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SEAI grants 2026/27: every home energy grant and what it pays

Last updated: · Figures checked 18 October 2026 · By the HouseWise team

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SEAI (the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) runs the main home energy grants in Ireland. There are three routes: individual grants you apply for yourself, a One Stop Shop that manages a whole-house upgrade for you, and free upgrades for people on certain social welfare payments. This guide lists what each one pays as of 18 October 2026, including the changes that took effect on 6 October 2026.

The golden rule: you must have grant approval from SEAI before any work starts, and you must use an SEAI-registered contractor. Work that's already started can't be grant-aided.

What changed in 2026

  • 3 February 2026: higher grants for attic insulation, cavity wall insulation and heat pumps (Citizens Information).
  • 2 March 2026: a new standalone windows and doors grant, a higher attic grant for first-time buyers, and a second wall insulation measure for homes that already had a cavity or internal wall grant (SEAI news, 27 January 2026).
  • 6 October 2026: a €2,000 boiler scrappage grant when a heat pump replaces fossil-fuel or storage heating, a €600 battery grant, solar PV and solar water heating opened to homes built before 2025, and much bigger solar and insulation grants for people on certain welfare payments (SEAI news, 29 September 2026).
  • Budget 2027 (6 October 2026) allocated a record capital budget of over €650 million to SEAI home energy upgrade schemes. The Department's press release doesn't announce further changes to individual grant amounts beyond the 6 October package (gov.ie).

Individual grants (Better Energy Homes)

These are the standard maximum amounts from SEAI's individual grants pages. Most are fixed amounts by type of home.

Upgrade Apartment Mid-terrace Semi-D / end of terrace Detached
Attic insulation €1,100 €1,400 €1,500 €2,000
Attic, first-time buyers* €1,400 €1,800 €1,900 €2,500
Cavity wall insulation €700 €850 €1,300 €1,800
Internal wall insulation (dry lining) €1,500 €2,000 €3,500 €4,500
External wall insulation (the wrap) €3,000 €3,500 €6,000 €8,000
Windows €1,500 €1,800 €3,000 €4,000
External doors €800 per door, max 2 €800 per door, max 2 €800 per door, max 2 €800 per door, max 2
Heat pump system (to water), max €11,500 €14,500 €14,500 €14,500
Air-to-air heat pump, max €9,500 €9,500 €9,500 €9,500
Heating controls €700 €700 €700 €700
Solar PV panels up to €1,800 up to €1,800 up to €1,800 up to €1,800
Battery (5 kWh+) €600 €600 €600 €600
Solar water heating €1,200 €1,200 €1,200 €1,200

*First-time buyers of a home built and occupied before 2011, bought on or after 1 January 2025 (SEAI attic insulation). The same higher attic rates apply to homeowners on qualifying welfare payments and HAP/RAS homes.

A few extras sit alongside these: €200 towards a heat pump technical assessment (needed for most homes built before 2007), and €50 towards the post-works BER that every grant needs.

Who qualifies: homeowners (including landlords and holiday-home owners for most measures) with an MPRN. Insulation and windows and doors are for homes built and occupied before 2011; heat pumps before 2021; solar PV before 2025. Each guide below covers the details.

Add up the grants for your home with our grant estimator

The guides for each grant

One Stop Shop (National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme)

A One Stop Shop is an SEAI-registered company that manages a whole-house upgrade: survey, grant application, contractors and the final BER. The grants are deducted from your bill upfront, so you don't wait to be paid back.

  • Your home must have been built and occupied before 2011.
  • It must reach at least a B BER after the works, plus either a heat pump or a big energy improvement (100 kWh/m²/yr). In practice that usually means several measures together.
  • You get access to grants that aren't available individually, including floor insulation (€3,500), rafter insulation (up to €3,000), mechanical ventilation (€1,500), airtightness (€1,000), a home energy assessment (€350) and project management (€800 to €2,000 depending on home type).

What it costs in practice: SEAI's data for 583 private homes done through One Stop Shops (January to June 2026) shows a median works cost of €62,881 for a semi-detached house with a median grant of €23,880, leaving €37,816 for the homeowner. For a detached house it was €66,304, €25,975 and €40,835 (SEAI One Stop Shop median costs).

Low-cost loan: the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme lends €5,000 to €75,000, unsecured, over up to 10 years, for work done through a One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator. Rates vary by lender.

Free upgrades (Warmer Homes Scheme)

If you own and live in a home built before 2006 and get a qualifying social welfare payment, SEAI may upgrade your home for free after a survey (SEAI fully funded upgrades). The most common works are attic and wall insulation. Since 6 October 2026, solar PV (up to 4 kWp) and a 5 kWh battery are offered as standard under the scheme (gov.ie).

Pensioners: there isn't a separate "pensioner grant". If you receive a qualifying payment you may be eligible for the free scheme or the enhanced grants below; if not, the standard grants apply to you like anyone else. Check SEAI's full list of qualifying payments before you apply.

Enhanced grants for welfare recipients and HAP/RAS homes

From 6 October 2026, homeowners on certain Department of Social Protection payments can get much more than the standard amounts if they don't use the free scheme (SEAI solar PV, SEAI wall insulation):

  • Solar PV: €3,350 per kWp up to 2 kWp, then €850 per kWp up to 4 kWp (max €8,400), or €9,000 with a battery.
  • Cavity wall insulation: up to €2,300 (detached), €1,700 (semi-D), €1,100 (mid-terrace), €900 (apartment).
  • Attic insulation: up to €2,500 (the same higher rates as first-time buyers).

How to apply (individual grants)

  1. Get quotes from SEAI-registered contractors (registered for that type of work).
  2. Apply online with your 11-digit MPRN (on your electricity bill), the contractor's details and your home type. Online offers usually come back in minutes; you then have 30 days to accept.
  3. Do the work within eight months of the offer.
  4. Get a post-works BER from a registered BER assessor.
  5. Submit the paperwork; SEAI says to allow 4 to 6 weeks for payment. If you get more than €10,000 in grants in a calendar year you'll need a tax clearance certificate.

FAQs

Can I get an SEAI grant for work I've already done? No. Grants can't be backdated. You need an SEAI grant offer before work starts.

Can I combine individual grants? Yes. You can apply for one upgrade or several, at the same time or over a number of years, as long as you haven't had a grant for the same measure at that MPRN before.

Is there a grant for a new oil or gas boiler? No. Better Energy Homes doesn't cover replacing gas or oil boilers. There is a €700 grant for heating controls, and a €2,000 boiler scrappage grant when a heat pump replaces the old system.

Do grants cover the full cost? Rarely. The grant can't be more than the cost of the work, and SEAI's own data shows most jobs cost more than the grant. See the cost sections in each guide.

Sources

All checked 18 October 2026.