The SEAI heat pump grant in 2026: how much, who qualifies, and what order to do things

A house can get up to €14,500 towards an air to water heat pump, and an apartment up to €11,500. The home must have been built and lived in before 2021, the installer must be SEAI-registered, and you must have the grant offer in hand before any work starts. Older homes may need a heat loss assessment first.

Figures checked 18 October 2026 against SEAI's heat pump grant page and the government's boiler scrappage announcement. This is a plain-English summary, not the terms and conditions.

How much is the grant?

For a house with an air to water, ground source, exhaust air or water to water heat pump, the grant is made of three parts:

The grant can never be more than the cost of the work. That matters for apartments, where SEAI's median installed cost (€9,025 in the first half of 2026) is below the €11,500 maximum. The grant is the same for a detached house, a semi-detached house and a mid-terrace house.

Who qualifies

• The home was built and occupied before 2021. New builds are expected to have a heat pump anyway, so they are not eligible.
• The installer is on SEAI's registered contractor list. Ask for the registration, and check it.
• You apply before the work starts and have the grant offer in writing before anyone touches the boiler. Work started early is not funded.
• The home has a low enough heat loss. For homes built before 2007 this is checked with a Heat Loss Indicator, explained next.
• A BER assessment is done after the work, and the declaration of works is submitted to SEAI. SEAI pays the grant after that, and may inspect the installation.

The Heat Loss Indicator rule, for homes built before 2007

A heat pump only works well, and cheaply, in a house that holds its heat. So SEAI checks the Heat Loss Indicator (HLI), a number from the BER assessment that measures how much heat the house loses per square metre, in W/(K·m²).

• If your home was built before 2007, you need a technical assessment unless you have a valid BER that shows an HLI of 2.3 or less. SEAI pays €200 towards the assessment, and it must be done before you apply.
• If your home was built in 2007 or later, no assessment is required. You can still get one.

There is a separate page on the Heat Loss Indicator: what it measures, where to find yours, and what to do if you are above 2.3.

If the assessment finds the heat loss is too high, you will be told to improve the fabric first, usually attic or wall insulation, before a heat pump is funded. That is not a formality: an installer who skips the heat loss question is quoting for a system that may cost a lot to run. Our quote checklist starts with the heat loss survey for that reason.

The €2,000 boiler scrappage grant

Announced on 29 September 2026 and in force from 6 October 2026, this adds €2,000 to the heat pump grant when an oil or gas boiler is removed from a house built before 2021. SEAI has confirmed that households with a heat pump grant application already in progress get the extra €2,000 automatically, including those who have already submitted their declaration of works. At the time of writing the government's announcement said the full terms were still being finalised, so check SEAI's page for the current conditions.

The boiler scrappage page has the detail. One practical point: a quote dated before October 2026 will show the old grant. If your installer has written "after grant" on a price, ask which grant figure they used, and whether the price is the full price or the price with the grant already deducted. Our check asks the same question, because the two read very differently.

The steps, in the right order

Most lost grants come from doing these out of order.

1. Get quotes from SEAI-registered contractors. Three is the usual advice.
2. If your home was built before 2007 and you have no BER showing an HLI of 2.3 or less, get a technical assessment first. SEAI gives €200 towards it.
3. Apply to SEAI and wait for your grant offer. Do not start work before you have it.
4. Have the work done.
5. Get a post-works BER. SEAI's median cost for a BER in 2026 is about €280.
6. Submit the declaration of works to SEAI. SEAI pays the grant, and may inspect.

Some installers handle the application for you. That is fine, but SEAI pays the grant to the applicant or the contractor only once the works are complete (a One Stop Shop deducts it from the price upfront instead), and you are the one who is out of pocket if a step is missed, so keep copies of everything.

What you pay after the grant

SEAI's median installed cost for a semi-detached house was €16,741 in the first half of 2026. With the full €14,500 grant that is €2,241; without the radiator upgrade part it is €4,241. The cost page has the figures for each type of home, and the running costs page shows whether the saving on fuel pays that back.