Will a Nest or tado thermostat get me the SEAI €700 grant?

No — not on its own. The €700 heating-controls grant funds a full package: a 7-day timer, a room thermostat with thermostatic radiator valves, zoning that separates your heating from your hot water, and a boiler interlock — all fitted by an SEAI-registered contractor. A smart thermostat you buy and clip on yourself only counts as one part of that package, and a DIY install can't be claimed. So buy with the full upgrade in mind, not as a shortcut to the grant.

Which smart control works with an oil boiler and a hot-water cylinder?

You need one that handles heating AND hot water as separate zones — a programmer replacement, not just a single-zone wall thermostat. Irish-native Climote, Heatmiser neoKit 2, Honeywell evohome and the Drayton Wiser Multi-Zone Kit are all built for an oil-boiler-plus-cylinder setup. tado works too, but only with the kit that adds the programmer and hot-water control. A plain Google Nest is single-channel, so it usually controls heating but not separate hot water without extra parts.

How much can heating controls actually save me?

SEAI says a full controls upgrade can cut your heating energy use by up to about 20% — roughly €250–320 a year for a typical 3-bed oil home. It's an estimate, not a guarantee: your real saving depends on your home, your insulation and your habits. The point is the boiler only fires when it needs to, so a fill of oil lasts longer.

What's the cheapest thing I can do to use less oil?

A hot-water cylinder jacket — about €29, and it pays for itself in a few weeks. After that: lag your hot pipes, draught-proof doors, windows and any unused chimney, and turn your hot water down to around 60°C. None of it is glamorous, but together it's real money off every fill.

Gadgets

Best smart heating controls for an oil boiler

Most “best smart thermostat” lists are written for gas combi boilers. An Irish oil home is different — a boiler plus a hot-water cylinder — so the control has to handle your heating and hot water properly. Here's what actually fits, what it costs, and the grant catch to know before you buy.

Read this first

The SEAI €700 grant catch

SEAI will put €700toward upgrading your heating controls — but it's for a full package, not a gadget. A smart thermostat (Nest, Hive, tado) bought online and clipped on yourself does NOT qualify for the grant on its own — it only counts as one part of the full package.

To qualify, the finished system needs:

A 7-day programmable timer (time control)
A room thermostat plus thermostatic radiator valves (temperature control)
Zoning that separates your heating from your hot water — usually upstairs from downstairs too
A boiler interlock, so the boiler only fires when a zone is actually calling for heat

The work must be done by an SEAI-registered contractor — a DIY job can't be claimed. Your home needs an MPRN and must have been built and occupied before 2011. You can't claim it if you're also getting a heat-pump grant.

What works with an oil boiler & cylinder

The key question isn't “is it smart?” — it's whether it can run your heating and your hot wateras separate zones. A single wall thermostat usually can't.

Climote

IrishFull control

Built as a direct swap for an Irish oil/gas heating timer — controls heating and hot water (up to 3 zones) from your phone. The most plug-and-play option for a typical Irish oil system.

Roughly: ~€90 via Electric Ireland, or ~€399 installed · ~€19/yr SIM after year one

Heatmiser neoKit 2

Full control

Ships with a heating thermostat plus a dedicated hot-water programmer, so it handles both an oil boiler and the cylinder. Expandable to more zones.

Roughly: components ~€60–90 each

Honeywell / Resideo evohome

Full control

Zoned system supporting up to 12 heating zones plus a hot-water zone — strong for a bigger house that wants room-by-room scheduling on an oil boiler.

Roughly: ~€250–600+ depending on zones

Drayton Wiser (Multi-Zone Kit 2)

Full control

The Multi-Zone Kit 2 is made specifically for conventional/heat-only boilers with hot-water control — i.e. exactly an oil-boiler-plus-cylinder setup.

Roughly: ~€260 (check Irish availability)

tado°

With the right kit

Works on an oil + cylinder system only with the kit that includes the programmer / wireless receiver and hot-water control — the bare wall thermostat alone won't run the cylinder.

Roughly: ~€100–120 thermostat · ~€185 starter kit with programmer + hot water

Google Nest

Heating only

A standard Nest with one Heat Link is single-channel, so on its own it typically controls heating but not separate hot water on a cylinder system. Doable, but needs careful wiring/extra parts.

