There are two SEAI insulation grants: the attic insulation grant (up to €2,000, or €2,500 for first-time buyers and qualifying welfare recipients) and the wall insulation grant (from €700 for cavity insulation in an apartment up to €8,000 for external wrap on a detached house). Your home must have been built and occupied before 31 December 2010. Grant amounts were increased on 3 February 2026 and verified against seai.ie on 2 June 2026.
Attic Insulation Grant — Up to €2,500
SEAI describes attic insulation as often the most cost-effective upgrade you can make: a house loses an average of 20–30% of its heat through the roof.
| Who | Maximum attic insulation grant |
|---|---|
| Standard applicants | €2,000 |
| First-time buyers | €2,500 |
| Homeowners on qualifying welfare payments | €2,500 |
Wall Insulation Grants — Full Rate Table by House Type
There are three types of wall insulation, and the grant depends on which type you choose and what kind of house you have:
- Cavity wall insulation — insulation is injected into the cavity from outside. Cheapest and least disruptive. No planning permission needed.
- Internal insulation (dry lining) — insulated boards fixed to the inside of external walls. Reduces room size slightly.
- External wall insulation (“the wrap”) — insulating material fixed to the outside of the walls and rendered over. Most expensive, biggest impact, and changes the look of the house.
| House type | Cavity wall | Internal (dry lining) | External (the wrap) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | €1,800 | €4,500 | €8,000 |
| Semi-detached / end-of-terrace | €1,300 | €3,500 | €6,000 |
| Mid-terrace | €850 | €2,000 | €3,500 |
| Apartment | €700 | €1,500 | €3,000 |
Homeowners on qualifying welfare payments get a higher cavity wall grant: €2,300 (detached), €1,700 (semi-detached/end-of-terrace), €1,100 (mid-terrace) or €900 (apartment).
Important: partial insulation is not eligible. To get the grant, all external walls of the home must be insulated — SEAI calls this a whole-surface solution.
Already Claimed a Wall Insulation Grant? You Can Now Claim a Second One
A 2026 rule change: homeowners who previously received a wall insulation grant can now apply for a second wall insulation measure — designed for people upgrading towards a heat-pump-ready home. The rules:
- If you previously got a cavity wall grant → you can now apply for internal or external insulation
- If you previously got an internal insulation grant → you can apply for external insulation only
- If you previously got an external insulation grant → no second measure available
Who Qualifies
- The home must have been built and occupied before 31 December 2010
- The home must have an MPRN (an electricity meter connection)
- Eligible applicants: owner occupiers, landlords, companies, registered charities, holiday home owners and approved housing bodies
- The work must be done by an SEAI-registered contractor, and grant approval must be in place before work starts
Free Insulation If You're On a Welfare Payment
If you receive Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment, One Parent Family Payment, Domiciliary Care Allowance, Carer's Allowance (living with the person you care for), or long-term Jobseeker's/Disability Allowance with a young child — you may qualify for the Warmer Homes Scheme, which does attic and wall insulation completely free. The trade-off is the waiting list: currently 24–26 months.
How to Apply
- Get quotes from SEAI-registered contractors — registered for the specific insulation type you want.
- Apply online at seai.ie before any work starts. Online applications are typically approved in minutes. You have 30 days to accept the offer.
- Get the work done — you have 8 months from the grant offer to complete and claim.
- Post-works BER assessment — required before payment (a €50 BER grant offsets part of the cost).
- Get paid — SEAI pays the grant into your bank account within 4–6 weeks of receiving your paperwork.
Insulation First, Then Everything Else
Insulation is the right first step in any home energy upgrade — and SEAI's grant rules actively enforce that order:
- The new windows and doors grant (up to €4,000 + €1,600) requires your attic and walls to already have good insulation before you can claim it.
- A heat pump (grant up to €12,500) only works efficiently in a well-insulated home — SEAI assesses this before approving.
- Solar panels (grant €1,800) are the exception — they work regardless of insulation, and can be installed before or after.
Insulation cuts your heating bills; solar panels cut your electricity bills. The €1,800 SEAI solar grant is a separate scheme that doesn't affect your insulation grant. Solar Quotes Ireland matches you with SEAI-registered solar installers in your county — free, no obligation.
Get Free Solar Quotes →Frequently Asked Questions
SEAI insulation grants in 2026 range from €700 to €8,000 depending on the insulation type and house type. Attic insulation: up to €2,000 (€2,500 for first-time buyers and welfare recipients). Cavity wall: €700–€1,800. Internal dry lining: €1,500–€4,500. External wall insulation: €3,000–€8,000. Detached houses get the highest amounts; apartments the lowest.
Completely free insulation is available through the SEAI Warmer Homes Scheme for homeowners who receive certain welfare payments — including Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment, One Parent Family Payment, Domiciliary Care Allowance and Carer's Allowance — in a home built before 2006 with a BER of C or lower. Everyone else can claim the standard SEAI insulation grants, which cover part of the cost.
Homes built and occupied before 31 December 2010 qualify for SEAI insulation grants. The home must have an MPRN (electricity connection), the work must be done by an SEAI-registered contractor, and grant approval must be in place before any work starts. Owner occupiers, landlords, companies, charities and holiday home owners can all apply.
Yes, in one specific situation. Since 2026, homeowners who previously claimed a wall insulation grant can apply for a second wall insulation measure: cavity wall recipients can apply for internal or external insulation, and internal insulation recipients can apply for external insulation. Homeowners who already claimed the external wrap grant cannot claim a second wall measure.
Cavity wall insulation is cheaper, faster and less disruptive — but it only works if your home has suitable cavity walls. External wall insulation (the wrap) delivers a bigger thermal improvement and suits older solid-wall homes, but costs substantially more even after the €8,000 maximum grant. Many homes built before the 1980s have solid walls and can only use internal or external insulation. An SEAI-registered contractor or BER assessor can tell you which your home needs.
Sources: SEAI Wall Insulation Grants; SEAI Attic Insulation Grants; SEAI Individual Energy Upgrade Grants. All amounts verified against live seai.ie pages on 2 June 2026 — check seai.ie for the latest figures before applying.
Published: 2 June 2026. Author: Neil Russell.