If you are
- Attic insulation
- Wall insulation
- Lagging jacket
- Draught-proofing
- Energy efficient lighting
- Window replacement (in certain cases)
- Boiler replacement (in certain cases)
The Government, through existing SEAI grant schemes, continues to offer significant financial incentives towards carrying out energy efficiency upgrades of the home. However, it must be anticipated that such supports, towards such highly-investible measures, will be eventually be phased out in the medium-term. These grants are open to homeowners & landlords where houses are built pre-2006. In some cases, modest grants for post-2006 houses can be available where compliance with 2003 Building Regulations can be demonstrated. The main measures that can be considered are as follows:
Attic Insulation
This is a relatively low-cost measure but is highly effective. For example, if attic insulation depth is increased from 100mm to 300mm, the rate of heat loss through the roof can be reduced by 50% approx.
GRANT AVAILABLE: €400
Wall Insulation
This measure depends on the original type of wall construction. Older homes are typically built of solid wall construction, which may be suitable for external or internal wall insulation systems. However, there are issues such as weather tightness &
GRANTS AVAILABLE:
Cavity Fill €400
Internal Wall Insulation €1,600 – €2,400
External Wall Insulation €2,750 – €6,000
Heat Pump Grant
Heat pumps are an alternative heat source instead of fossil fuel (oil/gas) boilers and provide a significant efficiency improvement for suitable homes. In particular, this grant is available where a high level of overall home insulation, as measured by a Heat Loss Index (HLI) of less than 2.0 W/K m
GRANT AVAILABLE:
Typically €3,500
Heating Control Grant
This grant is payable towards time/temperature/zone controls within the home.
GRANT AVAILABLE: €700
Solar Thermal Grant
Roof-mounted solar thermal panels can deliver 50-60% of domestic hot-water needs, at minimal operating costs, depending on roof orientation & over-shading conditions. In this case, pre-2011 houses are eligible subject to an appropriate solar thermal design.
GRANT AVAILABLE €1,200
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels
Roof-mounted PV panels generate DC electricity in suitable conditions which, combined with an inverter, provide electricity towards powering domestic appliances, electrical-vehicle charging, etc. At times of generation, when there is no
GRANTS AVAILABLE:
€700 per kW p
Battery Storage €1,000
An opportunity to get a grant of up to 50% of the costs of carrying out a deep energy retrofit of your house!
As part of the Government’s commitment to the National Mitigation Plan, additional funding has been provided in 2019 towards the Deep Retrofit Pilot Program. It is universally accepted that the most important pathway towards low-carbon housing involves deep retrofitting of existing housing stock: it is envisaged that €35 billion investment in existing housing stock will be required by 2050.
The Deep Retrofit Pilot is being rolled out on a limited basis & involves carrying our multiple energy upgrade measures that will deliver a BER rating of A3 minimum; there is also a requirement that an uplift of 150kWh/m2/yr must be delivered by the works in order to qualify for the grant. This would indicate that this grant is suitable for existing houses that have a BER rating of C2 or worse, though there some other technical criteria that must also be satisfied.
Retrofit works will be carried out on a whole-of-house basis and will most likely include a combination of measures such as wall insulation, roof insulation, replacement windows, air-tightness & installation of mechanical ventilation systems. The works will also include installation of renewable energy technologies such as solar thermal panels, photovoltaic (PV) panels and heat pumps. In addition to grant-aiding the capital costs, funding is also available towards BER’s (pre-works & post-works), air-tightness tests (pre-works & post-works), design & project management. A feature of this grant is that it includes post-works energy monitoring over a 3-year period – grant aid towards the cost of this monitoring equipment is also available.
Typically, the Deep Retrofit Pilot grant will fund up to 50% of costs. However, private homes in energy poverty, and homes in the ownership of housing associations, can qualify for grants of up to 95%. All works & project management will be carried out by suitable qualified & experienced Service Providers. Overall projects will include a minimum of 5 no. houses.
There are many benefits from carrying out such a retrofit including:
- Increased comfort
- Improved health & well-being
- Reduced energy & maintenance costs
- Reduced carbon emissions
- An A-rated house normally significantly increases the house value
SURVEY & DESIGN SERVICES is an active Service Provider for this program & is actively engaged in assessing projects for suitability for this generous grant scheme. For further information on this unique opportunity, please email contact details to info@surveyanddesign.ie
Also see grants section on the SEAI website.