A public consultation has launched on draft guidance for upgrading the energy efficiency of traditional buildings throughout Ireland.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is preparing the guidance under Action 50d of the Climate Action Plan 2019.

Traditional buildings are the buildings that form the core of our cities and towns, and populate our countryside. They can be landmark buildings of high cultural heritage significance, they can be simple single-family dwellings or they can be any building type in between. Their continued existence as the backdrop to our everyday lives plays a key role in our cultural heritage, our identity and our sense of place.

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In Ireland, traditional buildings those built with solid, load-bearing masonry walls, single-glazed windows and timber-framed roofs. This type of construction was used in the majority of buildings built in this country before 1940 and forms a key component of our built environment.

The guidance being developed will assist specifiers and installers in making the right decisions when undertaking retrofitting works to traditional buildings. It explains how traditional buildings work, how to assess their performance and how to plan for climate change. Advice is given, not only on options for upgrading the building fabric, but also on efficiency measures for building services and what to take into consideration when upgrading existing services or choosing a new energy system for a traditional building.