Solar Panels in Ireland: Costs, Grants and Benefits

By Cormac Breen

Content Manager

Solar panel installation for a 3-bed, semi-detached house in Ireland costs on average €6,145. There are grants available for the installation of solar panels based on the output capacity of the panels. This grant is capped at €2,100 and is set to reduce by a further €300 per until 2029 when it is fully phased out. The benefits of solar panels are numerous, including reducing your annual electricity bill, offering the opportunity to offset energy costs by selling any excess energy produced back into the national grid, and reducing Ireland's overall greenhouse emissions.

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost?

Solar panels can be an expensive investment, with the average cost being well over €5,000 euros just for a 2-bedroom terraced home.

This is due in part to rising wholesale costs and the high cost of electricity, but there are SEAI grants available to help with the cost of installing solar panels, which can help those interested in making savings on their energy consumption.

Here’s a quick table to show you make facts of getting a solar panel for different size houses:

Source: Purevolt
Last Updated: September 2024

Are There Grants for Solar Panels in 2024?

The amount that you receive for the solar panel grant depends on a lot of factors. However, the most important is the peak output of your new solar panel system.

This means that the amount of power that your solar panel generates at peak times will determine how much you’ll receive in the grant:

Source: Citizen Information
Last Updated: 06/08/2024

The solar panel grant will cover both the labour and the material for the solar panels to be installed in your property.

For many of the grants, the maximum amount is lower than the average price for PV solar panels (around €4,000) so the grant is intended to foot part of the bill for the over costs.

The grant doesn't cover any solar panel repairs or the individual cost of replacement parts.

While there are DIY solar kits available, we recommended contracting a professional solar panel installation company.

What Is a Solar Panel?

Solar panels in Ireland are growing more and more popular, and they’re quickly becoming one of the most sure fire ways of reducing energy costs and your dependence on the grid.

They can even help you earn some extra income through various microgeneration schemes offered by different energy companies.

How Does Solar Energy Work?

Solar energy is a simple process, even though it involves a lot of technical engineering on the part of the solar panels themselves.

Simply put, solar panels generate electricity through sunlight, either converting it directly into electricity like with photovoltaic solar panels, or by generating heat, like with thermodynamic solar panels.

This energy can either be used to power your home appliances, or it can be stored in a solar panel battery for later!

What Types of Solar Panels Are There?

There are three types of solar panels that are available. These are all very similar in the fact they use the sun, however they have some differences in the way they utilise the sun to generate electricity. Here are the three main types and their differences:

1. Photovoltaic Solar Panels
   Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels harness the sun's energy through the photovoltaic effect, transforming sunlight into usable electricity. These panels utilise the sun's infrared rays via solar cells. In Ireland, the typical cost for these panels ranges from €4,000 to €8,000.
2. Thermodynamic Panels
   Instead of directly converting sunlight to electricity, thermodynamic panels produce hot water. They operate using a very cold (-22°C) liquid refrigerant circulated within the panel, which absorbs heat both from ambient air and the sun's infrared rays. In Ireland, expect to spend between €3,500 and €5,500 for such a system.
3. Solar Thermal Panels
   Solar thermal panels are designed to absorb direct solar heat. Think of them as a dark-coloured car; the inside gets significantly hotter than the exterior when exposed to sunlight for a long duration. In Ireland, the installation cost for these panels typically falls between €2,500 and €4,500.

All these different types of solar panels have their advantages and disadvantages, but in general the most popular are the PV solar panels. These are typically the only ones on offer and are the only ones covered by any grants.

What Are the Main Solar Panel Benefits?

Solar panels as a technology have a tremendous amount of benefits in Ireland. Not only are they a great solution to the climate crisis, they can also provide a number of financial and practical benefits to help reduce your carbon footprint and costs at home! Here are some of the main solar panel benefits:

• Greener Energy
  Solar panels use sunlight to generate electricity rather than burning fossil fuels. Since there’s nothing else involved in producing the energy, solar panels emit no greenhouse gases and because we’ll never run out of sunlight, it is a completely renewable energy source and better for the environment.
• Cheaper Bills
  Solar energy can also help you make savings on your energy bills. Since you’ll be using the power from the sunlight, you’ll be using less energy from your energy provider, making your monthly bills much cheaper. After investing in solar panels, you’ll get your return on your investment in as little as three to four years.
• Independence from the Grid
  With solar panels, you don’t use the energy from the mainstream grid to power your home. This means you don’t have to worry about power cuts or problems with your grid connection to have energy at home. Especially if you invest in a solar panel battery, you’ll have a full back-up power ready to go whenever you need it.

How Much Can I Save With Solar Panels?

The average home with 4 solar panels installed can save over €500 per year on their electricity bills.

There are several factors that will influence how much money you can save with solar panels, including:

1. Number of panels installed.
2. Your home's annual consumption.
3. Positioning of your panels.
4. Number of sunny days per year.

The website Purevolt.ie uses a solar panel savings calculator to estimate the potential savings your solar panel system could have. We used it to estimate the savings a standard home with 4 panels installed could make in a year.

• ⛅ Estimated Annual Savings with 4 PV Solar Panels
• Rooftop space required - 3.3m x 3.7m
• System size - 1.74 kWp
• Annual units generated - 1539 kWh
• Annual CO2 emissions saved - 531 kgs
• Annual bill savings - €527.41

Calculations based on standard values and a unit rate of 0.42c per kWh. Figures are designed to give an estimate and are for illustrative purposes.