A new SEAI grant for solar batteries is expected to be introduced within weeks, a political journalist has predicted. 

Solar batteries store energy produced by solar panels, which would otherwise be exported to the grid. 

Installation costs vary depending on the model, but a solar battery typically costs around €4,000 to purchase and then saves a household hundreds of euro annually in energy costs. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Conal Thomas of the Irish Independent said the new grant will be formally announced in Budget 2027. 

“There's the €600 battery storage grant and the thinking is that it can come in pretty quickly - probably in the coming weeks,” he said. 

A woman connecting wires to a lithium battery and solar charge controllers. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

The Government has set itself a target of retrofitting 500,000 homes to a B2 BER standard by 2030 and has introduced a generous system of SEAI grants to incentivise this. 

The idea is to cut carbon emissions and energy costs, tackling both climate change and fuel poverty at the same time.

“There is also a scheme that's worth €2,000 to households seeking to switch from oil boilers to new heating technology,” Mr Thomas said. 

“This is effectively to get rid of kerosene boilers. Now, it's being spun a little bit; that'll be about €14,500 then worth of grants.

“But in reality, the €12,500 was already there for installing heat pumps. 

“This is an extra €2,000 for people to get rid of their old boilers, effectively.” 

A heat pump. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

Mr Thomas predicted there would be “quite a lot of pickup on this” and will open to applicants in early 2027. 

“These measures and schemes are being announced one week out from the budget - which is unusual,” he said. 

“Generally, ministers like to keep their powder dry in terms of what new measures they have. 

“But this is the battle going on in government at the moment where the Department of Public Expenditure and Jack Chambers are holding the line and saying, ‘You need to find efficiencies, you need to rein in your spending.’

“So, there may not be a whole lot to announce on budget day.”

Main image: A technician installing a new solar power inverter system. Picture by: Alamy.com.