The number of properties undergoing home energy upgrades has soared in Clare since the beginning of the year.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s latest quarterly progress report shows that over 300 households in this county have now received retrofit grants.
Between January and March, 320 home energy upgrades were carried out in Clare, marking a 23.5% increase from the 259 carried out during the same period of last year.
The majority of Clare homeowners, availing of SEAI grants, opted to install photo-voltaic solar panels, with 224 receiving funding.
18 households in this county qualified for the warmer homes scheme, which provides free insulation, draught-proofing and energy efficient lighting to family units and individuals on social welfare.
73 households in Clare availed of the better energy grants, which allows homeowners or landlords to drawdown funding but manage the retrofit process themselves, with grants of between €800 and €8000 available for various measures including wall and attic insulation, solar water heating, installing solar panels and upgrading heat pumps.
Five households in Clare also qualified for funding under the one-stop shop or full-home energy upgrade scheme, however there has so far been no successful applications in the county this year for community energy grants.
From the period of January to March, €73m was distributed for home energy upgrade grants nationwide.
