Codema, which is the energy agency for Dublin and is representing Dublin as a pilot city in the TOMORROW project, has recently developed another 150 Home Energy Saving Kits, which will be launched into 8 new regions across Ireland, while also adding more kits to existing library networks.
The Home Energy Saving Kit was launched by Codema in 2016 as a pilot scheme in Dublin City Council’s Public Libraries and since then has expanded to almost every public library in Dublin, and from a selection of other library networks across Ireland.
The scheme allows citizens to borrow a toolkit free-of-charge from a range of libraries across Ireland and use the tools inside the kit to better understand their energy use and reduce their bills. The six tools/exercises in the kit (thermal leak detector, energy monitor, radiator key, temperature and humidity meter, stopwatch and water flow rate exercise) address key areas of energy use in the home - space heating, hot water and electricity consumption - and can identify common issues such as lack of insulation, poor ventilation and the appliances that might be driving up electricity bills.
The overall aim of the Home Energy Saving Kit is to help citizens and communities make sense of the energy they use every day and to identify possible problems areas with their home's efficiency that will need to be addressed. The Home Energy Saving Kit helps citizens and communities to take that all-important first step on their sustainable energy journey, promotes climate action locally and encourages the shift in behaviour that is so desperately needed to improve energy efficiency across the country.
The goal in developing this scheme was to addresses the needs of Irish citizens to be more aware of their energy use and to bridge the information gap around energy, which can be a very challenging topic to understand. It also empowers energy communities by literally equipping citizens and communities with the right tools to save energy and attracts new users to libraries, which are already unique civic spaces in communities.
The recent expansion of the scheme will bring to 18 the number of local authority regions / counties in Ireland where the kits are available for the public to borrow from local libraries and a full list of library branches where the kits are currently available can be found here.
For a range of further information on the kits, please visit www.codema.ie/energysavingkit.