Grant · External wall insulation · SEAI rules read 7 Sep 2026
External wall insulation grant: €6,000, 26% of a typical semi-detached job
SEAI pays €6,000 toward external wall insulation on a semi-detached house (SEAI, read 7 September 2026). SEAI's median price for that job in the first half of 2026 was €23,219, so the grant covers 26%. By type of home it runs from €3,000 for an apartment to €8,000 for a detached house. The grant has to be approved before any work starts.
A terrace wrapped in scaffolding for external wall insulation. Every outside wall is done at once.
Garrick Close, Kingston upon Hull: bungalow renovations, September 2023 · Hullian111 · CC BY-SA 4.0
See your grants for wall insulation, and what you’d pay
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€6,000
SEAI's grant for a semi-detached house
SEAI grant page · read 7 Sep 2026
SEAI rule€23,219
SEAI's median price for a semi-detached job
SEAI median costs · H1 2026
Published figure26%
How much of that the grant covers
€6,000 ÷ €23,219
Published figure€3,000–€8,000
From an apartment to a detached house
SEAI grant page · read 7 Sep 2026
SEAI rule253
Companies on SEAI's register for external wall insulation
SEAI contractor register · 25 Sep 2026
Published figureUpdated · grants checked · prices SEAI H1 2026 · How we know · Corrections
Where this sits · the heat chain
Most heat leaves through the walls, roof, floor and windows. Fix these first and the heating has less to replace.
- Fabricwalls, roof, floor, windows
- Airdraughts and ventilation
- Heatheat pump or boiler, radiators, controls
- Usebills, comfort, the BER
- The idea behind itFollow the heat
- You are hereExternal wall insulation grant
- Next questionDo you need planning permission for external wall insulation?
Is there a grant for external wall insulation? Yes: €3,000 to €8,000, by type of home
SEAI's grant against SEAI's median price for the job, the first half of 2026. SEAI rule
The external wall insulation grant covers 26% of a typical semi-D job
Against SEAI’s median costs, grants cover up to 87% of a heat pump and 82% of cavity wall insulation, but 23% of heating controls and 19% of solar panels.
Each bar is the job's median cost for a semi-D (SEAI, January to June 2026); the filled part is the grant on the individual route. Heat pump: €10,500 for the unit, €2,000 for the heating system and, since 29 Sep 2026, a €2,000 boiler scrappage grant: €14,500 of €16,741, or 75% without the scrappage grant, which needs an oil, gas, solid-fuel or storage-heating system removed.
Sources: SEAI grant pages, transcribed in pipeline/inputs/grants_2026.csv, 3 Oct 2026 · SEAI, Median costs of individual energy upgrades, Jan-Jun 2026 (H1 2026), 2026
The numbers
| Job | Grant | SEAI median cost | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat pump | €14,500 | €16,741 | 87% |
| Cavity wall insulation | €1,300 | €1,585 | 82% |
| Attic insulation | €1,500 | €2,101 | 71% |
| Windows | €3,000 | €7,110 | 42% |
| Internal wall insulation | €3,500 | €9,843 | 36% |
| External wall insulation | €6,000 | €23,219 | 26% |
| Heating controls | €700 | €3,000 | 23% |
| Solar panels | €1,800 | €9,500 | 19% |
What the grant covers, by type of home
| House type | SEAI's median price | Most the grant pays | Covers | Left to pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-terrace | €14,000 | €3,500 | 25% | €10,500 |
| Semi-detached | €23,219 | €6,000 | 26% | €17,219 |
| Detached | €26,500 | €8,000 | 30% | €18,500 |
| Apartment | €11,300 | €3,000 | 27% | €8,300 |
SEAI grants, read 7 Sep 2026 · SEAI median costs H1 2026
Gutters, downpipes, window boards and door thresholds all move out to suit the new depth. The house changes appearance, so check with the council if you are in a conservation area. It keeps every room at its full size, unlike insulating inside.
Four things SEAI asks for, in its own words
Our plain version first, then SEAI's sentence as we read it. SEAI decides each application, not us. SEAI rule
The home was built and lived in before 2011. SEAI rule
“before 2011 for the Insulation, windows and doors, or heating control grants,”
SEAI, Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 10 Oct 2026
Every outside wall ends up insulated. SEAI rule
“To receive the grant, all external walls of your home must be fully insulated.”
SEAI, Wall insulation grant, read 10 Oct 2026
Some houses need planning permission first. SEAI rule
“In some cases, the installation of External Wall Insulation on your house may require planning permission.”
SEAI, Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 10 Oct 2026
The grant is approved before any work starts. SEAI rule
“You must have grant approval in place before you start work.”
