Mum on home dialysis fundraises for essential electric works as life-saving treatment drives up energy bills
A mum-of-two undergoing home dialysis is fundraising to cover the expensive cost of essential electrical works needed before solar panels can be installed at her family home, after soaring electricity bills linked to her life-saving treatment placed significant financial strain on her household.Dubliner Valerie Coyne-Dalton, a peritoneal dialysis patient, has been approved for a medically-vulnerable Solar PV Scheme, which will help offset the high energy costs associated with running her dialysis machine.However, because she lives in an older house in the Bayside area of north Dublin, she must first carry out a mandatory electrical "tails upgrade". That work is not covered by the scheme."I qualify for a medically vulnerable upgrade for solar panels which will be a massive help in off-setting bills," Valerie told the Irish Mirror."But I live in an older house and the upgrade doesn't cover the tails upgrade, which is why I am fundraising for it."Ms Coyne has been on dialysis for more than a year and says the treatment has significantly improved her quality of life, despite the shock of starting dialysis at the age of 47."Both kidneys are affected and it was a big shock being on dialysis at 47," she said. "But dialysis has made a huge difference to me. I have more energy and a better quality of life."She undergoes dialysis at home five nights a week for around eight hours at a time, relying on a machine that consumes large amounts of electricity. As a result, the family's energy bills rose sharply."I am on dialysis five nights a week, eight hours a day, and our electricity bills were coming in at between €300 and €400 a month, which were huge and we certainly couldn't manage that," she said."We are on level pay now, but the bills are still over €100 a month and with the dialysis machine going, two small children, washing and everything else, it's a lot."Valerie lives with her husband Rob and their two children, Iseult (7) and Oscar (4). She said the decision to launch a fundraiser was encouraged by friends and did not come easily."My friends told me to set up the fundraiser and I was a bit reluctant at first," she said. "But everyone donating has been so kind and generous."The tails upgrade is a required safety and compliance measure that must be completed before the solar panels can be connected to the grid. Without it, the installation cannot proceed.The family needs to raise approximately €2,500 to cover the cost of the works, including €2,300 for cabling, earthing and bonding upgrades, and a €200 ESB Networks meter connection fee."These costs must be paid before the solar installation can go ahead," Ms Coyne said.She said installing solar panels would make a meaningful difference to the family's ability to manage long-term medical and household costs."Running dialysis at home has dramatically increased our electricity bills," she said. "Installing solar panels would help offset that energy use, reduce our ongoing costs, ease financial pressure on our family and give us greater stability and peace of mind.""This upgrade isn't a luxury," she added. "It's an essential step toward making our home more sustainable and medically manageable."The GoFundMe called 'Help Us Cover Essential Electrical Upgrade for Solar Panels' can be accessed here.Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
