€12,500 air to water heat pump grant - anyone going for it?

unkel · 18-02-2026 04:41PM #1

With gas being just over 7c / kWh and FIT of up to 25c / kWh it makes zero sense investing your own heard earned money into a heat pump system as it is not any cheaper to run per unit of heat going into your house.

But if the system is free, courtesy of the tax payer? And your current gas / oil system is getting old? Anyone going for it?

darraghsherwin · 18-02-2026 04:50PM

My oil boiler is on it's last legs and was planning to replace it next year with a heat pump.
From my memory, on the 6500 grant, it was going to cost me about 1700 more than replacing the oil boiler after grants, but it wouldn't have been a efficient system as would need to replace a few radiators to get to a 37 degree flow temp but now with the increased grant, it's making a lot more sense and can fit the big triple panel radiators for max efficiency

kris_2021 · 21-02-2026 07:46PM

Will this grant cover total cost of installation?

Marty Bird · 21-02-2026 07:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124254903#Comment_124254903

I wouldn’t imagine so, installers will just increase their prices to reflect the increase in the grant allowance.

SupaCat95 · 21-02-2026 07:56PM

Nope. Check them out after 10 years and become less efficent. They get loud. The house has to be airtight......does suit us as no air flow.

graememk · 21-02-2026 09:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124254932#Comment_124254932

Tell me you know nothing about heatpumps without telling me you know nothing about heatpumps.... 🙄

SupaCat95 · 21-02-2026 09:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124255100#Comment_124255100

Recommended them at college by a lecturer 15 years ago while studying refridgeration. Sure they are fine in new houses but they are unsuitable in older homes but see videos of them after10 years. My sister in law has one and its great and it runs on nothing but there is no air moving in the house. Forgive me for sticking with my cast iron stove and oil firebird. They are fine in theory and in urban areas. Tell me you never had a pwer outage without telling me you never had a ower outage.

CrazyEric · 21-02-2026 09:31PM

In order to qualify for the grant the whole house will probably have to get up to BER of B2 or even B1 so there will be a hell of a lot of costs on top of the Heat Pump.

homewardbound11 · 21-02-2026 09:37PM

I’m on the fence on this one .

currently have a air tight house with HRV and heat loss well below the value required for the grant and install . I’d love to hear more on this as I’ve an oil boiler 15 years installed and now due for replacement .The current Oil central heating system is a pressurised system with solar Hw panels, and also very recently installed PV panels with a 15 kw battery . Oil running costs for the year are rarely a tank full . So 800 litres ( 300m2 house ).

what I’m seeing is either oil on the very depths of winter we would have oil on 2 times a day morning and evening . our heat decrement of decay is very low. We don’t use oil on the summer months except to dry clothes on rads if needed . Maintenance costs over 15 years for oil is only a few hundred euro and a replacement of a boiler would be 2-2.5K.

so really I’m of the thoughts to move now with the grant or continue on .

Looking for pros and cons to move on from oil.

autumnalcore · 21-02-2026 09:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058432903/12-500-air-to-water-heat-pump-grant-anyone-going-for-it

I heat the floors mostly on night rate let the temperature fall gradually during the day. That's cheaper than gas year round and a lot cheaper than gas in autumn /spring. No second standing charge, no RGI required, no annual servicing.

That said if I wasn't an engineer capable of diagnosing and repairing these not sure Id buy one, very few people in Ireland seem capable of doing real repairs and punters getting told they need a new one on a regular basis instead.

I paid €500 for our current inverter heat pump cause someone dented it with a fork truck. Installed it myself.

Parents have spent more on servicing their gas boiler than I have in total.

This is our second heat pump, both this and the previous one I chose because they used standard Carel controllers, parts readily available, I'd be wary of a lot the ones with bespoke controllers and not sure what I'll buy for the next one.

graememk · 21-02-2026 10:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124255121#Comment_124255121

If power outages are a concern get a changeover switch, and a good enough generator. Circulation pumps need power too.

I'm rural, self install heatpump... And a stove that I can heat the house with too. 1980's bungalow. Have plenty of battery backup, and changeover switch. Also an inverter that has a generator input.

Heatpumps don't need an airtight house. Just need enough emitters(radiators/underfloor etc) to match the heat loss at lower flow temperatures to get the efficiency needed.

There is a point even with non airtight houses, that mhev can be beneficial. Don't have that myself, still have my chimneys.

Dr.Tom · 22-02-2026 09:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124255232#Comment_124255232

That’s interesting to hear. Do you have anymore info on your install on the forum?

THE ALM · 22-02-2026 12:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124255158#Comment_124255158

For the grant the important figure is the HLI which should be on the Advisory Report, as long as the BER was carried out on DEAP V4. For earlier versions you would have to go back to your assessor or get a new BER carried out. The old advisory report doesn't show the HLI.

This needs to be 2.3 or lower and the lower the better.

