HOME ENERGY SAVINGS SCHEME

Information for all Homeowners

To Register your interest, please call 1850 927000 or e-mail hes@sei.ie The scheme has been launched/announced now in order to allow interested contractors to apply for registration and homeowners to prepare for application. Homeowners are encouraged to register their interest by emailing the above address (or calling 1850 927 000) and SEI will contact you when there are sufficient registered contractors and the scheme is open for applications.

Who can avail of the scheme?
It is a National scheme and therefore all homeowners may apply. Landlords and owners of multiple properties may also apply, however they must submit a separate application form for each property.

What type of work can I get a grant for?
Grants will be provided to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements in the following area:

• Roof Insulation
• Wall Insulation – this includes either cavity wall, internal dry lining or external insulation
• Replacement High Efficiency (> 90%) Gas or Oil fired Boilers with Heating Controls Upgrade*
• Heating Controls Upgrade*
• Building Energy Rating (BER) – you can get a grant for a BER if one is done before and after the works are completed

* Minimum requirement of: 2 zones (space and water) with 7 day programmer (time and temperature) control and boiler interlock, time and temperature control of electric immersion heater and either 1 more zone control or 3 TRV’s.

How much are the grants?
Grants are fixed for each type of measure as indicated in the table below. Grant approval must be in place before any purchase of materials or commencement of measures undertaken. Grants are paid after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by the homeowner. In the instance where the cost of the work (vat inclusive) is less than the fixed grant amount, the actual cost will be reimbursed.

MEASURE	CATEGORY	GRANT *
Roof	Roof Insulation	€250
Wall	Cavity wall insulation	€400
	Internal Wall Dry-Lining	€2,500
	External wall insulation	€4,000
Heating Controls	High Efficiency Gas or Oil fired Boiler with Heating Controls Upgrade	€700
	Heating Controls Upgrade	€500
BER Assessment	A Before works and an After works BER assessment	€200

* Please note that while you are entitled to apply for each Measure there is a minimum requirement that the grant amount in the first application must be €500 or greater. The BER grant cannot form part of this €500 amount.

Who can do the work?
In accordance with the scheme’s Terms and Conditions, all works must be completed by a contractor from SEI’s Registered List, which will be published when the scheme opens for homeowner applications.

If you are undertaking a (before and after) BER assessment, these must be completed by a registered BER assessor. We can do the BER assessment for you.

How do I apply?
The scheme has been launched/announced now in order to allow interested contractors to apply for registration. Once there are sufficient registered contractors available to the scheme, there will be a further announcement regarding householder applications.

So, at the present moment the scheme is not open for applications from homeowners. Please keep a close eye out for future notices and check back regularly to ensure you are aware of when the scheme opens for applications.

If you wish to register your interest in the scheme and be contacted when it opens for applications, then simply email hes@sei.ie or phone SEI on 1850 927000

In the meantime, you could be looking around your house to identify areas which could improve your energy efficiency, see the Self Home Survey which is downloadable from SEI.IE in PDF format. Alternatively, ring our office here at 061 305080 and we can offer you some assistance.

SEI also have some guides available to download offering information on the measures covered under the scheme as well as questions you can ask your installer/supplier.

As Building Energy Rating (BER) assessors, we can perform an energy rating of your home and provide you with an accompanying Advisory Report, which will help identify areas that could improve your level of comfort along with reducing future heating bills.

When can I get the work done?
In accordance with the scheme’s Terms and Conditions, Grant Approval must be in place prior to any purchase of materials or commencement of works is undertaken. Since the scheme is not currently open for application you should not undertake any works yet. If you have already done so, then unfortunately you will not be eligible for a grant.

However, the Before BER can be done ahead of Grant Approval and could prove beneficial for homeowners who are uncertain about their options or what to get done first.

When might you NOT qualify for a Home Energy Saving scheme grant?

Depending on the scale or type of works being undertaken, the HES grant may not necessarily be appropriate for all homeowners.  Homeowners will not qualify for a grant:

• If your first grant application would be for less than €500.  So if you are only intending to do attic insulation (€250) or blown cavity wall insulation (€400) on their own then you will not qualify for a grant
• If you are only replacing your existing boiler with a typical efficiency boiler (<90% efficiency) then you will not qualify for a grant
• If you decide to simply replace your boiler but not upgrade the heating controls to the minimum prescribed standard then you will not qualify for a grant
• If you wish to get a grant for a Building Energy Rating (BER) then you must undertake a BER both before and after undertaking the appropriate grant aided measures.