SEAI, Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 10 Oct 2026
For your type of home: detachedsemi-detachedmid-terraceapartment
Approval takes minutes. Payment takes 4–6 weeks
Every SEAI grant runs the same six steps, and nothing starts before the offer. SEAI rule
Approval takes minutes and payment 4–6 weeks; the wait in between isn't published
SEAI publishes minutes from online application to offer, 30 days to accept, 8 months to finish and claim, and 4–6 weeks to pay. It publishes nothing for the assess, works or claim steps.
The six steps of the do-it-yourself grant route, in order. Under each step is the timing SEAI publishes, or a dashed box where it publishes none; we read every SEAI page, the terms and the homeowner guides on 8 Sep 2026. The 8-month window runs from the offer to the claim (One Stop Shop route: 12 months). Nothing starts before the offer. Work or materials paid for before it lose the grant. The marked step is the one this page is about: apply.
Sources: SEAI individual grant pages, as summarised in content/application-status.md, 8 Sep 2026 · SEAI How to apply and homeowner application guide, summarised in content/how-to-apply.md, 8 Sep 2026
The numbers
| Step | Who | Published timing |
|---|---|---|
| Assess | you + assessor | not published |
| Apply | you | minutes (online; by post ~5 working days) |
| Approve | SEAI | 30 days (to accept the offer) |
| Works | contractor | not published |
| Claim | you + assessor | not published |
| Paid | SEAI | 4–6 weeks (after complete paperwork) |
Up from €4,500 in 2019 to €6,000 now
SEAI's grant for a semi-detached house at every change since May 2019, read from archived copies of SEAI's pages. SEAI rule
The external wall grant for a semi-D has gone from €4,500 to €6,000 since 2019
€4,500 from May 2019, then €6,000 from Feb 2022.
Each line is the grant SEAI listed for a semi-detached or end-terrace house on its individual route (you manage the job), read from Internet Archive copies of seai.ie’s grant pages at every capture where the page changed. Heat pump: €3,500 from May 2019, €6,500 from Feb 2022, €12,500 from Feb 2026, €14,500 from Sep 2026. External wall: €4,500 from May 2019, €6,000 from Feb 2022. Internal wall: €2,200 from May 2019, €3,500 from Feb 2022. Windows: €3,000 from Mar 2026. Solar panels: €3,800 from May 2019, €3,000 from Feb 2020, €2,400 from Feb 2022, €2,100 from Jan 2024, €1,800 from Jan 2025. Attic: €400 from May 2019, €1,300 from Feb 2022, €1,500 from Feb 2026. Cavity wall: €400 from May 2019, €1,200 from Feb 2022, €1,300 from Feb 2026. The February 2022 rise was announced on 9 February; SEAI’s pages show it by the end of March, and the exact start date is not confirmed.
Sources: Internet Archive captures of seai.ie grant pages, 11 May 2019 to 2 Oct 2026 (research/data-pulls/2026-10-05/history/grant_history.csv, 148 rows, each tied to a saved capture), 5 Oct 2026 · SEAI news, 'Government launches the National Retrofitting Scheme', 9 Feb 2022 · SEAI heat pump page, read by fixmyber, 2 Oct 2026
The numbers
| Job (semi-D) | Jun 2019 | Apr 2022 | Mar 2026 | Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat pump | €3,500 | €6,500 | €12,500 | €14,500 |
| External wall | €4,500 | €6,000 | €6,000 | €6,000 |
| Internal wall | €2,200 | €3,500 | €3,500 | €3,500 |
| Windows | — | — | €3,000 | €3,000 |
| Solar panels | €3,800 | €2,400 | €1,800 | €1,800 |
| Attic | €400 | €1,300 | €1,500 | €1,500 |
| Cavity wall | €400 | €1,200 | €1,300 | €1,300 |
Questions people ask
- How much does it cost in Ireland?
- The middle price for the work in 2025 was €23,219 for a semi-detached house. With the €6,000 grant you pay about €17,219.
- Do I need planning permission?
- Usually not for an ordinary house, but a protected structure or a conservation area does need permission first.
- How long does it take?
- Two to four weeks with scaffolding up. You stay living in the house the whole time.
How we know
- Grants: SEAI's page for this grant, read 7 September 2026. Every condition is quoted word for word and checked against our saved copy.
- Prices: SEAI's median costs of individual upgrades, H1 2026: what contractors charged on grant-aided jobs. A median is a middle price, not a quote.
- History: SEAI's grant pages as the Internet Archive saved them, at every capture where the amount changed.
Sources
SEAI, Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, 10 Oct 2026 · SEAI, Median costs of individual energy upgrades, H1 2026
Found a mistake? Every fix is dated on Corrections. Method in full: How we know.
See your grants and what you’d pay
Four questions about your home, then your numbers. Get quotes from registered contractors if you want them.
Updated · grants checked · prices SEAI H1 2026 · How we know · Corrections