Garrett Fox remembers the Beast from the East storm in 2018 not so much for the Arctic conditions outdoors, but for the way his curtains froze indoors.

“It was so cold, we went to the cinema to be somewhere warm,” he says of escaping with his wife Martyna Czajkowska from their icy home as the February freeze left Ireland snowbound and shivering.

“We came home, pulled the curtains closed tight and went to bed. When I went to open them the next morning, I couldn’t. They were frozen shut.”

The damp and cold of their home in Claregalway, Co Galway had got the better of them. It was time to retrofit.

It took several years to transform the early 1980s bungalow from an ice-box with a Building Energy Rating (Ber) of D to a cosy, energy-efficient A-rated home, but now Fox is hooked on retrofitting.

The landscape gardener had the house externally wrapped, new windows and doors fitted, the attic insulated, a heat pump installed and solar panels put on the roof – and he’s delighted with the result.

So much so that he’s doubled up on solar panels, added batteries and is now running his hedge trimmer, mower, strimmer and leaf blowers on electric.

He also got an ultra-fast charger that charges his electric vehicle (EV) in two hours, saying the additional power connection needed was worth it.

“We’re heating the house and water and powering all the other electrical appliances and running two busy EVs for €2,500 a year,” he says triumphantly.

He does have one confession. “I’m a millennial – I got a wood-burning stove. But we only light it occasionally and don’t actually need to – it’s just nice to have.”

Fox’s story is the kind that drives the retrofitting dream, but the reality can be different.

While the Government is banking on retrofitting to help meet climate targets by reducing household use of fossil fuels, there are obstacles to climbing the Ber ladder.

There are many deterrents: steep upfront costs, disruption or being out of home during work, copious paperwork for grants and cumbersome complaints procedures when things go wrong.

Even when the project goes well or largely well, there are times when nerves of steel are needed.

“Miserable,” was how Mary* described the experience she and her husband had retrofitting their 1970s semidetached house in south Dublin.

The One Stop Shop scheme offered by retrofit grants body, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), is supposed to make the process easier by taking charge of the preparation, paperwork, co-ordination and physical work. In her experience, it did not live up to such promises, although she is very pleased with the eventual outcome.

“They have to send out an assessor first to see what work needs to be done. We were excited to see the methods he used and what he’d tell us,” Mary recalls.

“He was about 19 years old, he looked around, made a few notes and that was it. From the beginning we were thinking, this may not be as high-end as we expected.”

It took a month to get a quote for the works so in the meantime the couple visited the window supplier used by the One Stop Shop contractor to see what windows and doors they might choose.

“They would let you look at things but not tell you how much anything was,” Mary says. “We have a lovely front door but I couldn’t tell you how much it was. We couldn’t get a breakdown of the costs. There was a sense that you didn’t have any control.”

[ Retrofitting will heat your house but freeze your financesOpens in new window ]

When the quote eventually arrived, Mary and her husband decided not to go with a heat pump. It took months to get an amended quote.

In addition, they were given instructions to get ESB to adjust the mains power supply for the external wrap. This turned out to be hugely time-consuming and unnecessary.

Contractors would turn up with no prior arrangement when Mary, a teacher, was at work, and then disappear randomly, apparently to do nixers.

The window installer “took chunks out of the walls” and the attic insulation blocked the vents so the roof space became drenched in condensation.

Jobs had to be redone and damage patched up but finally the house is ready for the imminent arrival of the couple’s first baby.

“The house is 100 per cent a better house,” says Mary.

“We’ll never buy another so we’re really glad we did this. But I definitely think I would have got it cheaper, even aside from the grant, and had a better installation experience, if I could have shopped around myself.

“One thing that really annoyed us was the €1,700 grant paid for the project manager. He didn’t project-manage anything. We had to organise and co-ordinate everything.”

She and her husband made formal complaints to SEAI in the hope that the next homeowners got a better service.

“I don’t want to put anyone off. Our Ber is up from D2 to B1 and we’d make our money back if we sold but we won’t be selling. It’s about quality of life and leaving a better house behind – that’s what matters to us.”

For some people, the opportunity of having even a miserable retrofitting experience is out of the question.

“I don’t even know what our Ber is, but I imagine it wouldn’t be too good,” says Catherine Young, from Emo, Co Laois.

The oil-heated 1950s bungalow Young, her husband and two children call home was added to over time “without the benefit of Dermot Bannon”, she says of the lack of expert architectural advice in the project.

“The windows are all in the wrong places so they don’t let in any sunlight.

“We put double-glazing in about 20 years ago but you can hear the wind whistling and see the blinds moving now.”

Grant-aided cavity wall insulation eight years ago made a bit of difference “but the house still isn’t warm”, Young adds.

