SEAI insulation grants explained

The essentials

Approval before the work

SEAI runs three routes that can pay for insulation. Which one suits you depends on your home, your payments and how much you want to do.
The individual grants (Better Energy Homes) pay a set amount per measure, after the work, for homes built and occupied before 2011.
Apply and get approval before work starts or any materials are bought. Work started earlier is not covered.
A registered contractor must do the work, and the home needs a BER certificate published after the work.

SEAI, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, offers three routes that can pay for insulating a home. They differ in how much work they cover, who can use them and who is in charge of the job. Choosing the wrong one is the usual way people lose a grant, so it is worth a few minutes before you ask for quotes. The grant eligibility check shows which routes may apply to your house.

The three routes compared

Individual grants (Better Energy Homes). You choose one or more types of insulation work (SEAI calls each a measure), such as the attic or the walls, and SEAI pays a fixed amount for each. The amounts depend on the type of house. You pick a registered contractor and apply before work starts. The grant is normally paid after the work and paperwork are complete, although registered contractors can offer to deduct it from your price. The grant amounts in the tables further down this page are for this route only.

One Stop Shop (National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme). A registered One Stop Shop provider manages a larger project with more than one upgrade, such as insulation plus a heat pump. It deducts the grant from your price and claims it from SEAI itself. The project must reach a post-work BER (energy rating) of B or better, and it must also either include a heat pump or cut the home’s primary energy use by at least 100 kWh per square metre per year. Primary energy includes the energy used to produce and supply what the home consumes. Your BER certificate shows the home’s energy use in those units. Ask the provider to calculate whether your planned upgrades meet the reduction requirement. The home needs a BER assessment before and after. Find a registered provider and its amounts on SEAI’s One Stop Shop page. This route also covers floor insulation and rafter insulation (insulation fitted along the sloping roof, rather than on the attic floor), which have no separate individual grant. Its amounts are different from the individual grants, so do not add the two for the same measure.

Warmer Homes (fully funded). For people who own and live in their home, which was built and occupied before 1 January 2006, and who receive one of a short list of SEAI-listed payments. These include Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment, One-Parent Family Payment and Domiciliary Care Allowance, and some payments apply only with conditions such as a child under seven. SEAI publishes the full list of qualifying payments on its Warmer Homes page, where you check eligibility and apply online. If your home is suitable after a survey, SEAI pays for the work in full. It appoints the contractor, and you cannot choose the measures or the contractor. Being eligible does not guarantee that work is offered.

Who can claim the individual grants

SEAI’s rules for the individual insulation grants are:

The home was built and occupied before 2011.
You own it. Landlords can also use the standard grants. The higher amounts for homes let through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) apply to attics and cavity walls only.
You have not already received an SEAI grant for the same measure.
A registered contractor does the work.
You have applied and been approved before any work begins or materials are bought.

Some homeowners get higher amounts for the attic and for cavity walls: those receiving qualifying welfare payments, homeowners who bought their first home on or after 1 January 2025 (attic only) and landlords letting under HAP or RAS (the schemes above). These higher amounts replace the standard amount. SEAI lists the qualifying payments, with their conditions, on its page for homeowners receiving certain Department of Social Protection payments. The attic and wall conditions are on its attic and wall insulation grant pages.

External wall insulation goes on the outside face of your home’s outer walls. Internal wall insulation goes on their inside face, not on the partition walls between rooms. These wall grants are paid only if every outer wall is insulated; partial insulation is not covered. SEAI excludes “traditional buildings” from them: typically solid masonry built before 1940. If you have a cavity wall grant, SEAI allows a second, different type of wall insulation, internal or external, in some cases; ask SEAI whether your house qualifies.

Grant amounts

The tables are further down this page: jump to the grant amount tables. They are generated from SEAI’s published figures and show the date they were last checked. SEAI changes its amounts from time to time, so confirm them on SEAI’s site before you commit to a job.

