The SEAI heat pump grant is a bundle of support for eligible heating upgrades — worth up to €12,500. But it comes with a crucial condition about how efficient your home already is. Here’s exactly how the grant works, who qualifies, and how to claim it.
How the grant is made up
The grant is a bundle, not a single figure:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Heat pump unit | up to €6,500 |
| Central heating system upgrade | up to €2,000 |
| Renewable heat bonus | up to €4,000 |
| Total (house) | up to €12,500 |
| Technical assessment | €200 |
The renewable heat bonus applies when you’re swapping out an oil, gas, solid-fuel or electric storage heating system. If you’re replacing a heat pump that has not previously received an SEAI domestic grant, only the €6,500 (€4,500 for apartments) applies.
The heat-loss rule (the important bit)
A heat pump only works well in an efficient home, so SEAI checks your home’s heat loss indicator (HLI):
- Built before 2007 — a technical assessment is needed to confirm the HLI is 2.3 W/K/m² or lower, unless a valid BER already shows it.
- Built 2007 onwards — a self-declaration is usually accepted.
If your home doesn’t meet the standard, you’ll need to insulate first. That’s not a setback — it’s what makes the heat pump cheap to run. See our insulation guide.
Eligibility checklist
- Home built and occupied before 2021
- Valid MPRN on your electricity bill
- Meets the heat-loss standard (assessment or BER)
- Uses an SEAI-registered installer
- Applied and approved before work starts
How to apply, step by step
- Get a technical assessment if your home predates 2007 (grant-aided at €200).
- Apply to SEAI for the heat pump grant and wait for the offer.
- Accept within 30 days and complete the works within 8 months.
- Use a registered installer; complete the post-works BER.
- Submit documents — SEAI pays the grant.
See the general process in how to apply for an SEAI grant, and the full cost picture in heat pump cost in Ireland 2026.
Check the grant separately from the heating design
A grant decision and a good heating design answer different questions. Before accepting a proposal, ask for the heat-loss calculation, proposed heat pump capacity, design flow temperature, radiator changes and hot-water cylinder specification. A large grant does not make an unsuitable design economical.
The headline maximum is not an automatic deduction from every quote. Ask the installer to identify which components your proposed work qualifies for, including whether central-heating upgrades are necessary. Replacement of an existing heat pump follows different conditions: check the linked SEAI scheme page before budgeting.
For a fictional budgeting exercise, take a €19,000 complete quote. If the confirmed grant were €12,500, the net cost would be €6,500. If only €6,500 were eligible, the same quote would leave €12,500 to fund. The €6,000 difference is why you should not compare proposals using the maximum grant by default. Neither scenario is a quote or an eligibility determination.
Make the paperwork and cash flow explicit
Write down who will submit the application, who receives payment, what you must pay before the grant arrives and who obtains the final documentation. Keep the grant offer, scope, invoices, commissioning records and assessment documents together. If your design changes, resolve the effect on grant eligibility before proceeding.
Ask for operating instructions at handover: weather compensation, heating schedules, hot-water settings and maintenance contacts. Record initial settings so a later adjustment can be evaluated. Our quote checklist includes a heat-pump section to take to each contractor.
