The SEAI provides grant support to help people with a vast range of home improvements to make them more energy efficient.

However, you may also qualify for certain fully-funded grants through the SEAI’s Warmer Homes Scheme.

The Warmer Homes Scheme is aimed at making the homes of people less able to afford their own upgrades warmer and less expensive to heat.

It provides a range of energy efficiency improvements to homeowners who are in receipt of certain welfare payments.

The improvements are completely paid for by the grant, which is why it is also called the Fully-Funded grant scheme, and the SEAI handles all of the work in appointing people to carry out the home improvements.

The Warmer Homes Scheme of fully-funded grants is open to people who are in receipt of specific welfare benefits and whose homes meet the right requirements.

The scheme is open to people who are in receipt of any of the following welfare benefits:

Only the benefits listed above are qualifying for the fully funded grant scheme. Anyone receiving other payments will not qualify.

Proof of welfare receipt is provided during the application stage with your date of birth and PPSN, which will be cross referenced with the Department of Social Welfare.

The main qualifying factors for a property to be eligible for the Warmer Homes Scheme are:

If your property does not have a BER but you are otherwise eligible for the scheme, the SEAI will arrange for one to be carried out at no cost to you.

However, this will add months onto the timeline for the project, so if you can you are better off getting a BER done yourself.

People who have previously received grants under the scheme will also be able to apply again if there is still work that could be done.

This is determined on a case by case basis, depending on the work done to your home previously and what improvements could still be made.

In most cases, people who had work done under the scheme after July 1, 2018 will not be eligible for further full-funded improvements at this time.

Once a grant application has been made and if you qualify for the grant, the SEAI will send a surveyor to see what upgrades would best suit your home.

A contractor will then be appointed to carry out the works, and afterwards the SEAI will carry out a BER assessment of the property if it does not already have one.

Once the surveyor has assessed your property and determined what upgrades it needs, the SEAI will appoint a contractor to carry out the works.

The SEAI will also handle having another BER Assessment done after the upgrade works are completed to see what improvement has been made.

Applications for fully-funded home improvement grants can be made online through the SEAI’s web portal or via post.

For your application you will need the following information about yourself and your home:

Only one of the home ownership proofs listed above is required for your application. The MPRN will be used to determine the age of the property.

Depending on where you live and the benefits you are receiving you may also need to include:

If you are applying by post or email, then the application form can be downloaded from the SEAI website.

Once filled out, this can be emailed to: warmerhomes@seai.ie.

If applying by post, send your fully filled-out application to:

Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
PO BOX 119
Cahirciveen Co. Kerry

The scheme will prioritise insulation improvements to your home, with the possibility of window replacements or renewable heating systems.

The following home improvements may be carried out under the Warmer Homes Scheme:

Insulation improvements to the home will be prioritised before any secondary works on window replacements are carried out on your home.

Since January 1 2025, renewable heating systems such as heat pumps may also be installed as part of the scheme.

This will depend on the suitability of your home, as heat pumps require the property to have low heat loss in order to function.

The surveyor appointed by the SEAI will be the one to determine what upgrades your home is best suited for. You cannot request specific upgrades

The Warmer Homes Scheme currently has a long waiting time for works to be completed due to the first come first serve nature of the scheme.

It can take approximately two years to complete the process from the first application to the final inspection; less if you already have a BER.

The SEAI prioritises older homes and those with the worst heating performance for this scheme. This priority list is determined by the BER Assessment and the year of construction.

Homes will be granted priority if they meet both the following criteria at the assessment stage: Built before 1993 & has a BER of E, F, or G.