NEW FIGURES HAVE shown that while new houses in Ireland are getting bigger, they are also becoming more energy efficient.
This is according to figures that have been released by the CSO.
Over the past four years, there has been a significant increase in the average floor space across different types of residential dwellings.
Between 2005 and 2009, average floor space stood at 110 square metres. But in the last four years, this has increased by an average of 28 square metres to 138 square metres.
Energy
The energy efficiency of buildings is measured by a Building Energy Rating (BER) audit. The BER ratings run from incrementally from A to G with A being the best rating achievable and G being the worst.
Of the houses built nationally between 2005 and 2009, only 1% received an A rating and 38% received a B rating. In the years from 2010 to 2014, there was a big improvement with 26% receiving the A rating and 66% receiving the B rating.
The new figures also show that Offaly and Leitrim are the two counties with the highest percentage (12%) of residences in the lowest BER category of G.
Fuel
According to new figures, our fuel consumption habits vary greatly across the country. In Dublin City and county, over 70% of households have taken to using mains gas in their homes.
However, in Longford, only 2% of homes have switched over to the fuel type with 63% still using heating oil.
Almost a quarter of people in Offaly (23%) use solid fuel for main space heating in their homes. This is 8% more than the rest of the country.
More than half of the homes constructed since 2010 use mains gas as their primary heating source.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say