If you are living in Ireland this is for you. As you are perhaps aware now the Irish Government is keen on encouraging the citizens to go for upgrades to critical building elements in their homes with a view to improve their energy efficiency, cut down on green house gas emissions and generally to have improved living conditions. Toward this end it grants specific financial aid for the initial investment cost through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, by implementing the HES or Home Energy Saving Scheme.

Can you apply?

This is a national scheme and therefore everyone (including landlords and multiple home owners) who put up houses before 2006 is entitled to apply. The year 2006 is made the latest limit because all houses built afterwards would have compulsorily followed the Building Regulations 2003 which generally make the building energy efficient anyway.

Note you must employ contractors who are registered with SEAI (for example Kinggroup.ie etc.), as one prime objective of the Authority is to improve the relevant construction standards, workmanship and techniques. Naturally all products and material used in the works for which grant is requested, must be new and unused before.

Only these upgrades are considered for grants

Currently only the following upgrade measures are considered.

• Roof Insulation

• Wall Insulation including cavity wall, internal dry lining or external insulation.

• Installation/retrofitting of high efficiency (90% to 98%) seasonal energy efficiency gas or oil fired boilers (which necessarily make them high quality condensing type boilers such as for eg. Viessmann etc.) with heating control up grade.

• Heating control up grades only.

• Once for a BER document after work completion (which is currently Euro 100)

Ineligibility for HES grant aid

Due to a multitude of reasons (for example the scale and type of work undertaken) your building upgrading may not make you qualify for the grant aid. Make sure you do not have any of the following short comings,

• Your proposed first grant application (and claim) for a measure on it’s own, must be Euro 500 or more.

• Your boiler replacement must not be for a unit with efficiency 90% or lower.

• When you are only replacing your boiler but not the heating control upgrades to the specified minimum standards.

• If you have already received a grant aid previously from any one of SEAI aid schemes for the same measures.

• When you do not fully comply with the scheme Terms and Conditions and the requirements set out in the Application Guide and the application form.

• Applicant must be the home owner/land lord and must have full procession of the property.

• The HES application form must be fully completed with valid and accurate at the time of application.

• Applicant must provide Bank account and sort code details to enable electronic payment of the grant.

• Applicant must agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions of the scheme.

• All contractors proposed to be employed must be registered with the SEAI between the dates of application completion.

• Adequate funding for that phase of the project (under which the application is made) must be available with SEAI at the time of approval.

• All the relevant conditions for the grant must be met by the applicant beforehand.

Whether it is Ireland or any other country, the conservation of the environment and the resources for the generations to come, optimization of fuel usage and other resources while providing comfortable and safe living conditions to ones dearest kin is a prime duty and right. In the years to come you will save enough to find better use for what you have been wasting up all this while. Failure to make use of the facilities made available by the State towards achieving these goals cannot be described as wise.