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Important Information

From June 8^th, 2010, SEAI will introduce two new features to the Home Energy Saving (HES) scheme designed to further empower consumers, first by guiding them on suitable upgrade works and secondly informing them of the impact of works undertaken.

SEAI has developed a smart online Home Energy Self Survey which only takes minutes to complete, taking homeowners through a number of simple steps to identify the current condition of their home and guiding them towards the most suitable upgrade works. This new survey will be offered to all applicants at the start of the online application process and is also available in hard copy on request from the SEAI call centre (1850-927000). The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other online resources including the Buyers’ Guides

A Building Energy Rating (BER) will be an integral part of all grant applications under the Home Energy Saving scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER on their home after grant aided works have been completed. This will give homeowners a thorough and objective assessment of the energy performance of their home following upgrade works, including a rating on an A-G scale. The first such BER will attract grant aid of €100.

As a BER certificate is required for each application, it is advisable that homeowners apply for, and undertake, all planned grant aided works at the same time to minimize the costs associated with multiple BER assessments. Please note that grant payment can only be claimed once all measures associated with your application have been completed, including the BER assessment.

So if you are applying for a HES grant, here’s a summary of what you now need to do:
Decide what works you want to do and select your contractor(s). You may use our smart online Home Energy Self Survey to help you decide what works to do, or if you have already had a BER assessment then the Advisory Report will be able to guide you. Remember, you should not proceed with any works before you have a grant offer. Apply using our fast online application system at www.seai.ie/hes or submit a hard copy application by post. In the instance where you don’t have a personal e-mail address please ask a relative or trusted close friend for use of their e-mail address. It is very important that neither a contractor nor assessor applies on your behalf as this may void your grant offer. Wait until you get your grant offer from SEAI which you should confirm acceptance of immediately. Your offer will be accompanied by a number of important documents which must be completed by your contractors and BER assessor to allow grant payment. Go ahead and get the works done making sure your contractor completes all sections of the relevant Declarations of Works and BER Confirmation and Request for Payment forms including the information relating to your home before the works were completed. Select a registered BER assessor (see www.seai.ie/ber) to undertake a BER of your home once all the works have been completed . Make sure your BER assessor completes all sections of the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form supplied to you at time of offer Make sure you correctly sign and date all relevant Declarations of Works forms and the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form and return them without delay to SEAI to claim your grant payment. All grant claims must be accompanied by a BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form completed by a registered BER assessor and a grant of €100 is available to homeowners towards the cost of the first such assessment. Subsequent grant aided works must also be accompanied by a BER but will not be grant supported. So where possible you should submit all grant applications / grant claims together and thus avoid the cost of multiple BERs.

So if you are applying for a HES grant, here’s a summary of what you now need to do:

Decide what works you want to do and select your contractor(s). You may use our smart online Home Energy Self Survey to help you decide what works to do, or if you have already had a BER assessment then the Advisory Report will be able to guide you. Remember, you should not proceed with any works before you have a grant offer.
Apply using our fast online application system at www.seai.ie/hes or submit a hard copy application by post. In the instance where you don’t have a personal e-mail address please ask a relative or trusted close friend for use of their e-mail address. It is very important that neither a contractor nor assessor applies on your behalf as this may void your grant offer. Wait until you get your grant offer from SEAI which you should confirm acceptance of immediately. Your offer will be accompanied by a number of important documents which must be completed by your contractors and BER assessor to allow grant payment.
Go ahead and get the works done making sure your contractor completes all sections of the relevant Declarations of Works and BER Confirmation and Request for Payment forms including the information relating to your home before the works were completed.
Select a registered BER assessor (see www.seai.ie/ber) to undertake a BER of your home once all the works have been completed . Make sure your BER assessor completes all sections of the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form supplied to you at time of offer
Make sure you correctly sign and date all relevant Declarations of Works forms and the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form and return them without delay to SEAI to claim your grant payment.

All grant claims must be accompanied by a BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form completed by a registered BER assessor and a grant of €100 is available to homeowners towards the cost of the first such assessment. Subsequent grant aided works must also be accompanied by a BER but will not be grant supported. So where possible you should submit all grant applications / grant claims together and thus avoid the cost of multiple BERs.

Who can avail of the scheme?
It is a National scheme and therefore all homeowners of dwellings built before 2006* may apply. Landlords and owners of multiple properties may also apply, however they must submit a separate application form for each property. If you are a landlord or a management company considering an entire building upgrade, please contact SEAI before applying online for the grant.