“The thing is, even with the grants, I’d say the work needed would cost about €100,000. I’m 60 in two years and at my age, you’re not going to be taking out a loan that size.

“There’s a lot of people in the same boat. It annoys me when I see all the ads and promotions for retrofitting because I’d love to do it but there’s nothing there for people who don’t have big money to spend.”

It is a common complaint about the National Retrofit Plan. Despite offering some of the most generous grants in the EU and a free – though overstretched – scheme for welfare recipients, many low- and middle-income earners feel shut out.

Recent research by Prof Brian Caulfield and Dr Abhilash C Singh of Trinity College Dublin revealed a “green divide” in Ireland, with grants for rooftop solar, heat pumps and EVs concentrated among the better off who can afford to be part of the clean energy transition.

Such findings came days after another report, by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), raised questions about the efficacy of the national plan.

It said the number of retrofits were running far behind target and the Ber uplift was not matched by a reduction in energy use.

[ ‘You don’t get your money back for 64 years’: Why retrofitting doesn’t make senseOpens in new window ]

Reaction to both reports was swift and lively, with discussions revealing a diversity of experience and expectations around retrofitting.

That variety is mirrored in the responses of readers who wrote to The Irish Times about their retrofits.

Some were delighted, others disappointed. Some saw “amazing” results, others found “no difference”.

“Expensive, but worth it,” was a popular assessment, but “too rigid” was also a shared view of the One Stop Shop process.

Most were glad they retrofitted and would recommend it but some raised concerns about the quality of workmanship.

Keeping a close eye on the project was frequently advised.

Patrick* is very glad he did just that. After a substantial retrofit, he expected his 1970s E2 rated bungalow in north Co Dublin to soar to a B3. “We were shocked to see it only reach a D2,” he says.

He insisted on seeing the documentation to check how the Ber assessor had applied the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (Deap).

“I’m an accountant so I like detail,” Patrick says of his instinct to inspect the numbers.

It transpired the assessor had recorded the wall insulation at half its actual thickness and had completely excluded the underfloor heating.

“The floorboards were back down again so he said he didn’t see it,” he says. “But he was quite defensive about it and if you didn’t persist, you’d be stuck be with the Ber he registered.

“We got a second assessor and he met with the contractor, went through all the work and used a sensor to check the walls internally. It was a completely different experience and we ended up with a B2 rating.”

“That was even without a heat pump. We got a new efficient oil boiler instead. We put 500 litres in last September and haven’t had to add to it.”

“We’re absolutely delighted with the job and we didn’t have to move out. But you do have to watch everything carefully.”

Not so delighted is Michael Byrne, whose home south of Arklow, Co Wicklow was externally wrapped under the free Warmer Homes Scheme.

[ Don’t believe the negativity – Ireland’s retrofitting scheme for homes is not failingOpens in new window ]

“I’d be very disappointed if I’d spent €30,000 getting it done,” he says. “The Ber only went from E to D and there’s no improvement in warmth or heating costs.”

Byrne finds the main problem with the house is the windows which are wall-to-ceiling in places to take advantage of the sea views towards Brittas Bay.

“The views are lovely – if you could see them. The windows have broken down – the seals are gone and the panes are full of condensation,” he says.

“I asked about getting windows but even after the wrap, the walls were only rated ‘fair’ and they need to be at least ‘good’ to be eligible.”

SEAI says it has procedures for ensuring quality work and service by approved contractors, and carries out inspections “on a significant sample of completed works”.

“This may be on a random or targeted basis and new contractors and those who have underperformed on previous inspections are inspected more frequently.”

SEAI directly handles complaints about work done under the Warmer Homes Scheme. The body says One Stop Shop projects or individual grant-aided jobs are primarily a matter between the homeowner and contractor, although it may get involved to assess the work or investigate alleged breaches of the contractors’ code of practice.

As for the performance of the National Retrofit Plan overall in improving building quality and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, Dr Ciara Ahern, senior lecturer in Building Engineering at Technological University Dublin, disagrees with the ESRI report. The reality is “much more optimistic”, she says.

The ESRI based its forecast on the number of retrofits per year but Ahern and colleagues who created the Irish Building Stock Observatory, are watching the rate of growth.

“Housing retrofits are doubling year on year,” she says. “You’ve got to look at the growth rate, not the actual numbers.”

“Where we’re lagging is in older apartments. But in terms of our semi- D and detached stock, which is the predominant house type, we’re on track.”

She acknowledges heat pump targets will not be reached until 2042 – 12 years late – but says the overall target for Ber improvements will be met in 2032, just two years behind schedule.

