Energy bills continue to be one of the biggest monthly costs for people.
Thankfully, there is a grant Irish households can apply for worth up to €2,400 that may slash energy bills by around €1,000.
An average household can say around a grand a year by using solar panels, furthermore, they could also cut down yearly electricity costs by 70 per cent if they add a battery, according to My Solar
READ MORE: Six money changes in July, including Social Welfare update and €100 bonus due
Electric Ireland has also estimated that a household with a three-metre square solar collector could be saving between €192 and €240 annually on hot water costs based on the Standard Tariff rate.
To help households cut down electricity costs, people are being urged to apply for the Solar Electricity Grant, which provides a once-off grant towards the purchase and installation of solar photovoltaic panels for your home.
Administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, before people can get to work they must apply for and receive the grant.
How to qualify for Solar Electricity Grant?
To qualify for a grant you must:
- Be the owner of a home built and occupied before 2021
- Use new materials and products that were not already covered under another grant scheme
- Use a registered company from the SEAI’s registered list of companies
- Have the electrical works completed by a Safe Electric Ireland electrician
- Apply to ESB Networks to be connected to the electricity distribution system using the ESB Networks NC6 form (pdf). Your registered installer should do this for you before they fit the system.
- Provide a Declaration of Works signed by a registered installer on the SEAI Solar PV Approved Installer list
- Have a Building Energy Rating (BER) carried out after the work is completed
- Meet the requirements in the Solar PV Code of Practice
How much is the grant?
The grant you get depends on the peak output of your solar system. Peak output is measured in kWp, which is kilowatt-peak. You get:
- €900 for 1kWp
- €1,800 for 2kWp
- €2,100 for 2kWp
- €2,400 for 4kWp
The grant covers materials and labour unless you are a contractor doing the work in your own home. In this case, only the cost of the materials is covered.
If the cost of the systems and labour (including VAT) is less than the maximum grant amount, you will get a grant for the actual cost.
You can find out more about this grant here.
