Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2024
12. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of heat pumps that were installed as part of the SEAI retrofitting schemes, broken down by scheme in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45629/24]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) manage a number of residential and community energy upgrade grant support schemes on behalf of my Department.
Grant support of up to €6,500 is available for the installation of air to water heat pumps as a standalone measure under the Better Energy Home Scheme. For homeowners undertaking a deep retrofit with a heat pump under the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme or the Community Energy Grant Scheme, grant support of up to €10,500 is available. Full details on the range of SEAI supports available can be found at www.seai.ie.
Data from SEAI shows in the period 2020 to end-October 2024, almost 152,000 property upgrades have been supported. Of these, over 12,300 have installed a heat pump, mostly under the SEAI part-funded, demand-led schemes. A breakdown of the number of heat pumps installed by scheme for the period 2020-2024 year to date is provided in the table below. It shows a doubling since 2020.
In addition, data from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage shows that an additional 4,863 heat pumps were installed under its Local Authority Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme in the period 2021-2023.
Budget 2025 includes record capital funding of €469 million for the SEAI residential and community energy upgrade schemes. The Deputy may also wish to note that Budget 2025 also committed to a reduction in the VAT rate for the installation of heat pumps reduced to 9% - the lowest rate allowable under the VAT Directive.
Increasing the uptake of heat pumps among homeowners is a top priority for my Department and as such, further policies and measures will be introduced on an annual basis in order to support the achievement of these targets.
Table: Heat pump installations by SEAI Scheme 2020-2024 (October)
|
Year |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Better Energy Homes |
664 |
866 |
1333 |
1831 |
1292 |
|
Community Energy Grants |
602 |
308 |
282 |
595 |
506 |
|
National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme |
189 |
795 |
616 |
1287 |
1031 |
|
Warmer Homes Scheme |
Nil |
2 |
41 |
54 |
41 |
|
Totals |
1455 |
1971 |
2272 |
3767 |
2870 |
