The best home insulation grants in Ireland you need to know about

Homes without adequate insulation cost more to heat and keep warm. Preventing heat loss by improving the thermal efficiency of your home will allow you to reduce your energy costs and make your home warmer and more sustainable. The good news is that there are a number of home insulation grants available to you through the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) to help with the costs.

First things first, what insulation grants are available to me?

Attic Insulation Grants
Attic insulation is often the most cost-effective upgrade you can make to your home. It is recommended that you check what insulation lies between the ceiling joists in your attic – it should be between 300mm and 400mm. In older homes, insulation is usually non-existent or is about 100mm in depth. Insulating the attic is like putting a hat on your house. Heat rises, so you will see an immediate benefit from upgrading your attic insulation.

Wall Insulation Grants
Insulating walls, either internal or external, is a great way of making your home more energy efficient and comfortable.  There are three types of wall insulation available:

• External Wall Insulation (sometimes referred to as house wrapping insulation) is the best way to insulate your walls. External wall insulation can add 100-150 mm of rigid insulation to the exterior walls of your house, giving complete coverage and avoiding any cold bridges. When adding external insulation to your home, consider your windowsills, which will need to be made deeper and an adequate depth of fascias and soffits to take the thickness off the insulation. Downpipes will also need to be adjusted. This process also allows for a coloured render system, thinner than a more traditional sand cement render, but maintenance-free and available in a range of colours. 
• Cavity Wall Insulation is an easy and cost-effective option to reduce heat loss in your home. If your home has cavity walls that are not insulated, or are only partially insulated, it's advised to have them completely insulated. The process involves injecting or pumping the outside walls or cavity with insulation product.
• Internal insulation, also referred to as dry-lining, involves fixing insulation boards, ranging from 82mm to 112mm, to the inner surfaces of your external walls. The plasterboard is applied to the inner face of the external walls of the home. This means the existing skirting boards and sometimes floor finishes will need to be removed for application while electrical sockets, switches and radiators will also need to be adjusted and moved out in line with the new board. This process is more invasive than the other options and it can be difficult to continue living in a property at the same time. 

There are three types of wall insulation grants offered to homeowners:

You can find out what type of home energy grants are available here: SEAI Home Energy Grants

Did you know? You can save up to €600 per year on heating bills by insulating the attic and walls of your home properly.

How can I check if I am eligible for a home insulation grant?

All homeowners, including landlords, whose homes were built and occupied before 2011 can apply. This ‘built and occupied before’ date is defined as the date your electricity meter was installed.

Grants will only be issued once per property for each of the specific types of work implemented. Essentially, this means that any property which previously availed of wall insulation via the Better Energy Homes scheme, or any other government scheme, cannot receive additional support for further wall insulation works.
 
There are some key watch outs which may affect your grant application and should be considered before any upgrade works commence:

• your home achieves a minimum B2 BER rating – check out our ultimate guide to BER Ratings
• your heating system and attic insulation comply with the Building Regulation standards

• In the case of some properties, including protected structures, properties in architectural conservation areas or where the works result in an alteration to the front profile of the property, external insulation may require planning permission. Please check with your registered contractor or local planning authority.