How to apply for the individual grants

Pick a registered contractor and get a written quote. Use SEAI’s contractor search to see who is registered (see choosing a contractor), and you need the contractor’s name and ID number to apply.
Apply to SEAI before work starts or any materials are bought. You need to be the owner, and you need the home’s MPRN (the 11-digit number on your electricity bill) and the year it was built. For this self-managed route, apply online or by post. Online applications are normally approved within minutes, and you then receive a letter of offer. Wait for the offer before work starts.
Accept the offer. Accept within 30 days of receiving the offer. The eight-month period for completing the work and submitting the claim runs from the date the offer was issued, not the day you accept it. Your offer gives its expiry date. Start work only once you have accepted it.
Have the work done and keep the invoice and the contractor’s safety file. The safety file is the bundle of documents your contractor must give you for SEAI to inspect, such as product certificates and the contractor’s own records; SEAI’s guidance lists the contents in section 4.2.
Arrange the post-work BER. Contact a registered BER assessor once you have a start date. The assessor inspects your home after the work and publishes the energy rating certificate. Ask your contractor whether you need to book the assessor yourself. SEAI pays a small grant towards it.
Send SEAI the claim paperwork within the eight months. With your offer letter SEAI posts a Declaration of Works form and a Request for Payment form. The Declaration of Works is signed by you, the BER assessor and the contractor. SEAI also asks for a tax clearance certificate (Revenue’s confirmation that your tax affairs are in order) where an applicant’s grants exceed 10,000 euro in a calendar year. You apply for it through Revenue’s online system. The invoice and BER are records you keep and may be asked for; they do not replace those forms. Check the list in SEAI’s homeowner application guide (section on requesting payment) before you submit. If completion or paperwork is delayed, contact SEAI on 01 808 2100 and include a cover letter explaining the delay with your completed claim. SEAI will consider the late claim; payment is not guaranteed.

What to check before you decide

Which house type applies to you. The amounts vary a lot between detached houses and mid-terrace houses or apartments.
For an apartment attic, the grant needs the top floor or a roof exposed to the outdoors. It does not apply if another apartment is directly above.
Whether your wall is solid (one thickness of brick, block or stone with no gap) or cavity (two layers with a gap between them). If you are not sure, a registered contractor’s survey can tell you. Also check whether the house counts as a “traditional building” (typically solid masonry built before 1940). SEAI points owners of these houses to its Traditional Homes Pilot; contact SEAI on 01 808 2100 about it.
Whether you or your household qualify for a higher rate or for Warmer Homes. If you receive a qualifying welfare payment and are waiting for Warmer Homes, you can still claim the higher attic or cavity wall grant; SEAI will then leave those jobs out of your Warmer Homes work. The two never pay for the same work.
The grant is a fixed amount, not a percentage of the price. Subtract it from your quote to see your final cost after the grant. It is normally paid after the work and paperwork, so plan to pay the full quote first unless your contractor agrees to deduct it.

Check that each quote shows whether VAT is included, and at what rate, because it affects the price you compare with the grant. This guide does not state a rate: ask the contractor which Revenue rate applies to your job and why.

Guides by measure

Each measure has its own guide: attic insulation, cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, internal wall insulation and how to choose a contractor.

Current SEAI grant amounts

Better Energy Homes individual grants, as published by SEAI and checked on 29 October 2026.

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Standard grant by house type
House type	Attic	Cavity wall	External wall	Internal wall (dry-lining)
Detached	€2,000	€1,800	€8,000	€4,500
Semi-detached or end of terrace	€1,500	€1,300	€6,000	€3,500
Mid-terrace	€1,400	€850	€3,500	€2,000
Apartment	€1,100	€700	€3,000	€1,500

Some homeowners qualify for a higher attic or cavity wall amount, which replaces the standard amount instead of adding to it. The higher amount is for people receiving a qualifying welfare payment, for landlords with an active Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) tenancy, and, for the attic only, for first-time buyers of an existing home who bought it on or after 1 January 2025. SEAI lists the qualifying payments, with their conditions, on its page for homeowners receiving certain Department of Social Protection payments. The attic and wall eligibility rules are on SEAI's attic insulation grant page and wall insulation grant page.

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Higher grant by house type
House type	Attic: welfare, HAP/RAS or first-time buyer	Cavity wall: welfare or HAP/RAS
Detached	€2,500	€2,300
Semi-detached or end of terrace	€1,900	€1,700
Mid-terrace	€1,800	€1,100
Apartment	€1,400	€900

Common questions

Can I apply for the grant after the work is finished?

No. SEAI must approve your application, and you must accept its offer, before any materials are bought or work begins. Tell your contractor when both steps are complete. You claim the payment afterwards, once the work is done and you have sent SEAI the claim paperwork. The claim steps are in the grants guide.

Do I need a BER certificate?

Yes. A BER is published after the work is finished, and it is part of what SEAI needs before it pays. SEAI lists a separate grant towards that BER.

Can I get two grants for the same insulation?

No. Never add an individual grant and a One Stop Shop grant for the same measure. A second, different type of wall insulation can be eligible if you already have a cavity wall grant. Ask SEAI whether your house qualifies.

Is my older stone or solid-wall house covered?

SEAI excludes "traditional buildings", typically solid masonry built before 1940, from the individual wall grants. Roof insulation grants may still be available. SEAI points owners of these houses to its Traditional Homes Pilot; contact SEAI on 01 808 2100 about it.

Work out your own numbers

Grant total: add up what each SEAI route pays for your upgrades.
Which grant route: five questions to find where to apply first.

Sources and review

Sources were last checked on 30 October 2026. The review checks published guidance; ask a contractor to survey and design the work for your home. Grant amounts show their check date.