People with solar panels will now be able to get a grant for a battery. © Getty Image
Grant of up to €2,000 will be available to scrap an old fossil fuel boiler.
The Cabinet has agreed to a string of new grants to help people replace old heating boilers, install batteries with solar panels, and insulate their homes.
The measures are aimed at making it easier and more affordable for households and businesses to improve energy efficiency, install renewable energy technologies, and switch to cleaner heating systems.
The changes that come in from next Tuesday, Budget Day, will see the introduction of a grant of €2,000 to help households fund the scrapping of a fossil fuel heating boiler.
This applies to houses built before 2021.
They will be encouraged to get a heat pump and other renewable heating systems.
Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment officials estimate that such a system would save a household €185 a year.
In relation to the boiler scrappage scheme, all eligible homeowners with a heat pump application already in progress will receive an additional boiler scrappage grant of €2,000.
The uplift will be added automatically for eligible homeowners, the department said.
There will be a grant of €600 for home battery storage systems.
From next month, homes built before 2025 will qualify.
Savings from having panels can be up to €741 a year, the officials have calculated.
People on certain social welfare payments will be fully funded if they opt to have panels and a battery system installed into their home under the Warmer Home Scheme.
Those who do not qualify for the Warmer Home Scheme, but are on one of seven qualifying social welfare payments, will be able to get a grant of up to €9,000 for panels and a battery system.
A pilot scheme is being introduced to encourage landlords to put solar panels and install a battery on properties they rent. A grant of up to €9,000 will be available.
The renter could benefit from electricity savings of up to €878 a year, the department said.
Medically vulnerable people will have panels and a battery installed for free.
There will also grants for landlords to insulate homes.
And there are new supports for businesses that seek to improve energy efficiency.
Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien said: “A particular focus of this package is ensuring that households most exposed to high energy costs can benefit from the energy transition.
“Enhanced supports for households at risk of energy poverty, medically vulnerable customers, lower-income homeowners and renters will help ensure that those who need support most can access the benefits of lower energy bills.”
The minister said the package also boosts support for solar installations for business, as well as other energy efficiency measures.
He said a record €640m allocation was secured for residential retrofit programmes in Budget 2026.
There is a target of 73,000 home energy upgrades in 2026.
Applications for Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) grants have more than doubled year-on-year, with 100,000 applications processed since the start of this year.
More than 287,000 home energy improvements have been supported by SEAI grants since 2019.
Mr O’Brien said: “The only long-term solution to high energy bills is to stop relying on the fossil fuels that drive them, and the best way to do that is through retrofit.”
He said there has been unprecedented demand to energy upgrade programmes this year.
(Source – Irish Independent – Personal Finance – Charlie Weston – 29/09/2026)