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Green shoots for ready mealsValue for Money MinestroneTop tips to spend lessReaders' queriesRenewable energy : It’s a pity building standards are so low here; a house built to Swedish standards would probably not need a heating system at all. – Liam

Energy ratings The Government has failed the consumer – and the serious professional – by creating a cowboy market. Part-time taxi men are currently doing home energy ratings as are estate agents and other vested interest groups.

They don’t have to carry professional indemnity insurance so cannot be sued when they get it wrong. There is also NO standard of competence that has to be attained before you get accredited as an SEI listed installer of “Green Energy” products and avail of Government “Green Energy” grants.

But it is not just an issue of fleecing unsuspecting consumers; there are issues of health and life at stake with some of these systems.

Carbon monoxide (resulting from incorrectly installed boilers) kills as does legionella bacteria (found in solar heated water). – Simon McGuinness

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times