We are delighted to announce that the first beneficiary of the Hanley Green Grant initiative was Marc Harty. See his story below on how he has reduced his carbon footprint and his energy costs.
My name is Marc Harty and I’ve worked with Hanley Calibration for almost two years now. For the majority of this time, I’ve been working in the Metrology department at Sanofi, Waterford.
I am currently in the process of building a house in Ring, Co. Waterford. Myself and my wife set out to do this with a minimum carbon footprint, not just during the build stage but over the lifetime of the house. We also wanted to achieve the best BER rating that our budget could afford, with an overall aim of at least an A2 rating, which directly translates into cost savings on energy bills. In light of this, we have taken several steps to bring us towards these goals.
Among these steps, and evident in the photo attached, are the rolls of loft insulation which will amount to 400mm throughout the attic when installed, the installation of triple glazed windows throughout the house, and 150mm pumped bead cavity wall insulation (as can be seen from the drilled holes in the wall behind). To take the cavity wall insulation as an example of lowering our carbon footprint, this product has a U value of 0.035W/(m.K), and provides a U value of 0.21W/m2K to our 150mm cavity wall. This low U value means that it will take little energy to maintain the heat in the house over the long run, thus reducing both carbon emissions and home energy bills.
In addition to this, we will be using a 50mm insulated plasterboard on all perimeter walls to further improve the U value, as well as 200mm of EPS floor insulation. We will also be installing a heat recovery system, and a heat pump which will fulfil all heat and hot water requirements of the house, with electricity being the sole energy source in the house. Eventually, we will likely be powered by fully renewable energy from the grid, as the country transitions away from carbon emitting fossil fuels.
The Green Grant initiative provided by Hanley Calibration has been a welcome boost to help with these installation costs, and with energy prices increasing relentlessly, I’d encourage everyone to get involved both for the environment and for your own pockets!