Insulation grant scheme

powerstation

Hi,

Does anyone know how does the insulation grants scheme work, under the Better Energy Homes initiative?

I'm considering a home built in the 80's, and am not sure if the existing owners have attic insulation.

If I buy the attic insulation materials and install it myself, can I apply for a grant after already having bought the insulation?

Also, if the existing owners have already availed of the grant for the property, would this mean I can't do so?

Would it be significantly more expensive if I had to go for a registered HES contractor?

Many thanks,
power

BryanF

your talking about the attic only yeah? then do it yourself and forget about the grant, remember to leave continuos 50mm ventilation at eaves, use mineral wool or if your budget will stretch sheep wool.

paddy147

BnQ and selling off rolls of Rockwool Insulation (2 x 100mm layers in each roll) for 10 euro at the moment.

DoneDL

powerstation, it is well worth getting a quote for your insulation from a SEAI registered company.

paddy147

powerstation wrote: »

Hi,

Does anyone know how does the insulation grants scheme work, under the Better Energy Homes initiative?

I'm considering a home built in the 80's, and am not sure if the existing owners have attic insulation.

If I buy the attic insulation materials and install it myself, can I apply for a grant after already having bought the insulation?

Also, if the existing owners have already availed of the grant for the property, would this mean I can't do so?

Would it be significantly more expensive if I had to go for a registered HES contractor?

Many thanks,
power

The grant for an attic is around 250 euro.

You cannot do it yourself and then get an SEI Grant.

The SEI grant is taking about 8 weeks to be processed at the moment,due to a backlog.

It took 7 weeks for mine to come though for my solat panel system.

powerstation

Thanks for the responses folks. I'm only looking at insulating the attic since that is what the budget allows for now.

> You cannot do it yourself and then get an SEI Grant.

Does this mean I need to go in for an SEI registered contractor in order to avail of the grant? Or do I apply for the grant first, and then use that approval to buy the insulation?

Paddy, thanks for mentioning the Rockwool link, I'd seen it on your BA post :-)

BryanF

powerstation how big is your attic?

paddy147

powerstation wrote: »

Thanks for the responses folks. I'm only looking at insulating the attic since that is what the budget allows for now.

> You cannot do it yourself and then get an SEI Grant.

Does this mean I need to go in for an SEI registered contractor in order to avail of the grant? Or do I apply for the grant first, and then use that approval to buy the insulation?

Paddy, thanks for mentioning the Rockwool link, I'd seen it on your BA post :-)

You need to get a contractor who is registered with the SEAI and he or she will have an SEI ID number that will be used for filling out the forms.

This is the only way you can get a grant off the SEAI for the work done.

If your house and attic is an average size,then it would most probably be cheaper to buy the stuff and do it yourself.

All you would need is a carpenters saw and/or a garden/hedge shears and just roll the insulation out and cut to suit.

Simples.

derealbadger

The grant for the attic is now €200 it was cut in the last budget also you must have something else done with it to qualify for the grant ie walls boiler upgrade etc. as there is a minimum first grant application

powerstation

The house is 100 sq m, so it will be around 50 sq m.

BryanF wrote: »

powerstation how big is your attic?

powerstation

derealbadger, I didn't know about the minimum spend, thanks for the useful info.

paddy, this clears it up, thanks!

paddy147 wrote: »

You need to get a contractor who is registered with the SEAI and he or she will have an SEI ID number that will be used for filling out the forms.

This is the only way you can get a grant off the SEAI for the work done.

If your house and attic is an average size,then it would most probably be cheaper to buy the stuff and do it yourself.

All you would need is a carpenters saw and/or a garden/hedge shears and just roll the insulation out and cut to suit.

Simples.

BryanF

powerstation wrote: »

The house is 100 sq m, so it will be around 50 sq m.

ok so i believe B&Q (haven't seen this for myself) are selling roles of mineral wool for 10€, so lets presume their the 200mm 3.3msq coverage ones . if you have no insulation (or ins fitted in the 80's) i recommend this x 2 to give 400mm so thats
3.3 x 20€ x 15 = circa 50msq = 300€
go do it yourself. you'll save this over the next 2 years imho

derealbadger

powerstation wrote: »

derealbadger, I didn't know about the minimum spend, thanks for the useful info.

paddy, this clears it up, thanks!

What grants are available?

Grants are available to eligible applicants for undertaking the following works, in accordance with the requirements contractor Code of Practice Technical Specification.

Please note that these grant levels are different to those previously availabile under the Home Energy Saving scheme.

Energy Efficient Works Incentive
Cash Grant Value*
Insulation Attic Insulation €200
Wall Insulation - Cavity €320
Wall Insulation - External €4,000
Wall Insulation - Internal Dry Lining €2,000
Heating System High Efficiency Oil / Gas Boiler with Controls upgrade. €560
Heating Controls Upgrade only €400
Solar Heating €800
Building Energy Rating (BER) €80**
*Cash Grants are set value unless expenditure is below the set value, in which case the actual expenditure will be reimbursed.

**A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an integral part of all grant applications under the HES scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER on their home after grant aided works have been completed. A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €80 once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post.

Please note the minimum grant amount for the first application must be €400. A BER grant, where applicable, does not count towards the €400 minimum.

In the instance where a Contractor is completing works within his own home then only the cost of materials will be deemed qualifying expenditure.

Grants are claimed after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by or entered a financing agreement with the homeowner.

paddy147

BryanF wrote: »

ok so i believe B&Q (haven't seen this for myself) are selling roles of mineral wool for 10€,

You have seen it now my friend.:)