County Clare · Census 2022 and gas meter data
Combi boiler installation in Clare
Oil is the main fuel in Clare: 58% of homes. What that means for a new combi, what installers publish, and one installer who covers Clare.
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In Clare, 58% of homes heat with oil and 12% with gas (Census 2022), so most combis are oil. 5,013 homes had a gas meter in 2024 (CSO). Of its ten biggest towns, these have two homes in five or more on gas: Sixmilebridge (53%) and Ardnacrusha (47%). Published prices: a gas combi swap has a median of €2,600 across 12 installers, and an oil boiler €3,000.
Tell us about the job and one installer who covers your county rings you with a price. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
What's different about a combi in Clare
Clare has gas, but most homes don't use it. In the 2022 Census only 19% of households in Ennis heated with gas and 54% with oil; Shannon was 26% gas. The gas towns are the ones near Limerick: Sixmilebridge (53%), Ardnacrusha (47%) and Killaloe (39%) (CSO, built-up areas file). 5,013 Clare homes had a gas meter in 2024 (CSO).
Across the county, 58% of homes heat with oil and 13% with coal, peat or wood, and 60% are detached houses. Expect an oil combi or a standard oil boiler, often fitted outside.
Clare in figures
Every figure for Clare, against Ireland
| Clare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 12% | 33% |
| Oil | 58% | 39% |
| Electricity | 9% | 12% |
| Coal, peat or wood | 13% | 9% |
| Homes with a gas meter, 2024 | 5,013 | 695,199 |
| Median gas use per metered home, 2024 | 7,039 kWh | 7,771 kWh |
| Detached houses | 60% | 41% |
| Built before 1980 | 40% | 42% |
| Built 2001 to 2010 | 26% | 25% |
| Built since 2011 | 6% | 8% |
Sources: CSO Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics, county file, tables 6.1, 6.2 and 6.5 (households; year built where stated), read 29 October 2026; CSO table F2007A for detached houses; CSO, Networked Gas Consumption 2024, tables 5B and 6B, from Gas Networks Ireland meter data, read 30 October 2026.
Gas or oil, town by town
The county figures hide a split that matters for a combi: towns on the gas network and the countryside on oil. These are the 8 biggest towns in Clare, with the share of households on each fuel in the 2022 Census.
| Town | Homes | Gas | Oil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ennis | 10,587 | 19% | 54% |
| Shannon | 3,877 | 26% | 52% |
| Sixmilebridge | 974 | 53% | 27% |
| Kilrush | 1,076 | 2% | 45% |
| Newmarket-On-Fergus | 738 | 0% | 61% |
| Killaloe | 673 | 39% | 24% |
| Ardnacrusha | 375 | 47% | 42% |
| Kilkee | 494 | 2% | 45% |
Source: CSO Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics, built-up areas, table 6.5 (households by central heating), and CSO table F1015 (population of towns), read 30 October 2026. Shares are of all households, including those that didn't say.
What changes the job in Clare
- Gas combi swap. Where there's a gas meter, a like-for-like swap is the usual job, fitted by an RGI. Median published price €2,600, middle half €2,199–€2,800. See every published price.
- Oil combi. 58% of Clare homes heat with oil. An oil combi or a standard oil boiler is fitted by an OFTEC-registered technician, often outdoors in its own casing. Median published oil boiler price €3,000. See oil combi boilers.
- Big detached houses. 60% of Clare homes are detached, against 41% nationally. With two or more bathrooms in use at once, a combi shares one flow of hot water; a system boiler with a cylinder may suit better. See combis for large houses.
Running costs in Clare
The median Clare home with a gas meter used 7,039 kWh of gas in 2024, against 7,771 kWh for the State (CSO, Networked Gas Consumption 2024, table 5B). At SEAI's unit price of 13.00c a kWh for gas in band D2, including VAT and before standing charges (SEAI, 1 July 2026), that's about €920 a year. That sum is ours.
Met Éireann's 1991 to 2020 averages give Ennis about 1,843 heating degree days a year, 11% fewer than the Irish average of 2,079 (Met Éireann 30-year averages; degree days are our calculation from the 1 km grid, base 15.5 °C). The same house needs less heat here, so a combi sized for hot water usually has output to spare for the radiators.
Oil is priced the same everywhere: kerosene was 12.60c a kWh on SEAI's 1 July 2026 schedule prices, against 13.00c for gas. See combi running costs for the cost per shower and per year.
What a new combi costs in Clare
We found no installer based in Clare that publishes a supplied-and-fitted price on its own website (checked 22 and 23 October 2026). The national figures are the benchmark: 35 installers' published prices, every one linked on the price page.
| Job | Median published price | Middle half | Installers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combi boiler swap | €2,600 | €2,199–€2,800 | 12 |
| Conversion to a combi | €3,400 | €3,100–€4,000 | 3 |
| System or regular boiler | €2,500 | €2,199–€2,650 | 32 |
| Oil boiler | €3,000 | €2,590–€3,500 | 6 |
Most prices don't say whether VAT is included. Ask for a written price with VAT, the flue, the flush, the filter and the certificate.
Where we cover in Clare
All of County Clare, including Ennis, Shannon, Sixmilebridge, Kilrush, Newmarket-On-Fergus and Killaloe. The six biggest towns had 47,213 people between them in 2022 (CSO Census 2022, table F1015). Put your town or Eircode in the form and we pass it to one installer who covers your county.
Nearby: combi boilers in Limerick · combi boilers in Galway · every county.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How much is a combi boiler installed in Clare?
We found no Clare installer that publishes a price. Nationally, a like-for-like gas combi swap has a median published price of €2,600 across 12 installers, a conversion €3,400 and an oil boiler €3,000.
Is there gas in Ennis?
There is, but most homes don't use it: 19% of Ennis households heated with gas in the 2022 Census and 54% with oil. Sixmilebridge (53%) and Killaloe (39%) have higher gas shares.
Do most homes in Clare need an oil or a gas combi?
Oil, on the 2022 Census: 58% of Clare homes heat with oil and 12% with gas. A meter box on an outside wall means gas; a tank in the garden means oil.
Is there a grant for a new combi boiler?
No. In SEAI's own words: "We do not give grants for new or replacement fossil fuel boilers, such as gas or oil" (SEAI, read 29 October 2026). You may get the €700 heating controls grant if your home was built and occupied before 2011 (SEAI), and with a combi SEAI requires an extra heating zone as part of that work. The €2,000 boiler scrappage grant only applies when a heat pump replaces the boiler.
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Where these numbers come from (9 public sources, checked 29 October 2026)
- CSO: cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ngc/networked…
- CSO, built-up areas file: cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census2022/SAPS_2022_BU…
- CSO Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics: cso.ie/en/census/census2022/census2022smallareapopul…
- CSO table F2007A: data.cso.ie/table/F2007A
- CSO table F1015: data.cso.ie/table/F1015
- SEAI, 1 July 2026: seai.ie/publications/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparison.pdf
- Met Éireann 30-year averages: met.ie/climate/30-year-averages
- SEAI: seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/individual-grants/s…
- SEAI: seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/individual-grants/h…