THE COLD air that blows through the floorboards isn’t the only thing that makes owners of period houses shiver. There’s also the dread of ever having to face a Building Energy Rating (BER) and the future cost of fossil fuels.

A new series of day-long seminars should help owners of protected structures, as well as owners of any traditionally-built historic house, figure out how they can improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Experts, including conservation architect Paul Arnold and Peter Smith, a specialist eco building project manager, will explain how to get the most return for the least cost by doing “as much as necessary and as little as possible” to ensure a comfortable and sustainable home to live in.

The seminars are organised by the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) in partnership with local authority conservation and heritage officers with the support of the Department of the Environment and the ESB. The seminars are in Dublin (Oct 19th); Kilkenny (Oct 20th); Roscommon (Nov 12th); Offaly (Nov 25th) and Cork (date to be decided). For information or to book (€40 per place) call IGS at 01-6767053 or see www.igs.ie.