Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme

Loans are available for applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme and are investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades where those works are being funded by a grant from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Loans must be used to upgrade the energy efficiency and decarbonisation of qualifying residential properties.

Loans to support the installation of solar PV panels only are not eligible under the scheme on a standalone basis. However, solar PV panels are eligible for funding and can be installed as part of a deeper retrofit (alongside other upgrade works) under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (One Stop Shop Service) or Community Energy Grant Scheme.

There is a two-step process to apply for a loan under the scheme:

STEP 1 - Contact an SEAI Registered One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator to plan your home energy upgrade. They will:

• advise on the options for energy upgrades that are suitable for your home,
• give guidance on what financial supports are available, including SEAI grants and the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, and
• provide a Home Energy Summary Report for qualifying energy upgrades. You will need this document to apply for the loan.

You will need a valid Building Energy Rating (BER) on your home. A One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator can tell you if your planned works are expected to improve the BER by a minimum of 20%, which is required for the loan. Check the BER register to see if there is a valid BER on your home.

At the time of the loan, you must be proposing to spend at least 75% of the loan amount on energy upgrades (the cost of the energy upgrades under qualifying SEAI grant schemes, net of the SEAI grant amount).

STEP 2 - Apply for a low-cost loan with one of the finance providers participating in the scheme.

You will need a Home Energy Summary Report signed by a One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator to apply, as it confirms the details of your planned energy upgrade works and the expected SEAI grants.

Please note – It is only at this stage that the participating finance provider will make a decision on credit approval. Approval of finance is subject to the credit criteria, policies and procedures of the participating finance providers.

Loans range from a minimum of €5,000 up to a maximum of €75,000 per property. If an applicant is looking to borrow for more than one property (maximum three properties), the maximum total amount is set at €225,000 per borrower.

Loan terms range from a minimum of one year up to a maximum of 10 years.

Loan interest rates vary between participating finance providers but are reduced from standard rates.

No. Under the scheme, no security or personal guarantee is required.

Loans to support the installation of solar PV panels only are not eligible under the scheme on a standalone basis. However, solar PV panels can be installed as part of a deeper retrofit (alongside other upgrade works) under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (One Stop Shop Service) or Community Energy Grant Scheme.

Other eligible measures for Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme loans include the fabric upgrade of buildings (such as insulation) and renewable energy solutions (such as heat pumps).

Where a homeowner is using the loan to pay for works under the SEAI’s Better Energy Homes Scheme for Individual Energy Upgrade Grants, up to 25% of the amount borrowed can be used for other non-eligible home upgrades, which may include solar PV panels.

The Home Energy Summary Report is a one-page document confirming the details of the planned energy upgrade works.

To get a Home Energy Summary Report, you must contact a SEAI Registered One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-Ordinator to plan your upgrades and get a quotation. You will need a valid Building Energy Rating (BER) on your home so that the One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator can calculate the expected improvement in the BER (energy performance) and complete the Home Energy Summary Report. Check the BER register to see if there is a valid BER on your home.

The Home Energy Summary Report includes information on the property, such as the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) and the proposed upgrades, including the calculated uplift in energy performance and the total proposed costs of the project.

This report must be given to a participating finance provider in order to apply for the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme.

No. There is no charge for the Home Energy Summary Report.

To apply for the loan, you will need a Home Energy Summary Report signed by a One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator as it confirms the details of your planned energy upgrade works. To get a Home Energy Summary Report, contact a SEAI Registered One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-Ordinator to plan your upgrades and get a quotation.

You will also need a valid Building Energy Rating (BER) on your home so that the One Stop Shop or Community Project Co-ordinator can calculate the expected improvement in the BER (energy performance) and fill in the Home Energy Summary Report. Check the BER register to see if there is a valid BER on your home.

If you do not have a valid BER certificate, you will need to pay for a BER assessment by a registered BER assessor. The cost may vary depending on the energy assessor and the size of your home.

The only document relevant for the loan application is the Home Energy Summary Report.

Please note - The Home Energy Summary Report is not a guarantee of credit approval. Approval of loans under the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme is subject to the finance providers’ own credit criteria, policies and procedures.

Yes. You can get more than one loan, provided that the total of those loans does not exceed the maximum loan amount available to you under the scheme (maximum loan of €75,000 per property, maximum aggregate loan of €225,000 per borrower – three properties maximum).

