Energy
Energy Tools Ireland
Energy is one of the few large household costs you can change in an afternoon, and one of the few where the sales pitch and the arithmetic routinely disagree. These tools work out the payback on solar, the realistic running cost of a heat pump against what you heat with now, and what switching supplier is actually worth over a first year.
Most used
Everything else in energy
Would an EV actually save me money?
Both cars costed over the years you will keep them, at your mileage and your electricity price.
EV vs Petrol or DieselNewWill solar panels pay for themselves?
Generation, self-consumption, export income and payback over 10, 15 and 20 years.
Solar Payback CalculatorWhat grant can I get for solar?
Current SEAI grant amounts for solar PV and what they leave you to pay.
SEAI Solar GrantNewWould a heat pump cost me less to run?
Your current heating cost against a heat pump at realistic Irish efficiencies and prices.
Heat Pump SavingsNewWhich energy upgrade is worth doing first?
Attic, walls, windows, heating and solar ranked by estimated saving against cost.
Home Energy UpgradeDo I qualify for the Fuel Allowance?
Means test, household rules and what the season is worth.
Fuel Allowance CheckerEnergy in Ireland — what to know
Energy is one of the few large household costs that can be changed in an afternoon, and one of the few where the sales pitch and the arithmetic routinely disagree. Both problems are solvable with the same approach: work out what a measure actually delivers at Irish prices, with Irish daylight, in your house.
The free one first
Switching supplier costs nothing, takes about ten minutes, and the discounts available to new customers are real and repeatable. The comparison ranks on net first-year cost, which accounts for standing charges, night rates and introductory discounts — a headline unit rate on its own tells you very little.
Then the fabric
The home energy upgrade tool ranks every measure by payback against your own heating bill, and insulation almost always wins by a wide margin. It also applies each measure to the remaining bill rather than adding the percentages together, because savings do not stack — insulating the attic after the walls saves less than it would have done on its own.
Solar, honestly
Irish yield is lower than the figures used in most marketing material: roughly 850 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak per year on a well-oriented roof. And self-consumption decides the return — a unit used in the house is worth the full retail price avoided, while an exported unit earns the Clean Export Guarantee rate, usually a little over half as much. The solar payback calculator makes both of those inputs rather than assumptions, and the SEAI grant tool covers what is available towards the cost.
Heat pumps
A heat pump delivers around three units of heat per unit of electricity, and electricity costs roughly three times what gas does per unit — so the whole question is what seasonal efficiency the system achieves in your house. The heat pump calculator shows the crossover point, and it is the reason SEAI requires a technical assessment before it will grant one.
Transport counts too
Fuel is an energy cost like any other. FuelFinder shows live forecourt prices near you, and the EV vs petrol comparison works out whether moving that cost onto the electricity bill leaves you better off.
Common questions
Is solar worth it in Ireland?
For a household that uses a reasonable share of what it generates, typical paybacks land in the seven to twelve year range with the SEAI grant applied. For a household out all day with no battery, most generation is exported at roughly half its value and the case is much weaker. The solar payback calculator lets you set that share yourself.
What is the best energy upgrade to do first?
Attic insulation, in almost every house that has not had it — cheapest, grant-aided, one day's work, and typically 10–20% off the heating bill. Cavity wall insulation is usually second where the walls have a cavity. The upgrade calculator ranks everything by payback against your own bill.
Are heat pumps cheaper to run than oil?
Usually, in a house insulated to the standard SEAI requires. In an unimproved house the seasonal efficiency falls far enough that running costs can go up rather than down, which is why SEAI requires a technical assessment before granting one.
How much can I save by switching energy supplier?
It depends entirely on what you are paying now and what discounts are available to new customers. Out-of-contract customers on a standard tariff generally have the most to gain. The comparison ranks on net first-year cost rather than headline unit rate, which is where most comparisons go wrong.
Looking for something else?
Type the question rather than the tool name — the search matches on what each tool answers.