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Better with Money

Should you go green?

Tell us your rating today and where you want to get to. We’ll show the steps, what the steps typically cost after grants, what you could save, the mortgage rate you could aim for and what it might add to your home’s value.

Costs, grants and savings from SEAI and the Government. Last checked 14 November 2026.

Rates, grants and costs are figures from the supplied guide dated 14 November 2026 and have not been independently verified as current. Check with SEAI and your lender before deciding.

Your home

A few quick questions. The rest is worked out for you.

It’s on your BER cert. If your cert was issued after 24 May 2026 and shows only a letter, pick the middle grade for that letter, such as B2, C2 or D1.
B or better is what lenders’ green mortgage rates ask for. SEAI’s whole-home route is aimed at a minimum B.
Type of home
Walls
Cavity walls are common in homes built from the 1970s. Solid walls are more common in older homes. Not sure? Your assessor can tell you.
Where is it?
SEAI found price effects differ by area. This only affects the home-value estimate.

Value and mortgage

€
€
yrs
%
yrs
%
We’ve filled in a rate to match your target. For an A rating, the lowest advertised green rates start around 3.0% to 3.1% (AIB’s 3.0% is A-only and needs a low loan-to-value, and Bank of Ireland’s 3.1% needs A3 or better). For a B, Haven, PTSB and AIB advertise around 3.2% to 3.35%. These are from comparison sites in autumn 2026. Your rate depends on your lender, rating and loan-to-value, so replace it with a real quote.

The financial figures you enter here stay on your device and are not stored or sent anywhere.

Your plan

€

What you get

yrs
We assume you stay in the home until your mortgage ends. Change it if you’ll move sooner or later.
How these numbers are worked out

You put in: the cost to you after grants. For the whole-home route that’s SEAI’s median cost to homeowners for your type of home. For step by step it’s SEAI’s median cost of each upgrade you tick, minus the maximum grant for your home type. Medians are the middle of past jobs, not a quote.

Energy bills: the yearly saving on the Your plan tab, multiplied by the years you’ll stay. SEAI and the Government say a whole-home upgrade can save homeowners “up to” €1,120 a year, so this is a best case, at today’s energy prices.

Mortgage: the monthly difference between your rate and the green rate, for the years you’ll stay (never more than the years left on your mortgage), starting when your fixed rate ends. It only counts if you start below B and your plan targets B or better, and it assumes the green rate lasts. Rates change.

Cash back and the result: energy plus mortgage savings, minus what you put in. It leaves out any interest if you borrow to pay for the works, and it leaves out your home’s value, which only becomes money if you sell.

Home value: SEAI found that each step up the old 15-point BER scale was linked to an average 2.7% rise in sale price (1.7% in urban Dublin, 4.7% rural). We apply it once per step, compounding, from your rating today to your target.

The 3% upgrade loan

The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme is government-backed through the SBCI. Lenders include AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB and Avant Money, plus some credit unions.

€
Starts at what you pay in your plan.
yrs
The scheme allows 1 to 10 years.
%
Rates start from 3% APR and vary by lender. Bank of Ireland’s is variable, so check yours.
%

The rules of the scheme

  • •Loans from €5,000 to €75,000, unsecured, repaid over 1 to 10 years.
  • •You must be getting an SEAI grant for the same works.
  • •Works must go through an SEAI-registered One Stop Shop, Energy Partner or Community Project Co-ordinator.
  • •The works must be expected to improve your BER performance by at least 20%.
  • •At least 75% of the loan must go on energy works, counted after grants. Up to 25% can go on other home improvements.
  • •Loans are available until 31 December 2026, or until the scheme is fully subscribed, whichever comes first. AIB stops accepting applications on 27 November 2026, and approved loans must be drawn down by 31 December.
  • •Up to three properties per borrower, and you can draw the loan down before the works start.
Sources: SBCI, Bank of Ireland. Each lender applies its own lending criteria.

Every grant and support for a green upgrade

Checked on 14 November 2026, after Budget 2027 (6 October). The grant changes below were announced on 29 September and opened on 6 October, the same day as the Budget. We found no further changes to grant amounts in the Budget itself, which put €654.5 million behind SEAI’s 2027 home energy schemes and raised the tax-free solar export allowance to €600. Tap any one for who qualifies and where we checked.

This is the energy part of our guide. The full guide covers 296 supports and grants across 19 categories.

Open the full grants and entitlements guide

Grant amounts are maximums. Your approved amount depends on your home and the route you use. Eligibility rules apply, including the age of your home. Confirm everything with SEAI or your installer before you commit.

Getting your new rating

The steps

1. Know your starting point

Your BER cert is valid for 10 years. Since 24 May 2026 new certs use the simplified scale, and old certs stay valid. Old and new ratings match by letter, but the limits aren’t identical. For example, the new D band stops at 275 kWh/m² a year, where the old D2 went up to 300, so a reassessment can come out lower than your old letter.

2. Choose your route

Individual grants: you pick single upgrades and manage them with a registered contractor.

One Stop Shop: one company manages a full upgrade and the grant is deducted from the cost upfront. This is one of the routes the 3% loan accepts.

Warmer Homes: fully funded upgrades for homeowners on qualifying welfare payments.

3. Get approval before work starts

SEAI says you must have grant approval in place before you start the upgrades. For a heat pump, an assessor has to confirm your home is heat-pump ready first.

4. Ask for the predicted rating and saving

Before you pay for anything, ask your assessor or One Stop Shop for the predicted rating of your specific package and the estimated yearly saving, in writing. This tool uses SEAI averages. Your result depends on your actual walls, roof, windows and heating.

5. Get a new BER cert after the works

A BER from a registered assessor is the official record of your rating. The BER must be shown when a home is sold or rented. Send your new cert to your lender when you ask about a green rate.

6. Find out how the grant is paid

Through a One Stop Shop, the grant is deducted from the cost of the works upfront. For individual grants, your installer or SEAI will explain the claim process when you get approval.

The BER scale since 24 May 2026

RatingEnergy use (kWh/m² a year)Old sub-grades
A042 or lessNew. For homes with no fossil-fuel use
Aup to 75A1, A2, A3
Bup to 150B1, B2, B3
Cup to 225C1, C2, C3
Dup to 275D1, D2
Eup to 325E1, E2
Fup to 375F
Gover 375G
Source: CSO. See also SEAI’s guide to the new scale.

Sources for the numbers in this tool

  • •Costs of individual upgrades: SEAI median gross costs, January to June 2026, 23,412 upgrades (SEAI publication).
  • •Whole-home costs: SEAI One Stop Shop medians, January to June 2026, 583 private homes (SEAI).
  • •Energy saving: “up to €1,120 a year” for a whole-home upgrade (SEAI, October 2026), and “over €1,100” (Government, November 2026).
  • •Home value: SEAI analysis, August 2026.
  • •Green mortgage rates: lender rates as reported by comparison sites in autumn 2026, such as mortgagebible.ie. Rates change often.

This tool uses published averages and medians, and the numbers you enter. It can’t predict your actual BER, energy savings, grant amounts or sale price. It isn’t financial advice, and lender and scheme terms can change, so confirm them with your lender, SEAI or the SBCI before you commit.