.jpg "What is the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme?")
The Government-backed scheme provides homeowners with low-cost finance to help improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme is a €500 million scheme that was launched by the Government in April 2024.
It's designed to help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes with the support of access to low-cost finance.
Although numerous grants are available to those carrying out energy-efficiency upgrades, they won’t cover the full cost of making your home warmer and more energy efficient. Especially if you're carrying out a deep retrofit. As a result, people will either need to have significant savings or else take out a loan.
The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme helps bridge this gap by providing homeowners with access to low-cost loans.
Between now and the end of 2026 (when the scheme is due to end) the scheme is expected to help cover over 5,000 home energy upgrades.
Interested and want to know if you qualify? Read on…
Who is eligible to apply for a Home Energy Upgrade Loan?
To apply for a loan under the scheme you must be living in Ireland and own the property in question (either as a landlord or a homeowner).
If you own more than one property you can apply for up to three loans on three separate properties.
How much can I borrow?
You can borrow between €5,000 and €75,000 per property. And you can repay the money over one to ten years.
What can I use the money for?
The money must mainly be used for measures that improve the energy efficiency of your home. This includes things like attic insulation, wall insulation, new heating controls, or the installation of a heat pump or solar panels.
However deep retrofits in particular often require decorating work like painting and plastering to be carried out afterwards, so 25% of the funds can be used for non-energy efficiency purposes like these.
The works that you carry out must improve the building energy rating (BER) of your home by a minimum of 20% and the work must be done by either:
How and where can I apply for a Home Energy Upgrade Loan?
There are a few steps you must follow before you can apply for a loan under the scheme.
1. Get a home energy assessment
Before you apply for a low-cost loan you must get an energy assessment of your property by an SEAI Registered One Stop Shop, an Energy Partner or a Community Project Coordinator.
Someone will come visit your home and a detailed energy assessment of the property will be carried out and your upgrade options determined.
Once the assessment is complete, you’ll be given a Home Energy Summary Report which will outline your options and the associated costs. You can then apply for a loan if the upgrades recommended in the report can lead to at least a 20% improvement in your home’s current BER.
Note: there will be a charge for this report. Prices vary but expect to be charged at least €600. However the SEAI offers a grant of €350 for getting the report so the net cost to you may be just €250.
2. Get an SEAI home energy upgrade grant
To apply for a loan you must also qualify for an SEAI home energy upgrade grant for the work.
Your SEAI registered service provider will apply for one of these grants for you.
3. Apply for a Home Energy Upgrade Loan
Once you have your Home Energy Summary Report and have successfully applied for an SEAI home energy upgrade grant you can then apply for a low-cost loan under the scheme with either AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB.
Other lenders like Avant Money and several credit unions are also hoping to sign up to the scheme over the coming year.
The lender you choose will review your application according to their own lending criteria and terms and conditions. There is no guarantee that you’ll get loan approval just because you have received a Home Energy Summary Report or got SEAI grant approval.
4. Begin the work on your property
When your loan is approved, you can begin your home energy upgrade work.
What rate of interest will I pay?
The rate of interest will depend on how much you’re borrowing and the lender you borrow it from. However rates from 3.60% (APR) are on offer from PTSB. This is very competitive and compares to standard home improvement rates of between 5% and 10% from other lenders.
Participating lenders can offer much lower rates because they’re subsidised by the Government and the loans are backed by the European Investment Bank.
Everybody wants a comfortable warm home with low energy bills but despite the generous grants available from the SEAI, our research indicates that the upfront costs of a home energy upgrade are a significant barrier for homeowners who don’t have sufficient savings.
This loan scheme will remove this barrier enabling more people to make their homes warmer, more comfortable, healthier, more sustainable and energy efficient,
Stephen O'Conor, managing director of Electric Ireland Superhomes, an SEAI registered one stop shop
A reminder
Although this is a subsidised loan, the usual caveats apply as when taking on any type of finance.
Make sure you can afford the repayments. If you fail to make repayments on time, this could affect your credit rating and your ability to access credit in the future.
And make sure you weigh up the pros and cons. The payback on a deep retrofit can be up to 20 years or more.
How else can I use less energy and save money?
One of the main objectives of an energy-efficiency upgrade is to use less energy and save money.
But there are other ways to save on your energy bills.
And if you're looking to save even more money while continuing to reduce your impact on the environment, follow these 12 easy tips to use less water and save money
Or check out this great list of ways to reduce your carbon footprint, while saving on your everyday expenses.
And another great way to save on your energy bills is to switch to a cheaper supplier...
Switch and save
Most suppliers offer big discounts for an entire year to those who switch.
So switching to a new provider is a great way to cut down on your energy costs.
You can compare tariffs and deals from all of Ireland’s energy suppliers on bonkers.ie in just a few clicks. With our energy comparison service, switching has never been easier!
And don't forget to try out our other comparison tools for broadband, insurance, and banking products to see what else you could save money on.
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