[*Homes built from 2006 onwards should have been constructed to the 2003 Building Regulations and so should not require significant insulation or heating system upgrades]

What type of work can I get a grant for?
Grants will be provided to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements in the following area:

Roof Insulation
Wall Insulation - this includes either cavity wall, internal dry lining or external insulation
Installation of a High Efficiency (> 90%) Gas or Oil fired Boilers with Heating Controls Upgrade*
Heating Controls Upgrade*
Building Energy Rating (BER) - is an integral part to the scheme and is undertaken after grant aided works are completed**

* Minimum requirement of: 2 zones (space and water) with 7 day programmer (time and temperature) control and boiler interlock, time and temperature control of electric immersion heater and either 1 more zone control or 3 TRV's.

**This comes into effect from the 8^th of June 2010. As a BER certificate is required for each application, it is advisable that homeowners apply for, and undertake, all planned grant aided works at the same time to minimize the costs associated with multiple BERs. Note that grant payment can only be claimed once all measures associated with your application have been completed, including the BER assessment.

How much are the grants?
Grants are fixed for each type of measure as indicated in the table below. Grant approval must be in place before any purchase of materials or commencement of measures undertaken. Grants are paid after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by the homeowner. In the instance where the cost of the work (vat inclusive) is less than the fixed grant amount, the actual cost will be reimbursed.

MEASURE	CATEGORY	GRANT *
Roof	Roof Insulation	€250
Wall	Cavity wall insulation	€400
	Internal Wall Dry-Lining	€2,500
	External wall insulation	€4,000
Heating Controls	High Efficiency Gas or Oil fired Boiler with Heating Controls Upgrade	€700
	Heating Controls Upgrade	€500
BER Assessment	BER After Upgrade Works (Only one BER grant per home)	€100

* Please note that while you are entitled to apply for each Measure there is a minimum requirement that the grant amount in the first application must be €500 or greater. The BER grant cannot form part of this €500 amount.

What is a Building Energy Rating or BER?

A Building Energy Rating or BER is similar to the energy label on your fridge with a scale of A-G. A-rated homes are the most energy efficient and G the least efficient. A BER is based on the characteristics of major components of the dwelling (wall, roof and floor dimensions, window and door sizes andorientations) as well as the construction type and levels of insulation, ventilation and air tightness features, the systems for heat supply (including renewable energy), distribution and control, and the type of lighting. It covers annual energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting and associated pumps and fans, calculated on the basis of a notional standard family with a standard pattern of occupancy.

What is the Building Energy Rating (BER) requirement under HES?

The Home Energy Saving scheme provides grant aid to homeowners towards upgrades of roof and wall insulation and heating systems. In order to measure the impact of the programme SEAI has introduced a requirement for homeowners to undertake a BER after the upgrade works have been completed. The BER assessment is to be completed by a registered BER assessor following a site visit after HES upgrade works have been completed. The assessor will furnish you with a certificate indicating the energy performance of your home based on an A-G scale. The assessor will also complete essential information on the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form. For more information on Building Energy Rating see www.seai.ie/ber

What grant is available for undertaking a BER?

A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €100 once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post.

Was the BER grant originally €200?

Before the introduction of this new integral BER there was a grant of €200 available for homeowners who wished to undertake aBefore and After Works BER, which would have necessitated two survey visits by your assessor. Given that it is now only required to undertake a BER after the upgrade works, your selected assessor should only need to visit your home once and so the costs should be significantly reduced.

Why is a BER now required?

The HES programme has proved to be extremely popular with homeowners, with over 60,000 applications processed to date. However, Ireland has ambitious energy reduction and climate change targets to be met in 2020. If achieved, our dependence on imported fossil fuels will greatly reduce along with lower energy bills for homeowners. To meet these challenging targets we need to both incentivise and inform householders about steps that can be taken to reduce energy usage, while understanding the thermal efficiency of Ireland’s housing stock. Making a BER mandatory will help deliver on both of these aims.

When must the BER be undertaken?

The BER assessment must be conducted after your HES upgrade works are completed.

Do I need to undertake a BER before the upgrade works?

Only if you wish to. A before BER may help you in prioritising works to be undertaken, however it is not mandatory and the grant of €100 applies to the BER after upgrade works only.

What is the Home Energy Self Survey?

The Home Energy Self Survey is a simple online or hardcopy survey designed to help you identify what might be the priority upgrade works appropriate to your home. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete. You are of course always advised to discuss your choices and options with registered contractors. If you have done a BER on your home already then the Advisory Report which accompanied the BER cert will also guide you. The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other online resources including the Buyers’ Guides.

What must your selected contractors do to facilitate the BER?

You must ensure that, upon completion of grant-aided works, your contractors fill out the relevant section in the Declaration of Works (DOW) and the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form and returns them to you as soon as possible. These forms must detail the condition of your attic, walls, heating system and heating controls as appropriate before HES upgrade works were undertaken. In cases where the dwelling has had a new extension added at the same time as the HES works, you must also detail the additional floor area of the extension in the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment forms.

