed renewable energy systems like wood stoves, solar panels, and biomass heating. Monitoring of the upgraded homes showed a notable shift to better energy ratings. Key lessons included understanding barriers to energy efficiency and working to eliminate them. The project established smart approaches to procurement, management, financing, and scaling up retrofits across the region.

1. SERVE-ING TIPPERARY
RESULTS & LESSONS
PAUL KENNY
www.servecommunity.ie
CROENERGY 2013
© SERVE Project, 2013

2. © SERVE Project, 2010
SERVE REGION
Rural Region

3. CORE PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Retrofitting for Existing Houses and
Buildings
New Buildings
Renewable Energy Supply
Monitor and prove results
Research on socio-economic impacts
and sustainable electricity options
Train/Educate people
© SERVE Project, 2010

4. 400
Retrofits
50
New Builds
73,000m2
© SERVE Project, 2010

5. 600
Wood Stoves
950 m2
Solar Panels
2,000kW
Biomass
© SERVE Project, 2010

6. 40,000,000
pieces of Energy
Data
100’s of House
Visits
Many Cups of
Tea
© SERVE Project, 2010

7. RESULTS
€4.1m in
Grant Aid
11% IRR
13% increase
in Biomass Use
© SERVE Project, 2010

8. SERVE MONITORED HOUSES – PRE UPGRADE
25%
National
20%
Tipperary
SERVE Pre Upgrade
15%
10%
5%
0%
A1
A2 A3 B1
EXCELLENT
© SERVE Project, 2008
B2
B3
C1 C2 C3 D1
GOOD
D2
E1 E2
F
VERY POOR
G

9. SERVE MONITORED HOUSES – POST UPGRADE
40%
National
35%
Tipperary
30%
SERVE Post Upgrade
25%
Notable Shift towards B3 / C1
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
A1 A2 A3 B1
EXCELLENT
© SERVE Project, 2008
B2
B3 C1 C2 C3 D1 D2
GOOD
E1
E2 F
G
VERY POOR
Using National & SERVE BER Databases

10. NOW AND THEN
• Now a National Retrofit Programme and Grant
Supports which have many similarities to SERVE
structures
• No supports for retrofitting of homes
• 200 construction people trained on quality
standards
• No training on retrofitting
• SERVE has 40 million data points on energy
consumption in dwellings (retrofitted and new
buildings)
• No data on energy performance of dwellings
• 1.5MW of biomass heating in place on Heat Supply
Contracts. ESCO Model Development
• No Biomass Heat Supply Contracts in Place
© SERVE Project, 2010

11. LESSONS LEARNED
• Understand what needs to be done.
• Understand why it is not being done.
Then work hard on eliminating barriers!
© SERVE Project, 2010

12. SMART PROCUREMENT
• Public sector evolving
to procure services vs
product
• Procure ‘Heat Supply’
or ‘Energy Service’
• One of first in Ireland
• Benchmark for full
ESCO development in
Ireland
• National Fund
Developed
© SERVE Project, 2010

13. SMART MANAGEMENT
• SERVE – Data and process management key.
• SERVE – Retrofit 400 Dwellings in 3 years.
• 2013 Social housing Retrofit 500 dwellings in 4
months.
• Systems needed to increase pace – integrate:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Owner/ Tenant
Surveyor/ designer
Procurement
Timeline
Health & Safety
Quality
Financial management
© SERVE Project, 2010

14. Tipp Energy Agency Solution
SMART MANAGEMENT
Building Professional
-BER Assessor
-PI insurance
-Surveyor/ Civil/ Arch.tech
-PSDP
Building Survey
-Energy Requirements
-Rented housing standards
-Condition survey
-Measurement
List of Upgrade
Requirements
Tenant Liaison
Panel of Contractors:
-Annual contractor tender
-Standard specification
-Schedule of rates (per meter etc)
Housing Database
Social Housing Upgrade
Funding Availability
Automatic
Management of
TCC/ C2
Management System
(WEB-Based)
Inspection process with
Building Professional
P.O. / payment
admin
QA Management of each
contractor

15. SMART FINANCING
• Public & Private Bodies may need finance.
• Understand where risk is - Put it where it can be
managed.
• SERVE domestic retrofit 11% IRR – not financeable.
• ESCO applicability smaller than many hope
• Low payback, Low finance costs and Low
transaction costs are needed.
• ESCO useful for expertise – or where traditional
finance unavailable
© SERVE Project, 2010

16. SMART FINANCING
Simple Payback (yrs) With Rising Interst rates
25
Actual Payback
20
1
Discounted Payback
2
15
3
4
5
6
10
7
8
9
10
5
0
0
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
© Interest Rate
SERVE Project, 2010
7%
8%
9%
10%

17. CONCLUSIONS
• What needs to be done is clear
• We need to be very smart about how to
do it.
• We need to subsidise (obligation) and/ or
Tax alternative, as golden rules will ensure
failure.
• We need to add scale +200% per year for
10 years!
© SERVE Project, 2010

18. THANK YOU
Paul Kenny
Chief Executive
Tipperary Energy Agency
T: +353 527443090
E: pkenny@tea.ie
W: www.tea.ie
.
© SERVE Project, 2010