Ireland’s greenest homes

As ambitious climate targets loom and energy costs continue to soar, ever more Irish households are making their homes greener, warmer and more energy efficient.

Switcher.ie’s study - Ireland’s Greenest Homes - ranks counties on their recycling habits, renewable energy sources, electric cars and SEAI grants.

Since last year’s study, we found that:

• 53,985 home energy upgrades were completed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in 2024; an increase of 13% from 2023.
• 278,713 of homes had a BER rating of B2 or above, around 33% more than 2023 according to the CSO.
• 256,517 tonnes of mixed dry recyclables were collected, which the EPA say was a 3% drop from the previous year.
• 17,458 new electric cars were registered in 2024, a 24% drop from the previous year, according to the Society of Motoring of Ireland (SIMI).

Though EV take-up and recycling declined across the country, 2024 saw a surge of households upgrading their homes’ energy efficiency, with all counties seeing significant spikes in BER ratings and solar installations.

How did we measure sustainability?

For each county, we compared the total number of:

• BERs of B2 and above
• Tonnes of recycled waste
• Newly registered electric vehicles
• Properties using solar energy
• SEAI solar panel installations
• SEAI roof insulations
• SEAI property upgrades

Though highly populated counties with above average incomes had higher EV adoption and BER ratings, and fared well in our study, so too did rural, coastal counties, which boasted higher than average solar energy usage, recycling habits and SEAI property upgrades.

You can find the full index with all of our data ranked here.

Figures are calculated per 1,000 of a county’s population and taken from the most up-to-date data across all sources; mostly from 2024.

Top 10 counties

The greenest homes were in counties with the highest EV ownership, the largest quantities of recycling, the most energy-efficient homes and SEAI grants.

More affluent, urban counties like Wicklow, Meath, Galway, Cork, Kildare and Dublin made our top ten; as well as Louth, Wexford, Kerry and Mayo.

The latter four counties punched above their weight when it came to sustainable homes; with plenty of warm, energy efficient properties, and a significant number of solar panels compared to other regions.

2. Meath

Meath claimed second place again this year, with some of the most sustainable homes in the country.

‘The Royal County,’ famed for its fertile, green valleys and neolithic sites, boasted the highest number of homes with solar energy, and the most SEAI property upgrades in 2024.

Here’s how they fared:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
3.3 per 1,000 (723)	71.9 per 1,000 (15,849)	18.6 per 1,000 (4,117)	155kg per household

3. Galway

The capital of Connemara climbed its way to number three in this year’s index, and saw some of the biggest increases in homes adopting sustainable measures.

The bustling, coastal county had the second highest amount of recycled waste, and was ranked third best for roof insulations in 2024.

Top figures include:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Solar installations	Recycling
1.8 per 1,000 (506)	43.9 per 1,000 (12,155)	16.3 per 1,000 (4,517)	129kg per household

5. Wexford

Wexford maintained its place in this year’s top 10, dropping just one position from last year.

Despite being less populated and having a lower than average income than others in the top ten, it still performed well across most of the areas in our study.

Notable changes since last year include a 47% jump in homes with high BERs, a 36% increase in solar panel installations, and a 27% increase in SEAI property upgrades.

Here’s some top-line numbers:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
2.6 per 1,000 (433)	49.8 per 1,000 (8,144)	17.5 per 1,000 (2,871)	134 per household

6. Cork

The affluent, urban and picturesque rebel county came in at number six yet again, excelling across most categories of the index.

It was fourth best for recycling, ranked sixth for warm homes and made it into eighth place for having the most properties with solar panels.

There was a 30% increase in properties with high BERs, while solar panel installations grew by 17% in 2024.

More detailed figures include:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
2.8 per 1,000 (1,630)	55 1,000 (32,036)	13.9 per 1,000 (8,111)	147kg per household

7. Kildare

While Kildare remained the seventh-best county overall, it also maintained its number one spot for warmest homes, claiming the most properties in 2024 with a BER of B2 and over.

With some of the highest incomes in the country, it ranked third best for EVs though its recycling and SEAI grants were lower than others again this year.

It was one of the few counties to grow in almost every area this year, seeing a 25% jump in properties with a high BER rating, a 28% hike in SEAI solar installations, and a 23% jump in roof insulations and property upgrades.

Some insights here:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
4.2 per 1,000 (1,025)	81.5 per 1,000 (20,141)	16 per 1,000 (3,965)	80kg per household

9. Kerry

Although a more rural, lower income region compared to others in our top ten, Kerry beat seventeen other counties to rank at number nine, one spot down from last year.

Kerry had some of the best recycling habits in the country, and received a significant number of roof insulation grants in 2024.

Although solar installations aren’t as high as other counties, it did see a significant increase - 305 installations, or a 45% jump - compared to 2023.

Some data on the main areas includes:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
1.4 per 1,000 (213)	41.7 per 1,000 (6,487)	14 per 1,000 (2,176)	165kg per household

10. Mayo

Another newcomer to our top 10 counties, Mayo moved up three places from last year to nab the final spot.

The beautiful west-coast county was ranked number one for roof insulations in 2024, and had the fourth highest number of property upgrades.

It also saw one of the biggest spikes in solar panel installations, which grew by 54% in 2024, compared to the previous year.

Here’s some main stats for Mayo:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	SEAI solar installations	Recycling
1 per 1,000 (141)	33.6 per 1,000 (4,614)	13.3 per 1,000 (1,835)	114kg per household

Counties with the most SEAI grants

In 2024, the SEAI completed almost 54,000 home energy upgrades, up almost 13% year on year.

In our study, Meath had the most SEAI property upgrades per 1,000 in 2024, followed closely by counties Louth and Wexford.

Here’s our top five:

1. Meath
2. Louth
3. Wexford
4. Mayo
5. Galway

Counties with the biggest growth

Though they didn’t make the top ten, certain counties saw significant growth in 2024 compared to 2023, across areas like BER and solar installations.

Carlow saw an 11% average increase across all categories and a 40% increase if only BER improvements, solar installations, and property upgrades were considered.

1. Carlow, +11%
2. Longford, +10%
3. Westmeath, + 8%
4. Tipperary, +8%
5. Wexford, +8%

Counties with the warmest homes

A high BER rating - the certification that measures a home’s energy efficiency - means your home is better at conserving heat, making it more sustainable, warmer and cheaper to run.

To work out the top five, we indexed and ranked the counties that had the highest number of properties with a BER rating of B2 or more.

1. Kildare
2. Wicklow
3. Meath
4. Dublin
5. Louth

The biggest increases in 2024 include:

• Westmeath: +71% (or 3,546 homes)
• Limerick: 56%, (or 3,546 homes)
• Roscommon: 54%( or 741 homes)
• Louth: 52% (or 3,156 homes)

Nationwide, homes with BERs of B2 or higher jumped by an average of 33% and the county with the largest increase - Westmeath - grew by 71%.

Best counties for electric cars

Electric car sales have been declining due to a combination of factors, including the cost of living crisis, concerns about public charging infrastructure, and a reduction in government incentives.

There was a 24% drop in the nationwide average of newly registered electric vehicles in 2024, with more rural counties like Cavan, Sligo Leitrim and Clare seeing the biggest decreases.

However, the counties with the largest adoption haven’t changed since last year’s study, and they include:

1. Dublin
2. Wicklow
3. Kildare
4. Meath
5. Kilkenny

Five steps to a more sustainable home

If you’re switching to an electric car, retrofitting your home, or just looking at ways to reduce your energy bills, here’s five ways to make your journey that little bit easier.