"Greener Homes" Grant Facts

Just a few thoughts on the Government Grants from SEI (Sustainable Energy Ireland). As I mentioned earlier, there are several categories of grant. I am only dealing with one particular grant here in this blog, and that is the grant for Wood Pellet Central Heating.

One Grant - Two Types of Rip-Off

There are two types of Rip-Off going on in Ireland as a result of the grant. (1) There is the supply of equipment price rip-off, and (2) There is the installation and commissioning charges rip-off. Because the grant is so generous, these people feel they can get away with price gouging and rip-offs.

Some grant recipients might feel they have to order the units from the supplier they nominated on the Grant Application. This, however, is not necessarily the case. SEI is only concerned with the installation being an "approved unit" - it does not matter where the unit is actually bought from. It can be purchased from the cheapest or most suitable source, once it is one of the approved types of boiler/heater. In fact it could be imported from mainland Europe where there is much greater competition, more savvy customers, and as a result, the prices are more honest!

The Installer Rip-Off

The other confusion affecting some people is the matter of the installer/commissioning agent. It does not matter who actually installs the unit once they are competent plumbers / electricians. This is how Gerkros, the only Irish manufacturer of wood pellet boilers, actually operates. Gerkros sell to wholesale to hardware merchants. You then buy from the hardware store. Your plumber installs the unit according to the manual. Then Gerkros sen their man out to inspect and commission the unit, and fill up the Grant Approval Form.

It is the person who does the inspection, commissioning and tuning of the unit that really counts. If you are unhappy with the "approved" installer that you have nominated in your Grant Application, you can simply re-apply to by letter to SEI to have a different one nominated. Be sure to tell SEI why you are changing when re-applying!

You Just have to Find the Honest Ones!

Do phone around and get as many prices as possible before proceeding with the work. There are actually some honest "approved" installers out there - you just have to find them.

The more people that become savvy, ask lots of questions, and carefully check out the prices - the more it will squeese out the gougers. And we all want that, don't we?