Solar is the measure where the grant matters least and the price per unit matters most. SEAI's completion data for the first half of 2026 puts the median domestic install at €9,075 to €11,100, and the grant is capped at €1,800 no matter how big the array. Real quoted prices from Irish homeowners run €8,500 to €11,100 gross and €6,600 to €9,000 net, and the spread per kWp inside that is enormous.
| System | Total cost | Grant | Paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached house, median completed install | €11,100 | €1,800 | €9,300 | SEAI, Jan to Jun 2026 |
| Semi-detached or end terrace, median | €9,500 | €1,800 | €7,700 | SEAI, Jan to Jun 2026 |
| Mid terrace, median | €9,250 | €1,800 | €7,450 | SEAI, Jan to Jun 2026 |
| Apartment, median | €9,075 | €1,800 | €7,275 | SEAI, Jan to Jun 2026 |
| 6.09 kWp, no battery, Co Donegal | €9,850 | €2,100 | €7,750 | boards.ie 2024 quote, anonymous |
| 6.09 kWp plus 5.32 kWh battery, Dublin | €11,100 | €2,100 | €9,000 | boards.ie 2024 quote, anonymous |
| 3.48 kWp plus 5.1 kWh battery, west Dublin | €10,562 | €1,850 | €8,712 | boards.ie 2024 quote, anonymous |
| 2.4 kWp, six panels, no battery, north Dublin | €8,500 | the rate of the day | €6,775 | boards.ie 2024 quote, anonymous |
| 10 panels plus 5.2 kWh battery, Waterford city | €8,400 | €1,800 | €6,600 | Irish Times 2026, completed |
| 4.2 kWp plus 4.8 kWh battery, installed 2018 | €10,000 | €3,800 | €6,200 | askaboutmoney, anonymous, old grant |
| 7.4 kWp plus 10 kWh battery, July 2022 | not published | included in the net | €12,400 | boards.ie, anonymous |
| 5.78 kWp plus 5 kWh battery and diverter | not published | included in the net | €8,800 | boards.ie, anonymous |
The four 2024 rows were posted verbatim as quotes on a public boards.ie thread and are anonymous. The €3,800 grant on the 2018 install reflects the old battery inclusive grant that no longer exists, and you will still see it quoted in old threads. The current maximum is €1,800.
A solar quote is meaningless as a total. The comparison is euro per kWp of panel capacity, and the spread across four quotes posted on the same Irish forum thread in the same year is the clearest illustration you will find.
A 6.09 kWp array in Co Donegal with no battery: €9,850 gross, €2,100 grant, €7,750 net. That is €1,273 per kWp net. A 2.4 kWp array of six panels in north Dublin with no battery: €8,500 gross, €6,775 net. That is €2,823 per kWp net, more than double the Donegal price for the same thing.
Neither homeowner was necessarily badly treated. Scaffolding, the inverter, the electrical work, the notification to ESB Networks and a day of labour are close to fixed costs whether you fit six panels or sixteen. Small arrays carry all of that on very little generation, which is why the price per kWp roughly doubles at the small end.
The SEAI solar electricity grant is €700 per kWp up to 2 kWp, then €200 per kWp for the next 2 kWp, with a maximum of €1,800. Anything from 4 kWp upwards gets the same €1,800.
That means the grant covers about 16 per cent of a median detached install and roughly 20 per cent of a smaller one. It is by some distance the smallest share of any measure in the scheme. On the same 2026 medians, attic insulation is around 74 per cent covered and cavity around 77 per cent.
It also means the grant should not drive your sizing. Going from 4 kWp to 6 kWp adds nothing to the grant and a lot to your generation, and the marginal cost of the extra panels is the cheapest part of the whole job. Read the detail on our solar PV grant page.
Compare two 6.09 kWp arrays from the same 2024 thread. Donegal, no battery: €9,850. Dublin, with a 5.32 kWh battery: €11,100. So roughly €1,250 for that battery in that quote.
Batteries are no longer separately grant aided. The €3,800 grant you will see on a 2018 install in old forum threads was the battery inclusive scheme and it is gone. If somebody quotes you a grant above €1,800 today, ask them to show you where it comes from.
Whether a battery pays depends entirely on your night rate and how much of your generation you would otherwise export. If you are on a plan with a cheap night rate and you charge the battery off peak, the arithmetic can work. If you are out all day and export most of what you make, the battery is doing more than the tariff is paying you for.
