SEAI Grants: Invest In Home Energy Upgrades for More Comfortable Homes, Reduced Energy Use and Lower Bills

As the cold weather continues through spring, now more than ever homeowners are looking to reduce their energy consumption and tackle rising energy bills. Many are adopting new habits such as turning down their thermostats or reducing heating running times. But homeowners are also more aware of the need to improve the overall energy efficiency of their homes. By investing in home energy upgrades, such as attic and wall insulation and, installing heat pump systems and other renewables, you are keeping your valuable heat in your home and making it much more energy efficient. These are long-term investments that will provide significant improvements in home comfort, as well as reducing monthly energy bills.

According to Susan Andrews, Marketing Manager with SEAI,

“SEAI offers a range of home energy upgrade grant routes to suit most budgets and circumstances. Some people might want to take a step-by-step approach, doing one or two upgrades over time. We have grants for attic and wall insulation, heat pump systems and renewable technologies such as solar PV. This is a great option for homeowners looking to start upgrading their homes, giving them more flexibility. We have over 1,000 SEAI registered contractors to carry out these works and an easy-to-use online application system for homeowners to get started.”

Andrews went on to explain the benefits of carrying out a full home energy upgrade in one go,

“There is also a fantastic One Stop Shop service for homeowners who want to do a comprehensive upgrade in one go to achieve a B or even an A rated home. The great thing with using an SEAI registered One Stop Shop is they will manage the whole project from start to finish, including all the grant aspects, making it hassle-free for the homeowner. One big plus for the homeowner is that the value of the grant is deducted upfront from the cost of works, which can really help with cashflow for large projects.”

Carrying out any type of home upgrade can be daunting and often a homeowner simply doesn’t know where to start. If you are considering investing in a home energy upgrade, SEAI recommends starting with a BER assessment. This will give you a list of the energy upgrades likely to have the biggest impact on improving your home’s energy rating and a personalised roadmap to bring your home up to a BER rating of B2 or better.

If, however, you are considering a full home energy upgrade in one go, then you should contact an SEAI registered One Stop Shop and get a Home Energy Assessment. SEAI offers a stand-alone grant of €350 for this assessment, which provides a detailed technical report of the upgrades needed to meet the One Stop Shop grant requirement as well as a rough estimate of likely costs. You are not under any obligation to carry out these works after the assessment, but you will still receive the grant for the Home Energy Assessment.

Concluding, Andrews said:

“When exploring home energy upgrade options, we always recommend you shop around, get a number of quotes and also make sure the quotes you are comparing are like for like. If you decide to install more upgrades and go to an A-rated home, your quote is likely to be higher than that for achieving a very acceptable B2.”

For further information about SEAI Home Energy Upgrade grants visit here.

About SEAI

SEAI is Ireland’s national energy authority investing in, and delivering, appropriate, effective, and sustainable solutions to help Ireland’s transition to a cleaner energy future. They work with householders, businesses, communities, and government to achieve this, through expertise, funding, educational programmes, policy advice, research and the development of new technologies. SEAI is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.

Reduce Your Use

For more practical advice to reduce your energy use and make a real difference to your energy bills, visit www.seai.ie/reduceyouruse

You can also find Government supports available to help homes and businesses reduce their reliance on imported fossil fuels at www.gov.ie/ReduceYourUse

Visit the SEAI stand at location R30 all weekend long at the permanent tsb Ideal Home Show, April 21 st to 23 rd .