Little-known €300 car grant every Irish household can benefit from

As more and more people across the country consider making the switch to electric vehicles, one glaring question always raises its head and that is where to charge them. Well, the Electric Vehicle Home Charger Grant could offer some help with this problem.

Homeowners across the country can avail of this grant which was introduced by the government to address the lack of infrastructure for electric vehicles.

This scheme provides a grant up to the value of €300 towards the purchase and installation of your own home charger unit meaning that people can charge their car on their own property.

You don't even have to own an electric car yourself to avail of the grant as it can be used for visitor use or at rented accommodation.

Most importantly, to receive any payment, you must ensure that you use a Safe Electric Registered Electrical Contractor. The scheme also only supports smart chargers which are registered on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's (SEAI) Smart Charger Register. 

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What are the eligibility criteria?

• The electric vehicle must be parked on an off-street parking location that is associated with the home and the charger must be connected to the back of the home of the applicant.
• The property cannot be associated with a previous EV home charge point grant payment. It also cannot have availed of the free ESB Ecars home charger before 2018.
• The location of your home will be found through the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN), which can be found on your electricity bill.
• You cannot begin any work before the start date on your Letter of Offer. If you do, the expense will be deemed ineligible and you will not receive any grant support for it. 
• When you receive your Letter of Offer, you have 6 months to complete the installation and return the Payment Request Form to the SEAI with all of the associated evidence.
• The grant is only valid for 6 months, and if you do not complete it within that timeframe you must cancel it or reapply at a time that suits better.  

How to apply?

To apply for the scheme, you must complete the Electric Vehicle Home Charger grant application form. To do this, you will need your Meter Point Reference Number and home address. If you live somewhere with assigned parking in a multi-unit development, make sure that you have the Landlord/Apartment Block MPRN.

What are the next steps?

If your application is approved, you will receive a Letter of Offer via email and a Payment Request Form link as well as some other details. You will then have 6 months to complete the installation. 

Once work is complete, you must send off all the relevant documents and submit your Payment Request Form. Typically, applications are processed for payment in approximately 4-6 weeks from the date the documents are submitted to the SEAI.