The fast paybacks in the Irish evidence all come from households with an electric car. One 5.78 kWp array with a battery and a diverter, at €8,800, estimates break even in about two and a half years, and that is only true because the household drives 25,000 km a year on electricity it generates itself. One 7.4 kWp array with a 10 kWh battery at €12,400 after grant generated a quarter of its install cost within 13 months, again in a heavy self consumption household charging an electric car.
Without a car, the numbers are longer and more ordinary. A 4.2 kWp array with a battery installed in 2018 cut imports by about two thirds, saving roughly €500 a year, which the owner calculated as about a twelve year payback. That install also exported about 300 kWh for nothing, because it predates the export tariff.
A Kildare homeowner who did cavity and attic pumping, a heat loss survey and a 16 panel array with battery for about €12,000 reported a 69 per cent cut in imported electricity and 147 kWh exported.
The pattern is consistent. Solar pays when you use what you make. Every euro exported is worth a fraction of every euro not imported, so the more of your day happens at home, the better this works.
Panel count, panel wattage and total kWp, stated explicitly. Then divide the price by the kWp yourself.
Inverter make, model and whether it is hybrid or battery ready. Retrofitting a battery to a non hybrid inverter later costs considerably more than specifying it now.
Whether scaffolding is included, and whether the roof has been looked at. Slate, older concrete tile and anything with a felt problem underneath can add cost or rule the roof out.
Who handles the ESB Networks notification and the microgeneration export application, because that is what gets you paid for what you export.
The BER. A post works BER is needed to claim, and its median cost is €245 to €280 with a €50 grant. One documented install had €6,200 net including the BER assessment, so ask whether yours is inside or outside the quoted figure.
Roof orientation and shading, in writing. An east west split is not the same proposition as due south, and a single chimney can take a serious bite out of an afternoon.
The grant requires an SEAI registered installer and a home built and occupied before 2021. Some homeowners find the registered pool more expensive than the grant is worth, and go direct instead.
A Waterford homeowner restoring a 166 year old derelict townhouse took the €1,800 solar grant on a €8,400 install and deliberately avoided most of the rest of the scheme, because her trusted builder is not SEAI registered and because the heat pump grant demands a good BER first, which would have meant tens of thousands of euro of prerequisite work before any renewable heat. She fitted infrared electric panels at €3,600 including VAT instead of a heat pump.
That is a legitimate choice and worth knowing about. It is also worth getting one registered quote before you make it, so you know exactly what the €1,800 is costing you elsewhere. See SEAI registered providers.
Tell us your county and we will introduce SEAI registered solar PV installers covering your area. No cost, no obligation.
On SEAI's completion data for January to June 2026 the median install is €9,075 for an apartment, €9,250 for a mid terrace, €9,500 for a semi-detached and €11,100 for a detached house. Real quoted prices from Irish homeowners run €8,500 to €11,100 gross, or €6,600 to €9,000 after the grant.
€700 per kWp up to 2 kWp, then €200 per kWp up to 4 kWp, capped at a maximum of €1,800. Anything 4 kWp and above receives the same €1,800. Your home must have been built and occupied before 2021 and you must use an SEAI registered installer.
Documented Irish quotes run from €1,273 to €2,823 per kWp net of grant. The cheap end is a 6.09 kWp array with no battery. The expensive end is a 2.4 kWp array of six panels. Small arrays carry the fixed costs of scaffolding, inverter and labour on very little capacity, so they are always worse value per unit.
Only if you can use what it stores. In one documented 2024 comparison a 5.32 kWh battery added roughly €1,250 to an otherwise identical 6.09 kWp quote. Batteries are no longer separately grant aided, and any quote showing a grant above €1,800 is using an old scheme that no longer exists.
The documented fast paybacks of two and a half to four years all come from households charging an electric car on their own generation. A 4.2 kWp array with a battery and no car saved roughly €500 a year, which the owner calculated as about a twelve year payback. Solar pays when you use what you make rather than export it.
That was the old battery inclusive solar grant, which no longer exists. The current maximum is €1,800. If you see a higher figure in a thread, check the date before you plan around it.
You need a post works BER to claim. The median cost is €245 to €280 with a €50 grant towards it. Check whether your installer has included it in the quoted price. One documented install came to €6,200 net including the BER assessment.
Checked against the official pages on 27 August 2026. Grant terms change, so confirm current amounts with SEAI or your installer before you commit.