COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor B. Bonner

To ask the Manager for an update on the problems with the heating systems in the houses in the Cherryville Estate, Newlands Road.

REPLY:

The scheme at Cherryville was procured as a Part V scheme for South Dublin Council. The scheme was certified as in compliance with the Building Regulations by its architects Fenton Simons. On site inspections confirm that the houses are properly insulated in line with Building Control requirements in force when constructed. The scheme was designed and constructed to be heated electrically in line with many private houses and apartments of this period and outside the control of the Council.

Following complaints by the tenants a study was carried out by the Council on alternatives to the heating system provided. The scheme is at a remove from the gas network and Bord Gais have previously quoted €50,000.00 for a new network connection. New boiler and radiators to each unit were costed at an additional €5,000  /€6,000.00 per dwelling. This total figure of over €100,000.00 is still not available to the Council in view of the current downturn. Oil-based systems also evaluated will prove increasingly expensive to run as oil prices continue to grow and storage can prove an ongoing problem for tenants.

The solution arrived at in 2011 was to add a SUKA heater, electrically-powered, to the living room of each of the 5 x 1-bed houses. A SUKA heater was also added to both the living-room and the hallway of the 2 x 2-bed houses.  An additional Suka heater was added later to the bedroom of these two houses.  A SUKA was also installed in the living room of the two x 1-bed flats in the old house. An additional Suka was also added to the bedroom of one of these dwellings. The total cost to date of these additional heaters was €11,244.50 inc. VAT.  

The SUKA is a heater made in Germany which is considerably more efficient than other electric equivalents. It costs approx. 30% less to run than convector or equivalent Goldshield radiators. The heating system complies with current regulations.

The BER ratings are as follows:

Unit 2              -  Rating D2

Units 4, 5, 6    -  Rating E1

Units 7, 8, 9    -  Rating E2

These BER ratings are low because of the electrical heating system.  They do not reflect in any way on comfort conditions  in these homes which are properly insulated to standards then required.  The Council can request that these homes be included for insulation upgrade from the DoECLG Retro-fit Programme, but if approved it will still not include gas-central heating and will be limited to improvements in insulation.