No. All properties upgraded must be located in the Republic of Ireland.

Loans will be available up to 31 December 2026 (unless the scheme is fully allocated before then).

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will confirm the home energy upgrade works supported by the Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme and will work with all parties concerned to minimise the administrative burden on homeowners applying for both loans and SEAI grants.

• The applicant must be a natural person (meaning an individual, not a company) acting for his/her own benefit and not on behalf of someone else
• The applicant must not be a sanctioned person or in breach of certain restrictive measures
• The applicant must not be engaged in certain illegal activities or illegal economic activities
• The applicant must be resident in Ireland
• The applicant must not be tax resident in a non-compliant jurisdiction
• The applicant must not, to the best of his/her knowledge, be in an exclusion situation (including but not limited to being bankrupt, subject to insolvency proceedings, subject of a final judgment for fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering or terrorist financing, terrorist offences or human trafficking)
• The applicant must be able to provide certain confirmations in the scheme documentation, including that he/she will undertake the energy efficiency investment under the scheme on up to a maximum of three properties owned by him/her
• The applicant must be availing of a grant under a SEAI schemes for the purpose of funding (in part) the energy efficiency investment under the scheme
• The applicant must confirm ownership of an eligible property (see Eligible Property Criteria section below) by providing a self-declaration and the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) for the property

Please note – The legal documents issued by the scheme finance providers will contain the full terms and conditions (including eligibility criteria) applicable to the scheme.

• The loan must be new
• The loan must be entered into by a finance provider during the relevant period of the scheme
• The loan must be in the form of a term loan
• The loan must have a fixed repayment schedule providing for equal monthly instalments or equal monthly principal payments
• The loan must be denominated in euro (EUR)
• The loan agreement must be valid, binding and enforceable under applicable law
• For loans issued with the specific purpose of financing major rehabilitation of existing buildings, any such construction must comply with national energy standards.
• Loans with a “bullet repayment profile” (entire amount to be repaid at maturity) or “balloon” repayment profile (30% or more to be repaid at maturity) are not eligible under the scheme
• The proceeds of a loan must be applied towards the financing of eligible investment costs of an energy efficiency investment in accordance with the terms and conditions of a SEAI Scheme, and the energy efficiency investment must be carried out by a SEAI Project Intermediary
• The financing made available under the loan must not be used for refinancing of existing term loan debt, residential property renovation that has previously received other SEAI-funded grants for the same energy efficiency investment, and/or installation of any form of fossil fuel burners
• The proposed minimum improvement in the energy performance of the property must be at least 20% when compared to the energy performance of the property before the energy efficiency investment commences
• The loan must finance an energy efficiency investment carried out in compliance with minimum requirements with respect of environmental legislation and information access
• The proposed approved upgrade works costs, net of the proposed SEAI grant amount, must be at least 75% of the financing provided under the loan

Please note – The legal documents issued by the scheme finance providers will contain the full terms and conditions (including eligibility criteria) applicable to the scheme.

• The property must be a residential property in the Republic of Ireland
• The property must not have been used in part for commercial purposes and in part for residential purposes at any time in previous 12 months, and the borrower must undertake not to use the property for such purposes for at least 12 months after they obtain finance
• The property must not have been subject to one or more short-term lettings at any time in previous 12 months, and the borrower must undertake not to use the property for such purposes for at least 12 months after they obtain finance
• The property must not have been used as a holiday home at any time in previous 12 months, and the borrower must undertake not to use the property for such purposes for at least 12 months after they obtain finance

Please note – The legal documents issued by the scheme finance providers will contain the full terms and conditions (including eligibility criteria) applicable to the scheme.

Please read the SBCI Data Protection Statement.

The scheme will operate under the De Minimis Regulation.

State aid may arise on loans granted to any homeowner in which the underlying property (i) is currently being used; (ii) has been used in the previous 12 months; or (iii) will be used in the next 12 months for any rental or similar arrangement.

If the property/properties have been used for the above purposes, then there is “economic activity”, and State aid may arise on the grant of the loan(s) in respect of that property/properties.

Loans to other homeowners will not usually generate any State aid.

For a more extensive description of the State aid measures applicable to the scheme, please refer to the relevant Regulation.