Ahern says ESRI findings that Ber improvements were not matched by reduced energy use were unsurprising.

“Ber is not a measure of actual energy. It was never designed to be, because it’s the occupants that consume energy, not the building,” she says.

“You and I could buy a one litre Nissan Micra and I drive with my foot to the mat and you drive like Miss Daisy. You’re using less energy than I am, but our cars are rated at the same efficiency so it’s agnostic of the occupants.

“If you’re living in a G-rated home, it can’t hold the heat, it’s not insulated, it’s probably got open fireplaces and you probably cannot afford to heat it so you only heat maybe one room.

“Somebody living in an A-rated home, because it’s efficient and holds the heat, puts the heating on in all rooms. That means the A-rated dwelling could use the same energy as the G-rated dwelling.”

The Ber system as it is makes it easy for assessors to apply the same measurements and ensure consistency in results and it also allows banks to set a clear eligibility threshold for lower interest green finance – B3 and upwards.

However, Ahern says: “Its simplicity leads to its lack of specificity per dwelling.”

She is developing an “in-use” tool that borrows from schemes in Finland, Denmark and Australia where real-life energy use is added to the building rating.

But she cautions: “It’s never going to be perfect or specific to every house.”

“The real way of understanding your energy consumption is looking at your own utility bill.”

Bills are complicated. But navigating them successfully can lead to finding more suitable smart tariffs, timing use to take advantage of lower tariffs, charging appliances better and spotting issues such as a heat pump that may need its default temperature adjusting.

The financial payback from retrofitting was not a top priority for most readers who wrote to The Irish Times.

Marcus Stewart, producer of the long-running Eco Eye television series which featured retrofits years before the term entered popular usage, says other forms of payback are just as important.

“Building standards have improved but the reality is most of our housing stock is terribly badly built,” he says.

“They’re unhealthy homes – leaking, full of damp, mould and condensation.

“For a family whose child no longer needs an inhaler for asthma induced by damp walls, the ‘payback’ is measured in quality of life, not a simplified annual return on investment from lower heating bills.”

[ Ireland’s new windows and doors grant: How much can I get?Opens in new window ]

Marie Donnelly, who recently concluded a term as chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, was and remains a big advocate for retrofitting. However, she believes the national strategy could still do with a tweak.

“We should spend every penny we can on roof insulation,” she says.

“Whatever kind of place you’re living in, regardless of whatever else you do or don’t do, everyone in the country should have a really good insulated roof because that’s where you lose most of your heat.”

She also believes in heat pumps and district heating, systems to distribute heat generated centrally to homes and businesses. A rethink is needed on grant-aiding deep retrofits that stop short of electrifying the heating system, she argues.

“Deep retrofits should be linked to decarbonisation. You could do all the right things – One Stop Shop, the full retrofit – but you stay on gas. That’s not where we want to be.”

The Lough, one of Cork City’s older and most characterful neighbourhoods, is where Aisling Walsh and Leon Callan want to be.

After finding their 1940s semidetached so cold “it was painful to get up” and the gas bills so “astronomical” they were painful to pay, they thought about selling up and moving to a new house in the suburbs.

“But we love where we are,” Walsh says. “So we decided we’ll stay and retrofit.”

The couple had a very good experience with the One Stop Shop process and their top to bottom retrofit saw their Ber go from D2 to A1.

“We did have to move out for a while and stay with my mum and dad and I know that’s not possible for everyone. But we combined the retrofit with a renovation, so we got a completely new kitchen and other work done so it was a big job.”

They spent €282,000 on the project but just under €120,000 was on the retrofit itself. “We had a ‘we’re doing this once and we’re going to do it right’ attitude,” says Walsh.

Now in their second year in their A1 home, the energy savings are notable. “We got an electricity bill last summer for about €9 and that was the standing charge.”

But it’s more than about lower bills. “We’ve renewed an old house to bring it up to modern standards and ensure it’s somewhere we want to stay for the long term. To me, this is priceless.”

What do Ber ratings mean?

A Building Energy Rating (Ber) is a measure of how energy-efficient a home is. This is based primarily on the amount of energy – from electricity, gas, oil and solid fuels – it uses for basic functions such as heating rooms and water and for lighting.

Ratings run from A to G with A being the most efficient and G the least.

It is calculated based on the size of the dwelling, how well insulated the walls, attic and floor are, how airtight the windows and doors are, and what the source or mix of energy is – clean electricity or fossil fuels.

It makes some presumptions about the likely number of occupants and their average energy usage given the size of the home, the number of bedrooms and the heating systems in place.

Therefore, it is not an exact measure of how the actual occupants behave and consume energy but how the building behaves under average conditions.

*Names have been changed