Currently, the Better Energy Homes scheme is available for homeowners to apply for €800 grant aid towards a solar thermal system. There are a number of important things to keep in mind regarding solar thermal under the Better Energy Homes Scheme : - The contractor must be registered with SEAI : See registered contractor search page – Select “county” and “solar heating” options
- The solar collector must be registered with SEAI : See Greener Homes Scheme phase lll : solar collector registered list
- The solar thermal installation must contribute a required amount of renewable energy per square metre of floor area in order to be eligible for the grant. Full technical details of this requirement is outlined in Section 7.8 of the Better Energy Homes code of practice and technical specification document. It is the responsibility of the contractor to discuss both the specification and the appropriate sizing (including hot water storage) of the solar water heating system with the customer prior to final system selection.
Size of dwelling, occupancy levels and payback periods expected should all be discussed. Payback periods represent the cost of the fuel saved by solar against the initial capital cost of the system. The “Solar FAQ’s” in the “Solar Info / Resources” section are recommended reading on this subject. - The homeowner interested in claiming the grant should engage a BER assessor (see BER assessor search page) to review the renewable energy contribution of the solar thermal system to ensure that the minimum contribution is met.
Additionally the Greener Homes scheme, which ran from 2006 until May 2011, provided support to over 20,000 homeowners who installed solar thermal systems in their existing homes during that period. (see Greener Homes Scheme statistics page). | 
