SEAI Business Energy Upgrades Scheme: The retrofit application process simplified

– We need to talk about Commercial Retrofit

WhatsApp Image 2025-10-20 at 13.50.42 (4) — Eamonn Sheils, Programme Manager for Commercial Retrofit, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland ( SEAI).

Getting a grant offer shouldn’t be a hurdle. EAMONN SHEILS, SEAI Programme Manager for Commercial Retrofit, continues his series of articles on the SEAI Business Energy Upgrades Scheme (BEUS), explaining how a simplified application process is making it easier for SMEs to access grants to support their premises’ retrofit.

SEAI Business Energy Upgrades Scheme

In our first article on the new SEAI Business Energy Grant (SEAI Business Energy Upgrades Scheme explained), we provided an overview of the scheme and outlined its goal: To remove some of the processes of larger tailored grants that may not be suitable for SMEs with smaller buildings or retrofit projects who want to access grant funding.

Central to achieving this goal was providing a quick, easy application process for businesses, where time is a precious commodity.

In this article, we will provide a brief overview of this process to further demonstrate how fast and user-friendly the application really is across all nine measures on the scheme.

Application Process: Reviewing Options

The portal is designed, as far as possible, to minimise the level of detail required for an applicant to obtain their grant offer.

For the Heat Pumps, Air Handling Unit and Pump measures, the portal goes so far as to estimate the system capacity simply from the following inputs:

– Select from Drop-down: Building Type

– Input: Total Floor Area

– Select from Drop-down: System Served by new plant (eg Heating, Hot Water, etc)

– Select from Drop-down: Technology (eg, VRF, Air-to-Water, etc)

This allows a building owner to complete an application with basic details they will possess, aside from perhaps the System Served and Technology.

For example, in the case of the Heat Pump measures, the portal estimates a kilowatt capacity for the heat pump based on the building, total floor area and system served.

Using this result, in combination with the selected technology, a grant value is presented in the draft application along with the assumed estimated kilowatt capacity. You can also apply for FCU/ radiator and pipework replacements as part of this measure.

There is no requirement under the scheme to notify SEAI of the actual system details at this point. In addition, once the application is submitted, there is no need to contact SEAI until the project is completed and the Applicant is submitting their request for payment.

To ensure the Applicant has all these details and can complete their application in one short visit to the application portal, there is a Pre-Application Form on the dedicated webpage for each measure that mirrors exactly what will be requested on the portal.

The remaining measures (Solar Thermal, BMS Controls, Fabric Roof and Fabric Wall and Design Assistance), which cannot necessarily be estimated on building type and floor area, use a mixture of drop list selections and free text inputs. In all cases, the number of inputs is kept as simple and limited as possible. The BMS Optimisation is a flat rate of €2,000 and only requires a minimum of three systems from a list that is controlled by the existing BMS.

The automatic generation of grant values allows the Applicant to try several options across all measures to obtain a grant value for same without fully submitting an application.

Contractor Selection

Another unique aspect of the BEUS application portal is the Applicant’s ability to select their own contractor (ie, not on the SEAI register).

Under each measure, while the Applicant is asked to select the contractor completing the works from a drop-down list, they may enter the name and contact details of the contractor they plan to use.

In order to maintain a level of monitoring on supply chain quality, for the Applicant to be paid on completion of their works, the contractor and their associated Installer(s) will need to be registered under the scheme. However, as noted, this does not need to be completed until the Applicant is ready to submit their request for payment.

If the Applicant decides to change their contractor, registered or unregistered, after they have submitted their application, this is not an issue, once, at the time of request for payment, the final contractor appointed is registered for the associated measure(s).

Funding Options

Once the Applicant is ready to submit their application, they simply fill in their bank details, review and agree to the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme.

The Applicant will also be asked to confirm which form of State Aid they wish to apply for the grant under. The Applicant can select either ‘De-Minimis’ or ‘General Block Exemption Regulation’ (GBER).

Applicants should understand their funding options to maximise aid while staying compliant. Full details are in the Application Guide. De-Minimis: Capped at €300,000 over three years. No energy efficiency uplift proof required; ideal for small works like pump installations.

– GBER: No funding limit, but requires a 10% (single measure) or 25% (multiple measures) energy improvement. Proof is usually waived for heat pumps.

– Strategy: Use GBER whenever eligible to preserve the De-Minimis budget for smaller projects such as a pump installation.

Application preparation

The Applicant’s contractor, using this form, can advise which measure options to choose. The form also includes details of the completion documentation as well as the required professional qualifications of the Contractor and Installer. Using this form in conjunction with the Company Information Form of the related measure(s) ensures all parties are aware of their responsibilities to comply with the scheme requirements.

Payment Stage: Uploading Documentation

Once the project has been completed and all required documentation is prepared by the contractor, the Applicant simply returns to the related application within the portal.

The applied details on each measure page will now be frozen, and an upload section of the required documents (as outlined in the Pre Application Form) is listed at the bottom of the page.

The Applicant can simply drag and drop the relevant documentation and photographs into the relevant sections and click submit.

Once all data has been reviewed and deemed compliant, the project may be selected for an on-site inspection. After successful completion of the inspection phase, the project is moved to Accounts for payment.

Final Grant Value

At the payment stage, if the actual installed capacity is lower than the estimated size or provided details, the grant value can be adjusted by SEAI. If the installed capacity is higher, the grant value will not increase.

The second aspect that can impact the final payment from the initial grant value is the fact that the scheme cannot fund greater than 30% of the associated costs of the project.

As a result, at the payment stage, the final grant will be the lowest of the three values below:

Initial offer in the portal
Adjusted value due to a lower than estimated or input metrics on the application
30% of the direct project costs for the measure.

Note: SEAI advises applicants that it is often easier to make separate applications for each measure, so that when an individual measure is completed, they can submit that particular measure for payment. If all measures are within one application, all the documentation must be input before submitting for payment for a group application.

Need for Collaboration – If not, why not?

This Scheme will not succeed without the supply chain. The simple nature of the process means there is very limited input requirements for support or input from a design team or contractor, but they are a vital element to its success. We hope you can take some time to review the scheme and that you will consider promoting and encouraging your clients to engage with it for suitable projects.