Roughly: ~€200–280

Smart radiator valves (TRVs)

Add-on

Great for setting each room's temperature, but they only control individual radiators — they don't run the boiler or the hot water, so treat them as an add-on, not the main control.

Roughly: €50–95 per valve · starter kit €150–250

Prices are indicative (June 2026) and move — we don't do paid “hands-on” reviews or star ratings, just a sourced spec to help you pick what fits. Always check current prices and compatibility with the retailer or your installer.

What you'll actually save

SEAI reckons a full controls upgrade can cut your heating energy use by up to ~20% — around €250–320 a year for a typical 3-bed oil home (~1,300 litres/year). It's an estimate, not a guarantee, but the idea is simple: the boiler only fires when a room actually needs heat, so every fill of oil stretches further.

💡 Set your hot water no higher than ~60°C — heating it hotter just wastes oil, and 60°C keeps it safe from legionella.

Start cheaper: the low-cost oil-savers

Before any smart kit, these unglamorous bits give you the biggest return for the smallest spend on an oil home.

Hot-water cylinder jacket (80mm)

saves ~€2.50 a week

Wraps the hot-water cylinder your oil boiler heats — one of the best-value upgrades there is, and it pays for itself in weeks.

Roughly: ~€29 (smaller jackets from ~€18)

Pipe lagging

saves small but quick

Lag the hot pipes between the boiler and the cylinder so heat doesn't leak into the hot press instead of your taps.

Roughly: ~€1.50/m DIY foam · ~€8–20/m fitted

Radiator reflector panels

saves up to ~€25/yr (GB figure)

Foil panels behind radiators on uninsulated external walls reflect heat back into the room instead of the wall.

Roughly: ~€15–18 a roll

Draught-proofing

saves ~€55/yr windows & doors · ~€65/yr an unused chimney

Stops the warm air your oil paid for leaking straight back out.

Roughly: a few € DIY · ~€300 fitted

Getting it fitted

A full controls upgrade — and the €700 SEAI grant — needs a registered installer, not a DIY job. Find a registered oil-heating technician near you to spec and fit it properly.

Find an OFTEC technician →

Smart-control questions

Will a Nest or tado thermostat get me the SEAI €700 grant?: No — not on its own. The €700 heating-controls grant funds a full package: a 7-day timer, a room thermostat with thermostatic radiator valves, zoning that separates your heating from your hot water, and a boiler interlock — all fitted by an SEAI-registered contractor. A smart thermostat you buy and clip on yourself only counts as one part of that package, and a DIY install can't be claimed. So buy with the full upgrade in mind, not as a shortcut to the grant.
Which smart control works with an oil boiler and a hot-water cylinder?: You need one that handles heating AND hot water as separate zones — a programmer replacement, not just a single-zone wall thermostat. Irish-native Climote, Heatmiser neoKit 2, Honeywell evohome and the Drayton Wiser Multi-Zone Kit are all built for an oil-boiler-plus-cylinder setup. tado works too, but only with the kit that adds the programmer and hot-water control. A plain Google Nest is single-channel, so it usually controls heating but not separate hot water without extra parts.
How much can heating controls actually save me?: SEAI says a full controls upgrade can cut your heating energy use by up to about 20% — roughly €250–320 a year for a typical 3-bed oil home. It's an estimate, not a guarantee: your real saving depends on your home, your insulation and your habits. The point is the boiler only fires when it needs to, so a fill of oil lasts longer.
What's the cheapest thing I can do to use less oil?: A hot-water cylinder jacket — about €29, and it pays for itself in a few weeks. After that: lag your hot pipes, draught-proof doors, windows and any unused chimney, and turn your hot water down to around 60°C. None of it is glamorous, but together it's real money off every fill.

Sources

Figures and prices checked June 2026; grant rules and retail prices change — confirm current details with SEAI and the retailer.

Use less oil, and pay less for it

Better controls help — so does buying at the right time.

Cutting how much oil you burn is half the battle; the other half is what you pay per fill. Compare your county's suppliers for today's cheapest price, and set a free price-drop alert.

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