What energy efficiency grants are available in Ireland in 2026?

What’s keeping you back from investing in your building? 

Time, money, energy?

What we don’t often realise is that the drafty windows and inefficient heating systems in our buildings are costing us all three in the long run. 

Not everyone’s in the position to pump money into their homes, and budget squeezes for the likes of schools and universities mean that there’s less money available for building upgrades. 

But whilst meeting Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is top of the agenda for governments as part of the United Nation Member States’ goals, it’s worth considering where we can all come in to work towards a greener future in the next four years (even if those goals seem unachievable). 

The good news is that people seeking ways to boost the energy efficiency of their buildings in 2026 can get financial support for eco-friendly upgrades to their buildings that go some way to subsidising costs.

The recent snow has brought the importance of this to the fore again for us, particularly for education settings. When a school finally reopens, how it’s heated matters as much as how the technology in each classroom supports its learners. And with smart technology, each of these elements can be controlled simply from the same source that's accessible remotely, saving senior leadership teams several headaches as they assess the building’s safety to reopen. 

Unfortunately for those of us in Northern Ireland, these financial support opportunities mainly apply to the Republic of Ireland. 

We work all over Ireland designing and installing smart systems for residential and commercial buildings, so don’t hesitate to contact us to find out how you can use your grant funding for sustainable, headache-saving purposes. 

For residential properties

For homeowners in ROI (including landlords) seeking to boost the energy efficiency of their buildings, grants are available through the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI).

There are limited means-tested grants available in Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programmes (NISEP). These primarily relate to insulation. 

For commercial properties

As with residential buildings, SEAI is the place to look for business grants in ROI.

With these, you can start with an audit and then request rapid or tailored support.

Areas covered with these grants that we can support are building management system (BMS) controls and optimisation, along with integration with other areas of grant support available like EV charging, solar panels, and heat pumps.

The equivalent in Northern Ireland may be available if the Invest NI Energy Efficiency Grant is reinstated - keep an eye on this one, as it was paused for evaluation in 2024.

For schools 

‘Where has this option come from?’ you might ask. 

That suggesting that schools can benefit from smart technology sparks surprise is exactly why we want to share its use cases for education. The untapped potential in education for building sustainable schools is immense. 

Financial support for energy efficient building upgrades for schools in the Republic of Ireland is available, again, through SEAI. Financial support is also available from the Department of Education and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

These range from community grants, an energy efficiency upgrade scheme, and grants for installing solar panels

According to SEAI, ‘typically 60-70% of energy consumption in a school is expended on heating demand, with 30%-40% on electrical demand’ like lighting. If education bodies are spending this much money on energy, it makes sense to ensure that the school buildings themselves support this energy being used effectively and heat is kept inside.

Suggested grant uses to decrease these percentages are installing a BMS system, upgrading mechanical systems and upgrading electrics. 

See Collinstown Park School as an example where energy upgrades like the above reduced the school’s lighting costs by 90% and overall electricity bills by 50%.

Or Dublin City University where energy upgrades were made to the Helix Theatre thanks to SEAI funding, resulting in over 27,725kg of savings in carbon. 

Pair this work with Ireland’s Green Schools initiatives and staff and pupils can work together on promoting long-term, whole-school action for the environment. 

Whilst the same grant incentives aren’t available in Northern Ireland, this year, Northern Ireland became the second country in the world where 50% of schools have an active Green Flag, which is awarded by the Eco Schools body. 

This is five years ahead of the UNESCO target of 50% of schools ‘greened’ by 2030. 

Paired with AV technology that truly supports education providers and learners, there’s clearly huge potential for education providers to rebuild in ways that make their buildings work harder and smarter.

Want to know more? You can pick our brains at info@epitomeliving.com.