Landlocked in Leinster, Co. Westmeath is located at the very heart of Ireland’s Midlands, bordered by five counties.
Once a part of the Gaelic kingdom of Meath, and then the Lordship of Meath – Westmeath was established in the 1500s.
It is Ireland’s 20th county by area and 22nd by population, with 95,840 inhabitants. Despite an overall increase in the population since 2016, the rural population in the county continued to decline.
There has been a spike in interest in solar energy in Westmeath, with over 1,200 homes kitted out with solar panels in the county over the past few years.
We have curated a list of the best solar panel installers in Westmeath – and each installer we recommend is fully vetted, with great customer reviews. If you want to begin your solar journey and save hundreds per year on your bills, get a 100% free quote today from one of the county’s top installers.
Westmeath Solar Panels Adoption
As of 30 August 2024, a total of 1,227 grants have been awarded for rooftop solar panels by the Sustainable Energy Authority in Westmeath.
Over a third (453) of those solar grants were awarded in 2023 alone, and this year has seen the growth continue with 346 grants awarded until the end of August.
In the first 8 months of 2024, there were 36 panels installed for every 10,000 Westmeath residents.
Westmeath Climate
Like the rest of Ireland, Co. Westmeath has a temperate climate, with very rare occurences of temperature extremes. For solar energy – this is great, as extremely high or low temperatures can affect the panels’ efficiency.
The county’s location right in the middle of Ireland means that it experiences fewer cloudy days than the west coast, but it also receives less sunshine than the “sunny south-east”.
Westmeath Sunshine Hours
Despite a common myth about solar energy, solar panels produce electricity every day of the year – meaning they generate power on cloudy days as well as sunny days.
Obviously more clear sunny days are great for solar PV panels, but they are not the be all and end all, as only diffuse sunlight is needed! In any case, Westmeath, with its central location, gets plenty of sunshine throughout the year to justify installing solar panels.
The 1,200+ homes in the county with solar panels installed will testify to that!
Westmeath Towns and Villages
Westmeath is home to numerous towns and villages, but the two main towns are Athlone and Mullingar, the county town and Joe Dolan’s hometown. A 45 minute drive separates these two towns – and their populations are very close at over 22,600.
A greenway along the old railway corridor also connects the two towns, which takes around 10 hours to walk.
Westmeath is unlike most counties in Ireland in that almost half of the population lives in these two main urban areas.
The population of Westmeath was 95,840 in the 2022 Census, making it the 22nd most populous county.
| Westmeath Towns and Villages | Population |
|---|---|
| Athlone | 22,869 |
| Mullingar | 22,667 |
| Kilbeggan | 1,575 |
| Moate | 3,013 |
| Castlepollard | 1,163 |
| Kinnegad | 3,064 |
| Rochfortbridg | 1,498 |
| Delvin | 740 |
Westmeath Housing
Westmeath has 21,490 homes with a Building Energy Rating (BER) as of Q2 2024.
Nine percent of these homes have the top energy efficiency rating, meaning 91% could be more efficient. In Westmeath 14% of homes have a B rating and some 13% of domestic properties have the lowest ratings F or G.
| Building Energy Rating (BER) | Total Housing Stock | Average Age | |||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |||
| Westmeath | 1,934 | 3,008 | 7,521 | 4,298 | 1,934 | 1,074 | 1,719 | 21,490 | 33 |
BER data from Q2 2024. Source: CSO.ie
