How can we help?
Guides for SEC coordinators, mentors, CLDCs, and county teams. Content is public and does not include your community data — open the tool for live analysis.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get an account?
There is no self-service registration. Ask your mentor or organisation lead, or email info@sustainableenergycommunities.ie to request access or a demo.
How long does a sign-in last?
About five days per browser. After that, sign in again with the same email and password. Use “Forgot password” on the login page if you need a reset.
What does “Access expired” mean?
Your demo or time-limited access has ended. Contact info@sustainableenergycommunities.ie to extend or convert to full access. Your organisation’s communities remain on the platform.
How do I open my SEC / community?
Signed-in users with assigned communities see a Your communities bar at the top of the tool. Click a name to load its Small Areas and run analysis. Mentors can also use Portfolio for a multi-community list.
Why are most tabs greyed out?
They need an analysis first. Select a community or Small Areas and press Analyse. Regional Atlas, Data Sources, and Settings work without a selection.
Why does it say totals are understated?
The community household count is missing, so BER figures are not scaled to the whole community. Open Settings → Community Scaler and set the Census household count (see the Community scaler guide).
Which baseline number do I put in the EMP?
Use the Excel method totals on Residential → Energy Baseline. They follow the SEAI template logic. Use the BER method only as a cross-check.
Why is plan delivery set to 60%?
Full theoretical delivery is rarely achieved. 60% is a realistic default for an ambitious SEC. Adjust the slider on Overview / 2030 Plan and calibrate against county grant drawdown on Funding.
Is Fuel Poverty a real measured rate?
No. It is a modelled cost/risk screen from BER running costs, an income threshold, and deprivation — useful for targeting, not for quoting as prevalence.
Where is the Business tab?
Business may be restricted while commercial data is refined, or disabled for your client type. If you need it, ask your mentor or platform admin. When visible, figures are modelled from Tailte floor areas — not utility bills.
How do I export a PDF report?
Open Documents for report presets and custom PDF, or use Export PDF on Overview. Action Plan and Opportunities have their own exports. Fix the scaler and delivery factor before exporting.
Can I change assumptions?
Yes, under Settings when the tab is available: scaler, fuel factors, delivery, targets, and more. Everything recalculates from cached data. Locked demo links and some accounts hide Settings.
Can my mentor see our Action Plan?
When you are signed in and working on a saved community, Action Plan and related state sync to the server for that community so mentors on the same client can review them. Anonymous/local-only edits stay in the browser.
Where do the numbers come from?
Public datasets (SEAI BER, Census 2022, Pobal, Tailte, PVGIS, SEAI stats, and others). Open Data Sources in the tool or the Data & trust guide. Source chips on charts link to the same registry.
Who do I contact for help?
Email info@sustainableenergycommunities.ie. For SEAI programme process questions, also use your appointed mentor or the SEAI SEC programme channels.
Getting started
How-to guides
Step-by-step from community selection to Excel-method figures for submission.
From residential retrofit and renewables through scenarios, wedge chart, and actions.
Grant eligibility, payback, funding stack, and county drawdown in one walkthrough.
PDF packs, Action Plan exports, and opportunity measure sheets.
Stage board, latest KPIs, and jumping into the tool for each community.
Key concepts
How BER sample counts are scaled to the whole community, and how to fix the amber warning.
Two independent baselines: which number to quote in an EMP, and when they diverge.
Why savings are shown below 100% delivery and how to use the slider honestly.
Where figures come from and the main caveats (fuel poverty, business, BER coverage).
Understand each section
Traffic-light scorecard, community profile, and EMP headlines in one place.
Housing profile, energy baseline, fabric, retrofit, target homes, and tenure.
Car fleet baseline and EV transition energy, cost, and CO₂.
Commercial baseline from Tailte floor areas (modelled, planning-scale).
Rooftop solar potential, PVGIS yields, and renewable resource context.
Community buildings and engagement-related views for the SEC.
Modelled energy-poverty risk — not measured prevalence — plus deprivation context.
County-wide BER map: coverage, best/worst Small Areas, fuels — no community required.
Live sliders for retrofit, heat pumps, solar, EVs, and path to 2030 targets.
Headline KPIs, delivery factor, and the Road to 2030 wedge chart.
Register of Opportunities plus the SEAI-aligned measure library.
Grants, payback, funding stack, and county drawdown history.
Owners, targets, KPIs, and M&V for delivery.
Year-on-year tracking and county/national benchmarks.
Report presets, custom PDF, and toolkit exports.
Registry of every dataset: vintage, licence, and where it is used.
Community scaler, fuel factors, delivery, targets, and module layout.