Is there a grant for a combi boiler?

The one grant that fits a combi: €700 for heating controls

SEAI pays €700 towards upgrading the controls on an existing heating system, for any type of home built and occupied before 2011 with an MPRN, as long as the grant is approved before work starts and an SEAI-registered contractor does it (SEAI; Citizens Information, page edited 22 October 2026). It isn't available alongside a heat pump grant. The boiler itself is never part of it: SEAI's own technical bulletin tells contractors that "boiler costs are not relevant as they are not grant funded" (SEAI Technical Bulletin, February 2024).

The combi rule: a second zone is compulsory

SEAI's heating controls grant normally needs six of nine listed control items to be newly installed, and the home must have had no, or very basic, controls before. Three of the nine don't exist on a combi system, because there's no cylinder: separated pipework for space heating and hot water, a time clock for the immersion, and a cylinder thermostat. So on a combi, all six of the remaining items must be new, and the bulletin spells out the consequence: "for homes with a combi boiler, contractors MUST install an additional space heating zone as part of the grant works" (SEAI). The six items are:

• A boiler interlock arrangement
• A thermostat controlling one space heating zone, and its wiring
• A 24-hour, 7-day programmer with at least two channels
• Separated pipework for two space heating zones, for example downstairs and upstairs
• A thermostat controlling the additional space heating zone, and its wiring
• Thermostatic radiator valves

In practice that means the pipework is split, usually downstairs and upstairs, with a thermostat on each zone, a two-channel programmer, an interlock so the boiler only fires when a zone calls for heat, and thermostatic valves on the radiators (not in the room with the thermostat). It's a bigger job than a smart thermostat on the wall, which is why the grant exists.

Doing it with a new combi

Fitting the controls on the same day as the new boiler is allowed, but the paperwork has to keep them apart. The contractor's Declaration of Works must declare only the cost of the controls, not the boiler (SEAI), and the grant must be approved before any of the work starts: "You must apply for your grant and accept the grant offer before you begin works" (SEAI). Ask the installer two questions: are you SEAI-registered for heating controls, and will you zone the house as part of the job?

What's not grant-aided on a combi job

• The combi itself. Any make, any output, gas or oil.
• The conversion. Taking out the cylinder and tank is part of the boiler job, not the controls job. See converting to a combi.
• Warmer Homes Scheme. SEAI's free upgrades for people on Fuel Allowance and six other payments won't fit a new gas or oil boiler either: "the scheme will not cover a new fossil fuel boiler", only renewable heating such as a heat pump (Citizens Information, page edited 13 October 2026).
• The €2,000 scrappage grant. It's paid for scrapping a fossil fuel heating system and replacing it with a heat pump, since 6 October 2026 (Citizens Information). A new combi doesn't qualify.

Leaving gas instead: the heat pump money

A combi decision is often a heat pump decision in disguise, because a heat pump needs the cylinder a combi takes out. The grants for a house are €6,500 for the heat pump, €4,000 renewable heat bonus, €2,000 for central heating upgrades such as radiators and €2,000 boiler scrappage: €14,500 in all, plus a €200 technical assessment grant (Citizens Information, page edited 22 October 2026). The home must be built and occupied before 2021. Our sister site weighs the two up: gas boiler or heat pump, and keeps the full table of boiler grants in Ireland.

So what should a combi buyer do?

1. Boiler failed, need heat now?A new combi is the quick fix, with no grant: median published combi swap €2,600. Ask about zoning and the €700 at the same time.
2. Home built and occupied before 2011 with basic controls?Apply for the heating controls grant before the installer starts. On a combi the house gets a second zone as part of it.
3. House holds its heat, and you have time?Price a heat pump too. The €14,500 changes the maths, and it needs the cylinder you were about to remove.
4. Whatever you do, approval first.SEAI grants aren't paid on work that started before the offer was accepted.

Are gas boilers being banned?

Not for existing homes. Nothing stops you replacing a gas or oil boiler in your house. The Building Regulations only ask that a replacement boiler reaches 90% seasonal efficiency where practicable, which in practice means a condensing boiler (TGD L). New homes have effectively moved off fossil fuel boilers since 2019 (gov.ie), and as of July 2026 there was still no phase-out date for existing homes (Climate Change Advisory Council).

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