County Wicklow · Census 2022 and gas meter data
Combi boiler installation in Wicklow
Oil is the main fuel in Wicklow: 41% of homes. What that means for a new combi, what installers publish, and one installer who covers Wicklow.
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In Wicklow, 34% of homes heat with gas and 41% with oil (Census 2022), and 22,341 homes had a gas meter in 2024 (CSO). Check which you have before you price a combi. A like-for-like gas combi swap has a median published price of €2,600 across 12 Irish installers; an oil boiler €3,000.
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What's different about a combi in Wicklow
Wicklow's gas follows the roads out of Dublin. In the 2022 Census, 77% of households in Blessington heated with gas, 69% in Bray and 58% in Greystones. Further south it thins out: Arklow is 34% gas and 48% oil, and Wicklow town 21% gas and 50% oil (CSO, built-up areas file). Across the county oil leads, 41% to 34%.
Bray is old. 16% of Wicklow homes were built before 1946, more than in Kildare, Meath or Louth, and those Victorian and pre-war houses tend to have regular boilers and cylinders. A combi in one of them is a conversion, and with two bathrooms and a bath a system boiler may still fit better.
Wicklow in figures
Every figure for Wicklow, against Ireland
| Wicklow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 34% | 33% |
| Oil | 41% | 39% |
| Electricity | 11% | 12% |
| Coal, peat or wood | 6% | 9% |
| Homes with a gas meter, 2024 | 22,341 | 695,199 |
| Median gas use per metered home, 2024 | 7,540 kWh | 7,771 kWh |
| Detached houses | 44% | 41% |
| Built before 1980 | 42% | 42% |
| Built 2001 to 2010 | 22% | 25% |
| Built since 2011 | 10% | 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 Wicklow, with the share of households on each fuel in the 2022 Census.
| Town | Homes | Gas | Oil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bray | 11,835 | 69% | 12% |
| Greystones-Delgany | 7,634 | 58% | 20% |
| Arklow | 5,012 | 34% | 48% |
| Wicklow | 4,616 | 21% | 50% |
| Blessington | 1,851 | 77% | 12% |
| Kilcoole | 1,475 | 52% | 31% |
| Newtownmountkennedy | 1,149 | 60% | 27% |
| Rathnew | 1,143 | 44% | 25% |
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 Wicklow
- 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. 41% of Wicklow 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.
Running costs in Wicklow
The median Wicklow home with a gas meter used 7,540 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 €980 a year. That sum is ours.
Met Éireann's 1991 to 2020 averages give Bray about 1,883 heating degree days a year, 9% 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 Wicklow
We found no installer based in Wicklow 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 Wicklow
All of County Wicklow, including Bray, Greystones-Delgany, Arklow, Wicklow, Blessington and Kilcoole. The six biggest towns had 92,057 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 Dublin · combi boilers in Wexford · combi boilers in Kildare · every county.
The law
Only an RGI fits a gas combi
By law, only a Registered Gas Installer (RGI) can do gas work in your home (CRU). The register is run by Safe Energy Ireland for the CRU. Check any installer on rgi.ie. After a boiler replacement, ask for the completion certificate.
- Gas combi: an RGI, by law
- Oil boiler: ask for OFTEC
- A CERT 2 after the job
- VAT stated on the quote
FAQ
Questions people ask
How much is a combi boiler installed in Wicklow?
We found no Wicklow 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 Wicklow?
In the north of the county, yes: 69% of households in Bray and 77% in Blessington heated with gas in the 2022 Census. Arklow (34%) and Wicklow town (21%) are mostly oil. 22,341 Wicklow homes had a gas meter in 2024 (CSO).
Do most homes in Wicklow need an oil or a gas combi?
Oil, on the 2022 Census: 41% of Wicklow homes heat with oil and 34% 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 (11 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
- CRU: cru.ie/consumer-information/home-safety/gas-works
- rgi.ie/registered-installers
- SEAI: seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/individual-grants/s…
- SEAI: seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/individual-grants/h…