The 2021 budget has focused on encouraging people to go green and it’s definitely becoming more of a ‘thing’ we should all be aware of.

To give you some insight as to what’s available, we’ve put together a list of energy efficiency grants you can avail of. Depending on whether you’re interested in upgrading your home or your car, we hope the below helps.

 

For your home

Solar Electricity

A grant of up to €3,000 for homeowners to support the installation of Solar PV panels and battery energy storage systems. This grant is available to all owners of dwellings built and occupied before 2011 where support for solar panels hasn’t already been provided.

Heating Controls

A grant of up to €700 to help save money on your heating bills by reducing your energy usage by up to 20% with heating controls that are easy to use. This grant is available to all homeowners including landlords whose dwellings were built and occupied before 2006.

Insulation

Keep the heat in your home with insulation grants available. According to the SEAI a home loses on average 20%-30% of its heat through the walls. There are various types of insulation that you can receive grants for including, attic insulation, cavity wall insulation, internal wall insulation and external wall insulation. This grant is available to all homeowners including landlords whose dwellings were built and occupied before 2006.

Solar Water Heating

A grant up to €1,200 for solar thermal system being installed is available. The solar water heating grant can help make your home more energy efficient and save you money on your heating bills. This grant is available to all homeowners including landlords whose dwellings were built and occupied before 2011.

 

For your car

Why drive an electric vehicle? According to the SEAI driving an electric vehicle leads to a 74% reduction in transport costs compared to a comparable new diesel engine car.

Vehicle Grants

A grant of up to €5,000 is available towards qualifying electric vehicles when registered to a private consumer. The grant applies to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). This grant amount depends on the price of the vehicle.

Home Charger Grants

A grant up to €600 to assist homeowners installing an electric vehicle charge point on their property. This is available to owners of an eligible new or second-hand electric vehicle (EV) that was registered new or bought second hand from 01/01/2018.

 

To learn more about these grants, to see full eligibility criteria and how to apply, go to the SEAI website- https://www.seai.ie/

Please note: There may be further changes to this after the Budget 2021 announcement. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided here is accurate and up-to-date (as at 13th October 2020).

Source, SEAI, 2020. https://www.seai.ie/. Cornmarket cannot be held responsible for content contained on external websites.