Are you entitled to a free energy renovation of your home? – The Irish Times

Do you or someone you know receive the fuel allowance? What you may not know is that recipients can also qualify for up to $30,000 in government-funded home renovation work.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) fully funded energy upgrade program aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty.

The free upgrade work is available to recipients of certain social benefits who live in their own home, provided it was built and occupied before 2006. It no longer has to be occupied by you since then, but simply occupied. Among those eligible are those receiving the fuel reimbursement.

With eligibility for the fuel allowance being extended in Budget 2025, it’s worth checking whether you or a loved one now qualify. According to estimates from the Ministry of Social Protection, around 9,200 additional households will be eligible for the fuel allowance from January.

About 4,000 of these receive an informal care allowance. These households were already eligible for the conversion scheme. However, due to the extension of the fuel allowance for the elderly, 5,200 new households are eligible for the free renovation works.

The higher fuel surcharge for over-70s means test ignoring will be extended to people aged 66 and over, as part of Heather Humphries’ Budget 2025 welfare package. Fuel surcharge is an income-related payment. If you are already receiving means-tested benefits, you have already met the means test and do not need to do it again.

And if you’re eligible for the fuel allowance now, it’s worth applying for the Fully Funded Energy Upgrade Scheme straight away.

Others who remain eligible for the scheme include recipients of the Working Family Allowance, Single Parent Family Allowance, Home Care Allowance, Informal Care Allowance and Disability Allowance where these benefits have been received for more than six months and there is a child is younger than seven years old. People who have been receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance for more than six months and have a child under the age of seven are also eligible.

Energy upgrade

So what do you get? Free attic, cavity wall, exterior and interior wall insulation and draft proofing, energy-efficient lighting and facade cladding. Depending on your home’s rating, the Fully Funded Energy Upgrade program can provide thousands of dollars in upgrades. The average expenditure on a qualifying home this year is €26,602.

Sometimes brand new heating systems and windows are also installed as part of the plan.

Households get a warmer house, a lower energy bill and a more valuable asset. Because such upgrades normally cost tens of thousands of euros, even with subsidies, these types of renovations would otherwise be out of reach for these households.

About 5,255 households have benefited from the free energy upgrade program so far this year, the Ministry of Environment and Climate said.

Elderly people who live in their own homes and receive a fuel allowance are typical beneficiaries of the scheme.

Recipients of the home care allowance have also benefited from this. This is a non-means tested payment for those caring for a child under 16 who has additional needs. It is not based on a particular type of disability, but rather the degree of physical or mental impairment that results in the child requiring “substantially more care and attention than another child of the same age,” according to the criteria.

One householder receiving benefits for an autistic child had his home renovated after being on the waiting list for less than two years. The work includes installing attic insulation, a mixture of interior and exterior wall insulation, vents and free energy efficient light bulbs. The estimated cost of these retrofit works was €30,000.

Paying for the work themselves would not have been possible, as caring for their child means working fewer hours. The Ber rating of their house rose from D2 to C1. Installing thermal controls would increase the rating to a B3, making them eligible to switch to a green mortgage with a lower rate.

Application process

As of September, there were 20,305 households on the waiting list for the scheme. The average turnaround time for a home is between 17 and 20 months from the time of application. Signing up now will probably mean another winter or two until your home is a lot warmer and more energy efficient, but at least you’re in line. Homes built before 1993 and homes with a pre-works Ber of E, F or G are given priority.

You can apply for the scheme on the SEAI website. If you qualify, a SEAI expert will visit your home and recommend upgrades based on its age, size and your existing heating system.

In a budget criticized for short-termism, this plan goes against the grain. For good reason. Longer-term measures, such as modernization, make more sense than subsidizing our energy consumption through energy bills. Subsidizing the energy consumption of drafty homes is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.

You can contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions about personal finance that you would like us to answer. If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here.