Is your home ready for a heat pump?

Getting your home assessed

Like with any heating system, heat pumps work best in well-insulated homes. The less heat you lose, the less energy your heating system needs to use to keep your home comfortable. A good level of insulation keeps the heat in your home for longer, making a heat pump more efficient.

A home built from 2007 onwards is likely to have good insulation levels. This is because it was built to newer building standards. These homes are usually ready to switch from fossil fuels to a heat pump system and so don't need a technical assessment before applying for a heat pump grant.

If your home was built before 2007, the insulation may need improvement before you get a heat pump. An SEAI registered technical advisor can give you more advice. Following a technical assessment of your home, they will tell you whether it is suitable for a heat pump. If not, they'll detail the steps to make your home suitable. 

Homes built before 2007, and which don't have a valid BER certification showing the necessary levels of insulation suitable for a heat pump, are required to carry out a technical assessment before applying for the heat pump grant. However, if a valid BER certificate is avaliable, showing the right levels of insulation, then a technical assessment is not required for the grant.

Getting heat-pump ready

If you have an older home and an old oil / gas boiler, investing in home insulation now is a good starting point. When the time comes to replace your heating system, your home will be heat pump ready. 

Don't wait until your current boiler breaks down and replacing it becomes a panic buy. Now is the time to investigate how to make the switch to a heat pump.