Role: Energy Conservation Manager
Company: Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Track Record: In energy there are always new challenges.
“Energy efficiency is not about compromising on comfort but on ensuring you get the most heat out of the fuel used and keeping it where it is needed for as long as possible,” says Noel.
What does your job entail?
I am the Energy Conservation Manager in the Housing Executive, based in Belfast.
My job is to promote energy efficiency in housing throughout Northern Ireland.
It’s to ensure policies are in place to improve both the thermal efficiency of homes and to provide advice to householders on how they can reduce their heating and electricity bills.
Energy efficiency is not about compromising on comfort but on ensuring you get the most heat out of the fuel used and keeping it where it is needed for as long as possible.
The job can range from dealing with policies and new developments on heating, insulation, renewable and innovative energy sources through to promoting the energy conservation message through marketing activities.
Recent schemes include energy brokering, solar PV panels for Housing Executive stock, a demonstration project on solid wall insulation and energy efficiency advertising.
Is it 9-5?
Being energy wise I commute by train from Lurgan to Belfast.
Normally I’m in the office from 8.20am to 5.10pm but this can vary depending on workload.
There are occasional evening meetings to attend or presentations to deliver promoting energy efficiency within local communities.
These can be rewarding, particularly where those attending are enthusiastic and keen to adopt different energy efficiency measures in their home.
There can also be some occasional weekend work at promotional events such as the Self Build Show, where again I get the opportunity to meet other professionals, exchange ideas as well as promoting the energy efficiency message to householders.
My working day is varied and interesting.
It could include developing funding bids, managing energy schemes, attending project meetings, giving talks or presentations, preparing briefing papers or dealing with queries from the public or politicians.
How did you get into this line of work?
In the mid-1990s, the Housing Executive was designated as Home Energy Conservation Authority for Northern Ireland.
A new post was created to deliver our responsibilities under the Act.
The importance of energy conservation was still relatively new and I thought it was a challenging opportunity.
I applied and was lucky enough to be appointed.
Outline your career to date?
I joined the Housing Executive in 1982 as a Management Trainee in its Regional Office in Craigavon.
As a Trainee I got the opportunity to gain experience in a number of different departments as well as continue studying and gaining further qualifications.
Following a number of posts in Craigavon, I was appointed Assistant Programme Manager, Belfast where I was part of a team responsible for managing the very large programme of building and improvement schemes which were underway at that time.
I was also an Assistant District Manager in one of the seven local Housing Executive offices in Belfast where I had responsibility for allocating homes, ensuring repairs were carried out, rent collection, community development and addressing issues raised by tenants.
I worked briefly in our Housing & Planning Policy Unit prior to appointment to my current post.
Tell us about your qualifications/training.
I have a BSSc (QUB) and a Post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies (Ulster Polytechnic).
The Housing Executive has a very good staff training programme and over the years I have completed courses in both management development and specific energy conservation topics.
What qualities are required for your job – personal and professional?
Being able to work with others across a range of sectors and occupations.
Ability to manage a project from conception to completion.
Whilst it’s important to embrace innovation in terms of new products and funding mechanisms, it’s also essential to be honest and realistic about what we can or should take on.
In addition, good communication skills are very important as marketing the energy efficiency message is a major part of the role.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
The challenges have varied over the years.
Initially, in the late 1990s, there was lot of apathy, even scepticism among many people about energy efficiency.
However, over the last few years as fuel prices have escalated rapidly, this has changed dramatically.
Now, the biggest challenge is securing money to fund all of the work that could be done to make homes more energy efficient or, where funding is limited, prioritising what should be done.
The biggest rewards are in helping people to improve the comfort of their home and save money.
This does not always involve carrying out works to dwellings but can simply involve words of advice, signposting to where grants are available or development of marketing campaigns.
It is also very rewarding to identify potential sources of additional external funding, secure it and see the completion of the works that it funds.
Examples of this include projects for solar water heating, PV panels, wood pellet boilers, micro-CHP units, low energy windows.
Another rewarding aspect of working in energy is that it is always evolving.
There are always new developments, new technologies, new challenges and new opportunities to work with others in the private and voluntary sectors.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Depending on the time of year and weather I spend time walking, cycling, gardening, DIY and after years away from it, I’m getting back into art, mainly painting.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I was born on Christmas Day.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
My father.
No matter what difficulties he has encountered along the way, he overcame them, got on with things and enjoyed life.
He is still enjoying life, at 90