People looking to install new windows need to ensure their roof and walls needs to be good or very good or they will not qualify for a grant, the SEAI has confirmed. 

Earlier this year, Minister Darragh O’Brien announced a new SEAI grant of up to €4,000 for people hoping to install new windows and a further €1,600 for new doors. 

Previously, people were only able to access grants for new windows and doors as part of a full retrofit of a property. 

However, only homeowners of properties with a well insulated roof or walls can access the grant; the property must also have been built before 2011. 

“The walls and roof have to be good or very good,” SEAI spokesperson Brian McIntyre told The Claire Byrne Show. 

“That [BER] advisory report will tell you in green if it's very good or good 

“If that's the case, you can get your window grants straight away. 

“There's also the option if your roof installation wasn't good or very good, then you can get the grant for roof installation and the windows at the same time.” 

Tradesmen at work replacing a window in a basement flat. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

Mr McIntyre explained that while new windows are nice, insulating a home’s walls and attic should be prioritised. 

“We kind of left it for a long time because you lose about three quarters or two thirds of your heat the walls and roof, about 10% through your windows,” he said. 

“So, the priority will be addressing walls and roof. 

“But in the last few years, a lot more people have got insulation for their walls, insulation for the roof.

“They're in a position now that the next step, the last step, would be to do the windows. 

“So, that's why it's kind of tied in with the walls and the roof.” 

The State has set itself a target of retrofitting 500,000 homes to a minimum BER rating of B2 by the end of 2030.

Main image: A new window being installed in a home. Picture by: Alamy.com.