EEOS for Housing Bodies and Local Authorities

How does EEOS work?

Under EEOS, large energy suppliers and distributors in Ireland are required to achieve annual energy efficiency targets. These large energy suppliers are called Obligated Parties (OPs).

One of the ways that OPs can meet their annual targets is by helping support energy efficiency upgrades for housing bodies and local authorities cross the country. Examples of eligible upgrades include improvement in insulation, heating, windows, ventilation and more.

How EEOS can help

Under EEOS, OPs form partnerships with local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) to support projects that will make progress to their EEOS targets.

OPs are particularly interested in supporting projects that will contribute to their energy poverty EEOS targets. Local authority and AHB homes count towards this target in cases where energy efficiency improvements bring the home’s BER rating from a D2 or worse to a B2 or better.

For homes which already have a BER better than a D2, OPs may support homes to achieve an improvement in their BER (typically of 100 kWh/m2/year or more). This will count towards their residential EEOS targets.

Individual energy improvements

In some cases, OPs may also support local authorities to carry out individual energy efficiency improvement measures (which would count towards the cross-sector target). However, this is less common.

Eligible upgrades

It is typically necessary to install a combination of measures that will improve a home’s BER. This is because multiple upgrades are more likely to meet the eligibility criteria for the residential and energy poverty targets under EEOS.

In some instances, it may be possible to meet the minimum criteria for the residential target with a single measure such as a heat pump or external wall insulation. However, this is uncommon and depends on the specific BER for that home.

Individual improvements

It's possible for OPs to support individual energy efficiency improvement measures in homes under their cross-sector target. However, as these do not count towards the residential or energy poverty targets, they are less common.

Individual energy efficiency improvement measures are most relevant in cases of in-fill where homes in an estate make progress towards core targets but a few homes only require an individual measure.

Please note: each obligated party will have their own approach and may not support any individual measures.

What kind of supports can OPs offer?

OP support can be technical and/or financial and should contribute to the realisation of the energy efficiency improvement project. Some examples of support include:

• a monetary amount per kWh
• quality assurance services
• tender evaluation support
• technical supports (such as property surveys, BERs, HLI assessment, thermal bridge assessment)
• project management/ coordinator services

All OPs have a different approach, so it is important to contact everyone, particularly if you are seeking a specific type of support.

Requirements of the scheme

There are some important things to note about EEOS before seeking support. This includes the following:

• OPs can only claim energy credits from the installation of an energy efficiency measure if they supported the installation and were involved before the measures were installed
• the scheme does not require OPs to support any specific project
• the maximum period for a project from pre to post BER is 6 years
• OPs and the SEAI will require access to a sample of homes to carry out QA checks
• EEOS targets are annual and need to be achieved by the end of each calendar year

Applying for support

Local authorities and AHBs can get support to carry out energy upgrades from any OPs participating in the scheme. To receive support, you can either

1. Fill out the EEOS Request for Support Form
2. Contact OPs directly with the contact details listed below

The Request for Support Form will be shared to all OPs by representatives from SEAI.

Contacting OPs directly

Contacting OPs directly will give you a good idea of what projects they will cover. All companies have a different approach so we recommend that you contact all (or multiple) OPs directly to learn more about what kind of supports are available.

Important documents and further information

• EEOS Infographic
• EEOS Presentation- SEAI Energy Show 2024
• EEOS Guidance Document
• EEOS guidance for the submission of residential and energy poor savings
• EEOS support request form
• Cross-sector deemed scores table
• Code of practice and technical specification