What order should the work go in on a apartment built 2007–2010?

Start with a BER assessment to measure the house, then the heat pump in a second application. Doing it out of order costs money: new heating controls, then a heat pump (€1,045); 1 extra post-works ber (€245).

How much are the SEAI grants for this apartment?

The plan carries about €9,075 of SEAI's published grants, self-managed, against works costing about €9,515, which leaves about €440 to pay. Whether a grant is paid is SEAI's decision on the application.

Should I self-manage or use a One Stop Shop?

A close call on cost: about €440 self-managed in 1 stage, or about €300 through a One Stop Shop all at once. On paper a One Stop Shop is about €140 cheaper — within the uncertainty of our estimate of its fees, so treat the two as level on cost.

Retrofit plan for a apartment built 2007–2010

Start with a BER assessment to measure the house, then the heat pump in a second application. Self-managed, about €9,075 in SEAI grants leaves about €440 to pay.

A worked example of the house published BERs most often describe: filled cavity walls (44%, the most common), heated now by a gas boiler. The plan is the same with oil, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters. Make it yours

A close call on cost: about €440 self-managed in 1 stage, or about €300 through a One Stop Shop all at once.

Grants: €9,075
You pay: €440
Order saves: €1,290

Self-managed, 1 grant application. A plan, not a BER assessment. Grants are SEAI’s published figures and SEAI decides each application; costs are medians, not quotes.

The plan, in order

Tap a step for why, the rule behind it and the source.

1Find out
- Energy assessment (BER and advisory report)no grant self-managed · €245
  A pre-works BER assessment gives the advisory report the windows and heat pump rules refer to, and the Heat Loss Indicator. Done by a registered BER assessor.
  €350 only through a One Stop Shop · Grant: One Stop Shop: multiple energy upgrades (grant table), read 30 Apr 2026 · Cost, a median not a quote: Median costs of individual energy upgrades, read 25 Sept 2026
  - On the One Stop Shop route this is their Home Energy Assessment (€350 grant). Self-managed, it is a BER assessment you pay for.
2The heat pump
- Heat pump (air to water)€4,500 grant · €9,025
  Replaces the current heating with a renewable system; heats your water too.
  Grant: Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 25 Sept 2026 · Cost, a median not a quote: Median costs of individual energy upgrades, read 25 Sept 2026
  - Size it on the heat loss after the insulation and windows are done, not today's — a smaller pump costs less and runs better.
  - VAT is 9% when one business supplies and installs the heat pump system under one contract (Revenue). SEAI's homeowner guide says zero %, but Revenue sets VAT — check the quote shows 9%, not 23% or a split contract.
  About the heat pump (air to water) grant
- Radiators and pipework for the heat pump€1,000 grant
  Larger radiators or underfloor pipework so the heat pump runs efficiently at low temperatures. Grant-aided where the installer’s design requires it.
  Grant: Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 25 Sept 2026 · Included in the heat pump system median cost.
  - Paid only where the design needs it — assumed here; the installer confirms.
- Renewable heat bonus€3,525 grant
  Replacing gas boiler is what the €4,000 renewable heat bonus is for.
  Grant: Heat pump systems grant, read 25 Sept 2026 · Included in the heat pump system median cost.

Make this plan yours

What doing it in order keeps

about €1,290

The same works, done one job a year in the order people often start, against this plan. Grant rates are the same either way; what changes is which grants get paid and how many assessments you buy.

	One job at a time	This plan
Works and assessments	€11,505	€9,515
Grants paid	€9,775	€9,075
You pay	€1,730	€440

New heating controls, then a heat pump: €1,045
A common first step is smart controls on the old boiler (typically €1,745, €700 grant). The heat pump replaces them, and once a heat pump is planned the controls grant is not available at all. Money spent on a system you are about to remove.
Source: Heating upgrade grants (controls), read 25 Sept 2026
1 extra post-works BER: €245
Every grant application needs its own post-works BER (about €245 each) and the €50 BER grant is paid once. One measure per application means 2 BERs; grouping them as SEAI allows means 1.
Source: Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 25 Sept 2026

The one-job-at-a-time order (windows and new controls first, a year apart) is our assumption about how people often start; SEAI does not publish it.

Self-managed or a One Stop Shop

€440 vs €300, a close call

Grant rates are the same on both schemes. What differs is which grants you end up with. Done one at a time in the usual order, this house loses about €1,290 to sequencing traps and repeat BERs; Cara's order keeps it. A One Stop Shop can also claim €1,150 of grants that exist only on its scheme (assessment, project management, ventilation, airtightness), against its own project management fee of about €700 and the assessment it charges for.

	Self-managed	One Stop Shop
Works, assessments and fees	€9,515	€10,475
Grants	€9,075	€10,175
You pay	€440	€300
Cash needed at the peak	€9,515	€400
How grants are paid	You pay, SEAI pays you back	Taken off the invoice

On paper a One Stop Shop is about €140 cheaper — within the uncertainty of our estimate of its fees, so treat the two as level on cost.
You can go at your own pace: 1 applications, each with an eight-month window.
The catch is cash: you pay first and SEAI pays you back, so you need about €9,515 available at the peak (less if your contractor agrees to take the grant directly).
Choose a One Stop Shop if you want one contract, grants off the invoice and the low-cost loan (available up to 31 December 2026). Self-manage if you want to go at your own pace, a stage at a time.