NOTE: A third party (ie contractor, assessor or anyone other than family or close friend) must not apply on your behalf for a HES grant as this contravenes the Terms of their registration.

What is required of the BER assessor?

The BER assessor must visit your house after HES upgrade works are finished. They must undertake and publish a full BER assessment which reflects the energy performance rating of your home they then must return the completed BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form to you to allow you claim your grant.

At the time of completing the BER, your chosen assessor is also required to provide an estimate of the energy performance of your home before HES upgrade works. The ‘before’ assessment will either be based upon an actual BER undertaken prior to the works(if you already have one) or upon information supplied by your contractors at time of works on the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form. The BER assessor must record both the formal BER and the estimated energy performance estimate before upgrade works in the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form.

NOTE: A third party (ie contractor, assessor or anyone other than family or close friend) must not apply on your behalf for a HES grant as this contravenes the Terms of their registration

How do I claim my grant?

You can only claim your grant payment when:

All your contractors have completed the upgrade works and filled in the relevant declaration of Works form (DOW) and appropriate sections of the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form
Your BER assessor has undertaken a site visit, completed / published the BER and returned to you the completed the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form
You have fully paid all contractors and your BER assessor
At that stage you should ensure that you also have signed all DOWs and BER Confirmation and Request for Payment forms all of which you then submit to SEAI with a view to grant payment.
All paperwork (i.e. all Declaration of Works and the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form) must be submitted together within the six month grant offer period.

Applications for grant payment with incomplete paperwork will be rejected, resulting in all documentation being returned to you for resolution. This may result in a delay and/or expiration of the grant offer. If for any reason some or all of the works were not undertaken, then please tick the cancelled box on the Declaration of Works form and return it with the rest of your grant claim.

Who can do the work?
In accordance with the scheme's Terms and Conditions, all works must be completed by a contractor from SEAI's Registered List, which will is published here on our website.

If undertaking a BER, these must be completed by a registered BER assessor. A list of registered assessors is available on the SEAI website www.seai.ie/BER

How do I apply?

Applicants must first read the 'Home Energy Saving scheme Application Guide' for an overview of the scheme and to aid them thereafter in filling out the Scheme Application Form. You can apply online by filling out the online application form. Alternatively you can download the application form, complete it and return it to:

Home Energy Saving scheme
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
P.O. Box 119
Cahirciveen
Co. Kerry

Applicants must ensure grant approval is received before proceeding with any product purchase or installation work.

Homeowners availing of the BER grant may undertake the Before BER ahead of grant approval being in place.

When can I get the work done?
In accordance with the scheme's Terms and Conditions, Grant Approval must be in place prior to any purchase of materials or commencement of works is undertaken.

However, the Before BER can be done ahead of Grant Approval and could prove beneficial for homeowners who are uncertain about their options or what to get done first.

When might you NOT qualify for a Home Energy Saving scheme grant?

Depending on the scale or type of works being undertaken, the HES grant may not necessarily be appropriate for all homeowners. Homeowners will not qualify for a grant:

If your first grant application would be for less than €500. So if you are only intending to do attic insulation (€250) or blown cavity wall insulation (€400) on their own then you will not qualify for a grant
If you are installing a boiler with a typical efficiency <90% then you will not qualify for a grant
If you decide to simply install a boiler but not upgrade the heating controls to the minimum prescribed standard then you will not qualify for a grant
If you decide to simply replace your boiler but not upgrade the heating controls to the minimum prescribed standard then you will not qualify for a grant

I receive the fuel allowance (as part of the national fuel scheme), can I draw down the Home Energy Savings scheme grant.

All homeowners of dwellings built before 2006 may apply for this scheme. However those on a Fuel Allowance (as part of the National Fuel Scheme) may be eligible to receive home energy improvement services under SEAI’s Warmer Homes Scheme (WHS). We would recommend that you consider this scheme also as it may be more suitable for you than the HES scheme. All information on the Warmer Homes Scheme can be viewed at www.seai.ie/warmerhomes or by calling the FREE phone number: 1800 250 204.

How long does grant payment take?

It takes on average 4-6 weeks to process grant payment, from the date the paperwork is received to payment into your account. This timeline is based on the provision that we receive correct and completed paperwork. If your paperwork is not in order, it may be sent back to you for further information or clarification and this may delay the payment process. We would therefore ask that both you and your contractor complete all sections of the ‘Declaration of Work’ forms carefully, before submitting them. Please note you will NOT receive confirmation of paperwork being received, however you will receive confirmation when payment is made to your account. Finally as all payments are made via electronic transfer of funds, please ensure that the bank account details you have provided are correct and eligible to take such payments.

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