THE NUMBER OF government-funded home retrofits carried out in the first half of this year is 150% above the same period last year, according to new figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

An SEAI report said there were 21,727 home energy upgrades funded by government grants to the SEAI in the first six months of this year.

This means retrofitting figures are on track to meet the target of 37,000 upgrades this year.

Solar panel installations are up 231% over last year, following the government’s move to cut VAT on them.

Some 7,566 homes were upgraded to a BER B2 rating or better, up 210% on last year.

There were 2,346 upgrades on properties through programmes focused on homes at risk of fuel poverty, an increase of 20% on the same period last year.

7,122 attic and 5,641 cavity wall upgrades were supported.

Dr Ciaran Byrne, Director of National Retrofit at SEAI said in a statement: “We are very pleased that overall demand has remained very strong across all schemes. Clearly, the increased grant values and new grant options introduced last year have made home energy upgrades much more appealing to homeowners.

“The removal of VAT on solar panels has driven significant demand on this programme and it is likely to continue into the third and fourth quarters of 2023.”