For homes built before 2007 a technical assessment is required, those after are assumed to meet the heat loss requirement and a self declaration form is required.

graememk · 22-02-2026 02:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124255803#Comment_124255803

Scattered about here and there, but no writeup.

Eco forest 12kW heatpump, can modulate down to 800w input. R290, better cop than r32 at higher temperatures, can output 70c water but cop is only 2.5 at that temperature though!

https://emoncms.org/app/view?name=EcoAir&readkey=82a75750e2f56ccdc7e96768b9776268&mode=daily&start=1769126400&end=1771804800 this is my stats.

I do have a 500L thermal store that I put in a couple years before the heatpump(was for cheap night rate and excess solar before I put in the HP)

Oil boiler was end of life and also was doing majority of heating with turf.

Was using 4-6 buckets of turf/day in the stove, now it's barely that a month.. if even that.

Most radiators were already double panel.

I've played about using a buffer tank, running direct with a fixed temperature, schedules and have now come to a steady temperature, with as little zoning as possible and weather compensation.

Hot water is on a priority system now so when the tank requires heat it only heats the tank. Currently done through some automation but plan to make it electrical.

If I light a fire, it's wired so when the fire is going the heatpump doesn't get a call for heat. Signal is from the circulation pump on the fire. There is a delay on it too so it stays off for a set time before it gets to go again.

Since moving to more or less a constant temperature in the house, I think I can reduce the weather compensation settings a bit more and eek out a bit more efficiency.

I still have the 500L tank, and depending on overnight demands I "charge it" from the heatpump. I am giving up a bit of efficiency doing this but it's on EV rate.

From Nov to Jan the house + farm isn't covered completely by solar or batteries, as there isn't enough hours in the ev rate to charge the batteries but it's still cheaper than the standard night rate on a yearly basis.

SD_DRACULA · 22-02-2026 06:46PM

12500 is useless, got a quote of 19k + vat (for sh!ts and giggles only) for a 3 bed semi so I'm not sure wtf is crazy to go for 25k installs, clowns.

These are prices for SEAI registered installers of course, could probably get it done for a quarter in reality.

darraghsherwin · 25-02-2026 11:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124254903#Comment_124254903

According to the SEAI website:

Up to €6,500 Heat Pump Unit Grant
Up to €2,000 Central Heating Grant for required upgrade works, where necessary, to central heating components i.e. new radiators and/or new underfloor heating
Up to €4,000 Renewable Heat Bonus Grant for swapping out your existing fossil fuel heating system such as an oil/gas boiler, solid fuel system or electric storage heating system.

I've sent data to local installer to get a quote.
My house is a detached house, 156 sqm, built in 2008. Have upgraded attic installation to 600mm and have pumped the walls. 7.4kW Solar array and 20kWh of battery capacity (planning to add additional 10kWh capacity). My current HLI is 1.755 and current BER is B1. Heat Pump will bring BER up to A2

bored65 · 25-02-2026 11:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124263900#Comment_124263900

can you post the quotes as you get em so people can get idea of costs involved

ELM327 · 25-02-2026 11:45AM

I'm curious. I have oil heating and am sick of paying money to fill the tank, and the boiler is on its last legs anyway

Not going to pay 12k or more out of pocket (according to HLI calc we'd need approx 17kw of heat pump) but I'd happily take a grant funded one. Even if it was say 80% of the cost or something.

Grants were the main reason I went solar, same for EV.

slave1 · 25-02-2026 01:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124263900#Comment_124263900

Would be happy to take out the rarely used oil boiler, but not the multifuel stove

graememk · 25-02-2026 02:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124264174#Comment_124264174

"Your oil is your main heating source" 😉

slave1 · 26-02-2026 11:11AM

My oil is my main heating source, got it

homewardbound11 · 28-03-2026 02:11PM

Waiting on first quote to come in for an air to water upgrade ( rads ) from an existing condenser oil burner .

a couple of questions for anyone who can help answer .

Can someone add some insight into my assumptions .
currently have oil as main heating . Usage is 1000 litres per year .so on kws it should be 9,500kw of energy required ( boiler efficiency etc, I read this somewhere )
if I install a HP, would taking an example COP of 3:1 mean that I would need approximately 9500/3 kw to maintain the same overall usage and cost .
is this an over simple assumption?.

Next part of the question ….

I have 9.8KW of panels and 15KW of batteries .
what I’m trying to work out is will my electricity demand ( currently 4800kw per annum )be 4800+3200 kw approx . Say 9,000 kw per year ?

If it is around the 9000kw/yr then
in that case I would need to get and additional 15KW of batteries to work the night rate as best as possible and reduce cost ?. With my current setup I consume 12-16 kw daily , the existing 15 kw allows me to only draw from the grid when the EV rate is used . Saving a whole lot of money .

last question ?,

If I have already 9.8kw of panels . Is it even possible to add more on to a solis S5 hybrid . If I could then 30kw of batteries and a sir to water would work out well or at least I think it would .

