77% of Irish homes are already suitable for a heat pump without major insulation work, according to PowerHouse analysis of 1,393,078 homes in SEAI’s national BER research data. Kildare and Meath are Ireland’s most heat-pump-ready counties, where 85% of assessed homes meet the indicative heat-loss threshold (2.3 W/K·m²) used for the SEAI heat pump grant. Tipperary (71%), Roscommon (72%) and Leitrim (73%) rank lowest — yet these are also among the counties most dependent on oil heating, meaning they stand to save the most by switching.
Key findings
- Most ready: Kildare (85%), Meath (85%) and Laois (83%) top the table — counties with younger housing stock built after the 2000s insulation standards.
- Biggest opportunity: Roscommon and Tipperary have Ireland’s highest oil dependence (87% of assessed homes) — the very homes where a heat pump replaces the most expensive fuel.
- Dublin’s scale: 429,067 Dublin homes were assessed — 76% already heat-pump-ready, almost all on gas.
- The border and west lag on fabric but lead on savings: Donegal, Mayo and Leitrim combine older stock, higher heat loss and 80%+ oil dependence.
County-by-county table
| # | County | Homes analysed | Heat-pump-ready now | Typical heat-loss (W/K·m²) | Most common fuel | Oil-heated share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kildare | 67,623 | 85% | 1.63 | Gas | 33% |
| 2 | Meath | 57,311 | 85% | 1.65 | Oil | 36% |
| 3 | Laois | 22,001 | 83% | 1.74 | Oil | 48% |
| 4 | Galway | 71,142 | 81% | 1.81 | Oil | 70% |
| 5 | Louth | 40,794 | 80% | 1.75 | Gas | 27% |
| 6 | Wexford | 45,800 | 79% | 1.88 | Oil | 77% |
| 7 | Carlow | 17,140 | 79% | 1.89 | Oil | 49% |
| 8 | Longford | 11,729 | 79% | 1.91 | Oil | 77% |
| 9 | Waterford | 36,505 | 78% | 1.84 | Oil | 43% |
| 10 | Kilkenny | 22,785 | 78% | 1.85 | Oil | 58% |
| 11 | Cavan | 19,216 | 78% | 1.96 | Oil | 85% |
| 12 | Kerry | 40,951 | 78% | 1.87 | Oil | 82% |
| 13 | Limerick | 56,283 | 77% | 1.86 | Oil | 43% |
| 14 | Monaghan | 13,245 | 77% | 1.88 | Oil | 76% |
| 15 | Wicklow | 45,626 | 77% | 1.80 | Oil | 35% |
| 16 | Westmeath | 25,225 | 77% | 1.90 | Oil | 65% |
| 17 | Clare | 31,616 | 77% | 1.95 | Oil | 73% |
| 18 | Sligo | 20,558 | 77% | 1.93 | Oil | 78% |
| 19 | Cork | 154,486 | 76% | 1.91 | Gas | 29% |
| 20 | Dublin | 429,067 | 76% | 1.82 | Gas | 0% |
| 21 | Offaly | 18,886 | 76% | 1.93 | Oil | 73% |
| 22 | Donegal | 41,332 | 75% | 2.01 | Oil | 84% |
| 23 | Mayo | 35,981 | 74% | 2.02 | Oil | 84% |
| 24 | Leitrim | 10,262 | 73% | 2.14 | Oil | 80% |
| 25 | Roscommon | 16,246 | 72% | 2.15 | Oil | 87% |
| 26 | Tipperary | 41,268 | 71% | 2.04 | Oil | 87% |
“Heat-pump-ready now” = share of assessed homes whose indicative Heat Loss Indicator is at or below 2.3 W/K·m², the threshold SEAI uses when assessing heat pump grant suitability. Heat loss estimated from published U-values and floor areas in the dataset with a standard ventilation allowance — indicative, not a survey of any individual home. City and county council areas are combined; Dublin postal districts are combined into Dublin.
About this data
This analysis was carried out by PowerHouse using the SEAI National BER Research Tool dataset (published under a CC-BY licence), covering 1,393,078 anonymised Building Energy Rating assessments of Irish homes. Figures are statistical estimates for groups of similar homes and do not describe any individual property; grant eligibility for a specific home is always confirmed by an SEAI technical assessment. Data analysis: PowerHouse (Athena Enterprises Ltd), SEAI Registered Contractor 10237. You are welcome to cite this page with attribution.
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