Communicating the benefits and sharing renovation know-how in Louisburgh

The experiment aims to increase awareness of the benefits and ease of undertaking domestic retrofit within the locality of Louisburgh. Climate Action Louisburgh Locality (CALL) will organize eco-tours and information events to provide inspiration and share know-how related to retrofit processes for households. The goal is to encourage more households to undertake retrofitting of their homes.

Local context

Louisburgh Locality is a remote, rural, and mountainous area on the West coast of Ireland, including the islands of Clare and Inishturk. The region has one larger town center, with smaller villages surrounding it. Out of the 1,720 homes in the area, 1,498 are inhabited. Sheep farming is the main enterprise within the area. The number of single occupancy households within Louisburgh Locality (30%) is greater than the national average (23%), with many of these single occupancy homes being inhabited by older individuals.

Specific needs and challenges

The fuel used to heat homes in Louisburgh does not align with the low-carbon transition goals. Many older homes in the area still burn turf as their main heating source. To transition to heat pumps, these older homes require retrofitting and significant investment. The specific needs and challenges include a lack of awareness and experience of the benefits and improved quality of life of a retrofitted home, as well as a lack of know-how on how to undertake retrofitting.

Detailed description of the experiment

Louisburgh Locality aims to become an environmentally, economically, socially, and culturally sustainable decarbonized zone by 2030. To support this goal, Climate Action Louisburgh Locality, with support from Mayo County Council, is developing a Knowledge Network where households and practitioners can come together and share know-how related to renovation. Eco-tours will be organized in the homes of Knowledge Network members to provide a first-hand, experiential account of the retrofitting process in Louisburgh. The experiment also aims to provide know-how on government grant applications and the general benefits of renovation.

Involvement of the target group

The experiment intends to engage with a range of households with different characteristics, including those in retirement, fuel poor households, single occupancy households, single parent households, youth groups, climate activists, schools, local businesses, sporting organizations, community development groups, farming groups, and tourist groups. The main focus is to communicate the benefits of retrofitting homes and the importance of moving away from burning fossil fuels. This will be done through eco-tours and sharing experiences within the Knowledge Network.

Partners

The social experiment builds upon the work of Climate Action Louisburgh Locality (CALL) in partnership with Mayo County Council. CALL has worked predominantly with elderly residents but will engage with a greater range of households during the experiment, including single parents and those renting from landlords. CALL has developed a network of tradespeople and engaged with various intermediary organizations through their existing work on renovation, eco-home events, public information events, and individual home visits. CALL is part of Mayo's decarbonization network.