Thanks for any input you have . To these 2 questions .

...Ghost... · 02-04-2026 10:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124347300#Comment_124347300

I'm doing a course on heatpumps out of interest. What you need to remember is your boiler is probably 80% efficient, so closer to 8,000kWh out of the 1,000L of oil. Also we tend to run boilers differently (at least I do) where we boost the heat when needed and leave it off most of the time, so you can't get a like for like comparison unless your house is set to the same temp all the time with both systems. My own calcs are based on a COP of 3 and using cheap night rate and batteries. However, my electric demand is more than twice that of yours and my battery storage is triple. Your right to consider a second battery which you should be able to charge in the night rate and run the HP.

Adding more panels to your existing inverter is possible, depending on how the strings are loaded. I have 5.2kW on my 5kW hybrid split across 2 strings. I have 8 panels south, which I wouldn't add to. I have 4 panels north, which I would add to. Anything over 8kW will be clipped….as 5kW will go to load and export while 3kW can go to battery. Your setup may already be maxed and you would then legally need an NC7 for a bigger inverter, or additional inverters.

homewardbound11 · 02-04-2026 10:42PM

thanks for the reply. It’s good to get an idea from others . Never thought of a heat pump course . I wouldn’t mind doing one to learn more

. Did you say your battery is 3 times or 45 Kw. 45Kw must surely be impossible to charge on ev rate when you need it on winter ?. in summer it would only be needed for clipping and the remainder for discharging or running the home when there is no solar .

is there a reason why you chose 45Kw. I was hoping 30kw would be the sweet spot

unkel · 02-04-2026 10:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124359635#Comment_124359635

There are other ways to charge your battery than from your 5.5kW max inverter. And of course the bigger the battery and the more you spend on a battery, the lower your incremental returns are, so the longer your pay back period

But this is all relative. My current battery is 39kWh and it cost me €950

...Ghost... · 02-04-2026 11:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124359635#Comment_124359635

I have 3 x 16kWh batteries, or 45kWh useable capacity, as I don't let them go to 0%. 30kWh would suit most people. We are just high energy users. 3 EVs with a 4th coming this year and plenty of people in the house. My inverter charges the batteries at 5kW and I have a chargeverter/rectifier which pumps an additional 3kW into the packs. I set export priority March - October and dump excess for an average of 3 hours per night before recharging. November - February, I harness all PV to battery and don't export anything. If I could charge and discharge faster, I'd have more batteries 😁

A quick snip just now, from yesterday

Still at 59% and it's after 11

Dazler97 · 02-04-2026 11:07PM

Air to water is expensive my friend said as she has it but it's like a hotel with constant hot water etc

THE ALM · 03-04-2026 11:32AM

Looking back at the last year.

The heat pump used approx. 2050 kW.

If paying a flat 24hr price with Electric Ireland e.g. that would have cost 5c short of €600, ignoring standing charges and levies. We previously had oil and would have used 1000l/yr with the last fill we got €1200 (over 2 years ago), so a saving of 50%. (I hate to think what a 1000l is at the minute)

We have 33kWh of battery storage so the heat pump is run on cheap EV rate electricity >95% percent of the time I would say. The cost for the year in this case is approx. €197. I have averaged the EV rate at 9.65c as we go over the 1000kW bi-monthly limit.

The highest daily usage for the ASHP was 22.5kWh

unkel · 03-04-2026 01:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124360301#Comment_124360301

The real cost of your electricity is what you could sell it for in feed in tariff. Which in my case (Pinergy) is 25c / kWh

With an air to water heat pump with a COP of 3, it would be just over 8c per kWh of heat delivered. This is more than I pay for gas which is just over 7c per kWh of heat delivered. So even if I got the heat pump installed for free, I would lose money on every unit of heat it delivers

But in your case oil is slightly more expensive so you have a small saving

This is all presuming of course that you don't pay income tax on the feed in tariff you are making. The exemption is €400 per person per year contributing to the bill, which is 5 people in my household, so €2000 is income tax exempt

THE ALM · 03-04-2026 01:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124360538#Comment_124360538

no income tax thankfully and running a COP of 4.9 so I can't complain.

Pinergy would be a cheaper deal (using energypal about €200) but I am sacrificing it of for the 4 hour charging window.

witnessmenow · 03-04-2026 02:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124360601#Comment_124360601

If you have your existing systems in 12 months (Solar, Evs whatever) and your Smart meter usage for the last year reflects what your next years usage could potentially be accurately, is it not worth making the jump even if the 4 hour rate seems like it suits better?

I'm afraid of pinergy too btw :) but I can hide behind the excuse of that I don't have solar installed yet so my smart meter data is not accurate. I do plan to move to pinergy next year after a 10 months of solar smart meter usage.

€12,500 air to water heat pump grant - anyone going for it?

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