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FixMyBER

Retrofit plan for a detached house built 1970–1989

Start with a BER assessment to measure the house, then the insulation, windows and doors in one grant application, then the heat pump in a second application, then solar panels on their own scheme. Self-managed, about €22,150 in SEAI grants leaves about €30,623 to pay.

A worked example of the house published BERs most often describe: filled cavity walls (62%), heated now by an oil boiler. The plan is the same with gas, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters. Make it yours

A close call on cost: about €30,623 self-managed in 3 stages, or about €29,803 through a One Stop Shop all at once.

Grants
€22,150
You pay
€30,623
Order saves
€9,160

Self-managed, 3 grant applications. 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.

  1. 1Find out

  2. 2Insulation, windows and doors

  3. 3The heat pump

  4. 4Solar panels

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What doing it in order keeps

about €9,160

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 timeThis plan
Works and assessments€57,033€52,773
Grants paid€17,250€22,150
You pay€39,783€30,623

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

€30,623 vs €29,803, 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 €9,160 to sequencing traps and repeat BERs; Cara's order keeps it. A One Stop Shop can also claim €4,850 of grants that exist only on its scheme (assessment, project management, ventilation, airtightness), against its own project management fee of about €4,150 and the assessment it charges for.

Self-managedOne Stop Shop
Works, assessments and fees€52,773€56,553
Grants€22,150€26,750
You pay€30,623€29,803
Cash needed at the peak€33,743€29,803
How grants are paidYou pay, SEAI pays you backTaken off the invoice
  • On paper a One Stop Shop is about €820 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: 3 applications, each with an eight-month window.
  • The catch is cash: you pay first and SEAI pays you back, so you need about €33,743 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: €4,850

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 €33,743 out at the peak

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

WhenWhatMoneyRunning total
Month 0Pre-works BER assessment−€280−€280
Month 2Fabric (application 1): works and post-works BER paid−€23,333−€23,613
Month 4Fabric (application 1): SEAI grant paid+€7,650−€15,963
Month 8Heat pump (application 2): works and post-works BER paid−€17,780−€33,743
Month 10Heat pump (application 2): SEAI grant paid+€12,700−€21,043
Month 14Solar PV (its own scheme): works and post-works BER paid−€11,380−€32,423
Month 16Solar PV (its own scheme): SEAI grant paid+€1,800−€30,623

The largest amount SEAI owes you at any one time is about €12,700, 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 €30,623.

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

3 applications, offer before any work

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

  • Attic insulation · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 1 — before any fabric works start or materials are bought
  • Windows · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 1 — before any fabric works start or materials are bought
  • External doors · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 1 — before any fabric works start or materials are bought
  • Heat pump technical assessment · SEAI Better Energy Homes (individual grants) · Application 2 — after the fabric works and their post-works BER
  • 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
  • Solar panels (PV) · SEAI Solar PV scheme · Solar PV application — any time; its own BER

Worth knowing

2 to check, 2 left out of the plan

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 detached houses built 1970–1989:

  • 62% of published BERs for detached houses built 1970–1989 record filled cavity walls, so this plan uses them.
  • 88% of them record windows that lose more heat than 2.0 W/m²K (new windows must reach 1.4), so this plan replaces them.
  • 81% of them show an attic short of the grant standard, so the plan tops it up.
  • The example is heated by an oil boiler, the commonest heating in these BERs (77%). The plan is the same with gas, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters.

From 16,188 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
Detached house
Built
1970 – 1989
Heating (example)
Oil boilerThe plan is the same with gas, LPG, solid fuel or storage heaters.
Walls
Cavity, already filled62% of published BERs for these homes
Windows
Double, before 2000From the build date and published BERs for these homes
Attic insulation
Don't knowPlanned as needing a top-up; the installer measures it.
  • 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

Make this plan yours