If you’re modernising, extending or upgrading your home, your heating system is likely due an overhaul too — especially with stricter energy regulations and rising energy bills in mind.
In ROI, for example, building regulations are phasing out heating systems powered solely by fossil fuels — with a full ban coming into effect this year (2025). NI is expected to follow a similar path.
The good news is that there’s now a wide range of heating options to suit both existing and new parts of your home, including hybrid systems that combine renewables and fossil fuels. But choosing the right solution depends on your home’s current insulation, airtightness, glazing and ventilation — as well as how you use your space. An energy consultant can guide you through this, taking into account the upgrades you’ve made or plan to make.
They’ll also carry out key calculations such as:
- DEAP (Dwellings Energy Assessment Procedure) in ROI, or
- SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) in NI.
These assessments help work out your heating and hot water needs and will make sure your system complies with building regulations.
The energy assessor’s Heat Loss Calculation will determine, among other things, the heat load required for each room and water heating. This is the point where you may need to adjust your specification of insulation in the floor, walls, roof or windows to achieve either the minimum building regulation or other target such as the Passive House standard.
In ROI, new rules also require mandatory overheating calculations — important if you’re adding a south-facing extension or large areas of glazing.
Once your heat demand is known, you can decide what combination of heat source and heat emitter is right for each part of the house. More what your options are here.
