Kildare is one of the highest population counties in Ireland, with multiple large settlements in the greater Dublin area built in the last two decades which are ripe for retrofitting with solar panels.
A strong industry has driven population growth in Kildare, leading to many booming settlements for solar power. The Intel fabrication plant at Leixlip, for instance is one of the oldest major international investors in Ireland, and has long been one of the largest employers in the country.
Our vetted solar installers at Energy Efficiency Ireland can serve all towns and rural areas in County Kildare, delivering bespoke solar PV solutions for your home or business.
Solar Panel Adoption Rates in Kildare
County Kildare has the fifth highest number of solar panels installed on homes with the help of SEAI grants this year, and the fourth highest since 2015.
Some 865 homes in Kildare got solar panels installed up to the end of July in 2024. Since 2015 there have been 3,319 homes in Kildare which have received the SEAI grant for solar panels.
The figures for the first seven months of 2024 alone account for more than a quarter of all solar panels installed in Kildare since 2015, showing a clear acceleration of the adoption of solar PV by homeowners in Kildare.
Kildare Climate
Kildare sits roughly in the middle of Ireland climate wise. The county is not hit with rain and overcast skies with the same frequency as the northwest, but it also isn’t as bright as the sunny south east of the country.
Kildare Towns
As one of the counties closest to the Dublin area, Kildare has a correspondingly high population, with many towns growing out of people working in the capital, or businesses which have located outside of the city but stayed close.
Kildare town itself is somewhat unusual among towns which have the county name in that it is only the 7th largest town in County Kildare by population. Naas is the largest town in the county, and the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population.
| Kildare Towns & Villages | Population |
| Leixlip | 16,733 |
| Maynooth | 17,259 |
| Naas | 26,180 |
| Newbridge | 24,366 |
| Athy | 11,035 |
| Sallins | 6,269 |
| Kildare Town | 10,302 |
| Monasterevin | 5,307 |
| Kilcock | 8,674 |
| Celbridge | 20,601 |
| Clane | 8,152 |
| Prosperous | 2,413 |
| Rathangan | 3,263 |
| Kill | 3,818 |
| Kilcullen | 3,815 |
Kildare Housing
Just as the BER rating of a property can tell us a lot about its individual energy efficiency, a breakdown of the BERs across the county
There are more than 55,000 homes in the BER registry for County Kildare, the fourth highest number in the country behind Dublin 1 – 24, Dublin County, and Cork County.
Those buildings in Kildare are quite young by national standards, with an average age of 22 years old. We can see that the largest concentrations of homes in the county either have an A rating, just over a quarter of the total, or a C rating, with only a small percentage of homes with E – G ratings.
The large amount of A-rated homes shows a significant portion of new builds, while those with B and C ratings likely correspond with Celtic Tiger era housing. This also shows that there are many homes which could benefit from solar panels to push up their BER.
| Area | Energy Rating | Total Housing Stock | Avg Age | ||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |||
| County Kildare | 14,498 | 7,758 | 17,733 | 8,864 | 2,771 | 1,108 | 1,662 | 55,415 | 22 |
Data from Domestic BER Register up to the end of Q2 2024. Source: CSO.ie
