The Role of the One Stop Shop: A Fully-managed Home Energy Upgrade Solution, from A to Z

The SEAI’s hugely successful One Stop Shop scheme has been in the news recently, thanks to the long-awaited launch of the Government’s low-cost loan scheme for home energy upgrades.

The €500 million scheme allows homeowners to apply for low-interest loans of up to €75,000 to cover the cost of retrofitting work that will improve their home’s energy performance (BER) by at least 20%. Most of that work, including the installation of heat pumps and other energy-saving measures, will be carried out by an SEAI-registered One Stop Shop.

This, understandably, has placed the spotlight on Ireland’s network of One Stop Shops, which are at the forefront of Ireland’s transition away from fossil fuel home heating systems in favour clean, renewable energy. So, what exactly is a One Stop Shop? And what can they do for you?

As the name suggests, One Stop Shops are set up to provide a complete home energy upgrade solution for homeowners: an A to Z service. In addition to actually carrying out the retrofitting work, they are there to assess your energy needs, offer advice, provide technical direction and facilitate access to SEAI funding.

Although there are many contractors and installers who can carry out individual home energy upgrades – installing a heat pump and attic insulation, for example – the One Stop Shop scheme is geared towards homeowners who wish to carry out a ‘deep’ retrofit of their property, typically involving multiple upgrades.

“With a One Stop Shop, you get a fully managed solution from concept to completion, eliminating the need to coordinate with multiple contractors,” says Wayne Conway, Programme Manager with Energywise Ireland, a Cork-based One Stop Shop specialising in Daikin heat pumps.

“Our team handles all aspects of the project, including paperwork and grant applications, and you’re dealing with a single point of contact which reduces hassle and makes things smoother,” he says. “This comprehensive support not only saves time and effort but also enhances the overall experience, making complex projects much more convenient and efficient.

“With a One Stop Shop like ourselves, homeowners can access up to €30,000 in grant funding and only pay net of the grant, which means they just need to cover the balance after the grant has been applied,” Wayne says. “This makes the financial aspect more straightforward and affordable – a major plus for our customers.”

While everyone’s situation is different, customers who engage with the One Stop Shop tend to have a few things in common. Many are new homeowners, either urban or rural-based, but often with a detached three/four-bedroom house built before 2011. These buildings usually have a low BER which the owners are seeking to significantly improve through a comprehensive package of renovations and upgrades.

“A typical package of energy measures provided by a One Stop Shop would be a combination of several key upgrades,” says Wayne Conway of Energywise Ireland. “These include the installation of a heat pump, which provides efficient heating and cooling, as well as wall/attic insulation, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, energy-efficient new windows and doors, and heat recovery ventilation.

“Together, these measures significantly enhance the home's energy performance, reduce utility costs, and increase the overall comfort and value of the property,” he says.

Strong interest in low-cost loan scheme

While this is the goal for all energy-conscious homeowners, a comprehensive retrofit involving multiple upgrades does not come cheap. Hence the positive reaction to the Government’s announcement of a new low-interest Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, which allows homeowners to borrow at much lower interest rates to cover the cost of retrofitting their property.

To qualify for a loan under the new scheme, which at a stroke has made the cost of retrofitting more affordable, the planned upgrades must be eligible for a home energy grant from SEAI. This means the majority of work will be carried out via the One Stop Shop system.

“For homeowners in Ireland, the main barrier to undertaking a deep retrofit has been the upfront costs associated with the project,” says Ollie Hughes, Managing Director of NRG Panel, a prominent One Stop Shop based in Co. Monaghan.

“The introduction of a low-cost loan scheme makes these projects more accessible to people who want to retrofit but may not have the disposable income for the initial investment,” he says. “These loans allow homeowners to pay for the work using a payment schedule and plan that suits them, with really favourable rates.”

Ollie says that Castleblayney-based NRG Panel has seen a “surge of interest” from local customers eager to take advantage of the low-cost loan scheme and says the initiative will stimulate demand for the One Stop Shop system.

“It will, absolutely,” he says. “The double incentive of these loans, plus the streamlined process offered by the One Stop Shop, will encourage more homeowners to undertake retrofitting projects, and this will give a major boost to Ireland’s retrofitting journey and climate targets.

“The more homes that are retrofitted, the more energy we save and the closer we get to our goals of being energy-efficient and protecting the environment,” Ollie adds. “The heightened demand for retrofitting services will also boost the construction and energy sectors, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.”

Start journey at your One Stop Shop – not the lender

The SEAI’s new low-cost loan scheme has been designed to make it as quick and simple as possible for homeowners to access funding. Instead of going to their lender to start the process, however, people should instead go to their local One Stop Shop and get the ball rolling with a Home Energy Assessment.

“Nothing can happen without the Home Energy Assessment because only that can answer the question of how long the piece of string is,” says Hugh Foley, Managing Director of RTS Heating and Cooling Services Ltd, part of the Envirobead One Stop Shop group.

“The initial assessment tells you what you have now, where you can get to in terms of BER, what you’ll need to get there, and how much it will cost,” says Hugh. “That gives you a figure you bring to the lender, and they make a speedy decision which hopefully means the work can take place. But that assessment is your roadmap for the entire process.”

Once the green light has been secured and the work scheduled, one of the great unseen benefits of the One Stop Shop comes to the fore – the peace of mind that comes from knowing your precious retrofit is in the hands of a team that knows what it’s doing.

“With our service, you get a dedicated Project Manager making sure everything happens the way it’s meant to and liaising with all contractors, who must be SEAI-registered in order to work with the One Stop Shop,” says Hugh Foley of Waterford-based RTS. “We try to get everything coordinated within roughly a three-week window, and then all completed work is inspected by SEAI. You’re dealing with a specialist team, so the whole process is very smooth.”