Ireland’s greenest homes

Earlier this year, many local authorities launched their five-year climate action plans as part of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill.

With ambitious climate targets, government grants and sky-high energy prices, ever more Irish households are reducing their waste and making their homes warmer and more energy efficient.

Take a look at these stats:

• 47,900 home energy upgrades were completed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in 2023; an increase of 76% from 2022.
• 22,789 new electric cars were registered in 2023, a 45.4% jump from the previous year, according to the Society of Motoring of Ireland (SIMI).
• 119,300 homes were using solar renewable energy sources in 2022, according to the CSO.

Besides, lowering the carbon footprint, cleaner energy alternatives like electric cars, solar panels and heat pumps offer families longer-term ways to save.

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

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

Although counties with the most solar panels, EVs and the highest BERs ratings fared well in our study, rural counties with a higher number of SEAI grants also ranked in our top ten.

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 2023 and 2022.

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, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kildare made our top ten; as well as Sligo, Wexford, Waterford and Kerry.

The latter three 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

With a robust population and higher than average income, Meath claimed second place in our index.

It had the highest number of residential solar panels of any county, ranked third for the most energy-efficient homes, and fourth for the most EVs.

Here’s a snapshot of the main stats:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
4.7 per 1,000 (1,048)	55.2 per 1,000 (12,164)	34.6 per 1,000 (7,629)	57 per 1,000 (12,557)

3. Dublin

With the most expensive properties in the country and higher than average incomes, Dublin claimed third spot for greenest homes in Ireland.

The capital had the highest number of registered EVs and recycled waste, and was fourth highest for number of properties with a BER of over B2.

Top figures include:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
7.5 per 1,000 (10,999)	52.3 per 1,000 (75,938)	18.8 per 1,000 (27,325 )	215 per 1,000 (311,901)

5. Sligo

Despite being one of the most rural spots in our top ten, Sligo had a considerable number of energy-efficient homes and received some of the highest numbers of SEAI grants last year.

Although recycling and EV figures were lower than some other highly-ranked counties, Sligo scored second highest for SEAI property upgrades in 2023, and fourth highest for solar panel installations.

Here’s some top-line numbers:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
2.6 per 1,000 (183)	31.8 per 1,000 (2,222)	20.5 per 1,000 (1,433)	38 per 1,000 (2,653)

6. Cork

The affluent, urban and picturesque rebel county came in at number six, and was the second best county for recycling after Dublin.

It was also sixth best for energy efficient homes and number of EVs, and made it into tenth place for having the most properties with solar panels.

More detailed figures include:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
4 per 1,000 (2,327)	42.2 per 1,000 (24,549)	25.6 per 1,000 (14,886)	110 per 1,000 (63,935)

7. Kildare

While Kildare was the seventh best county overall, it ranked number one for warmest homes; claiming the most properties with a BER of B2 and over.

It has some of the highest incomes in the country, and though the county was third best for EVs and solar energy, its recycling and SEAI grants figures were lower than others.

Some insights here:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
5.1 per 1,000 (1,261)	65.8 per 1,000 (16,251)	29.4 per 1,000 (7,282)	42 per 1,000 (10,373)

9. Waterford

In ninth position, Waterford was another county which fared well for homes that received grants for solar panel installations and roof insulations, and it was fifth highest for SEAI property upgrades in 2023.

It was also the seventh best county for homes with a BER of over B2.

Find more information for Waterford:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
3.2 per 1,000 (417)	37 per 1,000 (4,714)	22.1 per 1,000 (2,808)	50 per 1,000 ( 6,354)

10. Galway

Galway was the tenth best county for sustainable homes.

Similarly to Waterford, Kerry and Sligo, Galway received some of the highest numbers of SEAI grants in 2023.

It also fared well in other areas , such as energy-efficient homes, properties with solar panels, and EVs, hitting the middle ground for each.

Here’s some main stats for Galway:

Registered EVs	B2+ properties	Properties with solar	Tonnes of recycling
3 per 1,000 (830)	31.6 per 1,000 (8,759)	22.4 per 1,000 (6,218)	46 per 1,000 (12,717)

Counties with the most SEAI grants

In 2023, the SEAI completed over 47,900 home energy upgrades, up 76% year on year.

In our study, Roscommon had the most SEAI property upgrades per 1,000 in 2023, followed closely by counties Sligo and Leitrim.

Here’s our top five:

1. Roscommon
2. Sligo
3. Leitrim
4. Mayo
5. Waterford

Counties with the warmest homes

A high BER rating - the cert 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

Best counties for electric cars

Electric cars are 60% cheaper to run, and with the volatile price of petrol and diesel and SEAI grants of up to €3,500 for a new EV, more Irish households are going electric.

Here’s our top 5 based on new, registered electric vehicles in 2023:

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.