Grants for a home energy upgrade
- Introduction
- How the process works?
- Do I qualify for the grants?
- What energy upgrade grants can I get under the scheme?
- How much are the grants?
- How to apply
Introduction
The new National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme provides grants to upgrade the energy efficiency of your home. When the work is completed your home should have an energy efficiency rating of B2 or above.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the grants and a private company manages the work for you. These companies are called One Stop Shops, and the scheme is also known as the One Stop Shop Service.
The SEAI also provides individual energy upgrade grants, if you only want to do certain home energy upgrades, and would prefer to manage the process yourself. There is also a free home energy upgrade scheme for people on low incomes.
How the process works?
You need to use a private company registered with the SEAI to access this grant (also known as One Stop Shops). They will manage the whole project for you, bringing your home up to a BER rating of B2 or above.
The company will:
- Complete an initial energy assessment of your home and advise you on the upgrades you need to bring it up to a B2 BER rating or higher
- Apply and accept the SEAI grants for your home
- Assign a contractor to do the work on your home
- Manage the works at your home ensuring that everything is up to standard
- Complete the final BER assessment when the work is done
These companies deduct the grants from the cost of the works in advance, so you only pay what is outstanding. Some of these operators also provide finance options, so you have different ways to pay for the outstanding cost of the works.
Do I qualify for the grants?
To qualify for a grant you must:
- Be the owner of a property built and occupied before 2011 for insulation, heating control systems and renewable systems grants
- Have a home with a BER of B3 or lower before the work
- Reach a BER of at least B2 after the work and have a BER improvement of 100kWh/m2 per year
- Not have already used grants for the same energy upgrades
- Use an SEAI registered company (One Stop Shop) to manage the process, work and applications
What energy upgrade grants can I get under the scheme?
Under this scheme, you can get grants for:
- Attic insulation
- Rafter insulation
- Wall insulation - including cavity wall, internal dry lining and external insulation
- Floor insulation
- Heating controls
- Solar thermal solutions (solar hot water)
- Solar PV panels
- Heat pump systems and central heating system for heat pump
- New windows
- New external doors
- Mechanical ventilation
- Air tightness
- Home energy assessment
- Project management
How much are the grants?
The table below shows the grant amount available for each energy upgrade. The amount you get for each upgrade can depend on the type of home you have. For example, the grant you get to insulate a detached house is more than the grant you get to insulate an apartment.
The One-Stop-Shop will assess your home and recommend the work needed to get your home up to a BER B2 rating.
| Measure | Grant value |
| Attic insulation
- Apartment |
€800 |
| Rafter insulation
- Apartment |
€1,500 |
| Cavity wall insulation
- Apartment |
€700 |
| Wall insulation - internal dry lining - Apartment - Mid-terrace house - Semi-detached or end of terrace house - Detached house |
€1,500 €2,000 €3,500 €4,500 |
| Wall insulation - external - Apartment - Mid-terrace house - Semi-detached or end of terrace house - Detached house |
|
| Grant value | Attic insulation <br/><br/> - Apartment<br/> - Mid-terrace house<br/> - Semi-detached or end of terrace house<br/> - Detached house |
| Heat pump systems
Air to water, ground source to water, exhaust air to water, water to water - Apartment
|
€4,500 €3,500 |
| Central heating system for heat pump
- Apartment |
€1,000 |
| €800<br/> €1,200<br/> €1,300<br/> €1,500 | Rafter insulation <br/><br/> - Apartment<br/> - Mid-terrace house<br/> - Semi-detached or end of terrace house<br/> - Detached house |
| €1,500<br/> €2,000<br/> €3,000<br/> €3,000 | Cavity wall insulation <br/><br/> - Apartment<br/> - Mid-terrace house<br/> - Semi-detached or end of terrace house<br/> - Detached house |
Solar PV panels |
€2,400 (max) |
| New windows - Apartment - Mid-terrace house - Semi-detached or end of terrace house - Detached house |
€1,500 €1,800 €3,000 €4,000 |
| €700<br/> €800<br/> €1,200<br/> €1,700 | Wall insulation - internal dry lining<br/> - Apartment<br/> - Mid-terrace house<br/> - Semi-detached or end of terrace house<br/> - Detached house |
| €1,500<br/> €2,000<br/> €3,500<br/> €4,500 | Wall insulation - external<br/> - Apartment<br/> - Mid-terrace house<br/> - Semi-detached or end of terrace house<br/> - Detached house |
| €3,000<br/> €3,500<br/> €6,000 <br/> €8,000 | Floor insulation |
| €3,500 | Heat pump systems <br/><br/> Air to water, ground source to water, exhaust air to water, water to<br/> water<br/>- Apartment<br/> - House<br/><br/><br/> - Air to air |
| Project management - Apartment - Mid-terrace house - Semi-detached or end of terrace house - Detached house |
|
There is also bonus of €2,000 if you install a heat pump and reach a B2 BER rating.
How to apply
You should contact an SEAI registered One-Stop-Shop to apply for this new grant. The SEAI will be publishing a list of One-Stop-Shops shortly. In the meantime, there is information about One-Stop Shops on the SEAI website, or you can contact them for further details about the scheme.