Grants only a One Stop Shop can claim: €1,150

Energy assessment (BER and advisory report) €350 · Grant exists only on the One Stop Shop scheme. Source: One Stop Shop: multiple energy upgrades (grant table), read 30 Apr 2026
Project management €800 · Pays towards the One Stop Shop's own project management fee (about €700 on these works). Source: One Stop Shop: multiple energy upgrades (grant table), read 30 Apr 2026

FixMyBER and Cara are not a One Stop Shop and cannot give access to that scheme. SEAI’s register lists the registered One Stop Shops; see them by county. The One Stop Shop fee is our estimate from SEAI’s sample assessment, which is why a small difference counts as a close call.

Cash flow, month by month

up to €9,515 out at the peak

Self-managed, you pay each contractor and SEAI pays the grant back afterwards.

When	What	Money	Running total
Month 0	Pre-works BER assessment	−€245	−€245
Month 2	Heat pump (application 2): works and post-works BER paid	−€9,270	−€9,515
Month 4	Heat pump (application 2): SEAI grant paid	+€9,075	−€440

The largest amount SEAI owes you at any one time is about €9,025, for roughly 2 months between paying the contractor and the grant arriving (post-works BER, forms, then SEAI's stated 4–6 weeks). The low-cost Home Energy Upgrade Loan cannot be used for self-managed works (and is available only up to 31 December 2026). If your contractor agrees to take the grant directly — SEAI allows it; it is their choice — your peak outlay falls to about €440.

Contractor taking the grant: Individual grants: Homeowner Application Guide, read 25 Sept 2026 · The low-cost loan: Home Energy Upgrade Loan, read 30 Jul 2026 · Timing is our assumption: about two months from paying for the works to the grant arriving.

What to apply for, and when

1 application, offer before any work

SEAI’s rule: the grant offer has to be in place before any work starts or materials are bought.

Heat pump (air to water) · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 2 — after the fabric works and their post-works BER
Radiators and pipework for the heat pump · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 2 — after the fabric works and their post-works BER
Renewable heat bonus · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 2 — after the fabric works and their post-works BER

Worth knowing

1 to check, 3 left out of the plan

The BER scale changed on 24 May 2026: new certificates show A0, A, B, C, D, E, F or G instead of A1 to G. SEAI's scheme rules still say B2, the lower half of the old B band. A new "B" covers a little more than the old B2 did, so a B on a new certificate does not always mean B2. Source: CSO Domestic BERs Q2 2026 — background notes, read 26 Sept 2026
Not in this plan: heating controls. The heating controls grant is not available alongside or after a heat pump grant — and the heat pump comes with its own controls. Do not spend on new controls for a system you are replacing. Source: Heating upgrade grants (controls), read 25 Sept 2026
Not in this plan: solar pv. Not planned by default for an apartment (roof access is shared). Tell Cara if you have your own roof.
Not in this plan: floor insulation. Not planned by default: it needs the floor type (suspended timber or solid) and is grant-aided only on the One Stop Shop scheme. Tell Cara if your floors are suspended timber. Source: One Stop Shop: multiple energy upgrades (grant table), read 30 Apr 2026

What this plan is based on

your answers, SEAI's figures, our assumptions

The house in this plan is the one published BERs most often describe for apartments built 2005–2010:

No wall type dominates in published BERs for apartments built 2005–2010 (44% filled cavity, 36% solid stone or brick, 11% unfilled cavity). This plan uses the most common, filled cavity.
Built after 2000, so the plan takes the windows as double glazing from 2000 or later and leaves them out, although 91% of these BERs record windows worse than 2.0 W/m²K. Get them priced if yours are among them.
Planned with a home directly above, so no attic of its own.
The example is heated by a gas boiler, the commonest heating in these BERs (54%). The plan is the same with oil, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters.

From 28,262 published BERs. SEAI BER Research Tool, file of 8 September 2026. A pattern across similar homes, not a fact about any one.

County: Don't knowThe plan does not depend on it.
House type: Apartment
Built: 2007 – 2010
Heating (example): Gas boilerThe plan is the same with oil, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters.
Walls: Cavity, already filledThe most common (44% filled cavity, 36% solid stone or brick, 11% unfilled cavity)
Windows: Double, 2000 or laterFrom the build date and published BERs for these homes
Attic: No attic of my own

This is a plan, not a BER assessment. Only an SEAI registered BER assessor can assess or certify a home.
Grant amounts and rules are SEAI's published figures as read on the dates shown beside each one. Whether a grant is paid is SEAI's decision on your application.
Costs are SEAI medians for this house type (Jan–Jun 2026) or labelled estimates — not quotes.
FixMyBER is not a One Stop Shop and cannot give access to the One Stop Shop scheme. Registered One Stop Shops are listed by SEAI.
Contractors are shown with their SEAI registration details only. SEAI registers contractors but does not endorse their work, and neither do we.

rules 2026-09-26.1