Nest: The Welsh Government Home Energy Scheme

The scheme is aimed at people living on a lower income, and its purpose is to help households facing an immediate risk to their health and wellbeing because of a lack of essential heating or hot water⁵. If that describes your home, the entry point is a single freephone number, 0808 808 2244, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm⁵.

About Nest and its operator

Nest is a Welsh Government scheme, run under the Warm Homes Nest programme, whose stated aim is to make Welsh homes warmer and more energy efficient places to live¹. It sits alongside the other UK nations' fuel poverty schemes: Energy Saving Trust describes Nest, with Scotland's Warmer Homes Scotland, as a scheme providing additional targeted support to low income households⁸.

The advice side is open to everyone. The scheme's annual report states that the free and impartial service is available to all households in Wales², and Bridgend County Borough Council confirms that all households in Wales have access to free, impartial advice to help reduce energy bills and maximise income⁷. The improvements side is targeted: only households that meet the eligibility rules get free work.

Nest publishes a customer charter for its home energy support scheme, which includes a commitment to "be open and avoid raising expectations that we are unable to meet"⁹. In practice that means the advice team will tell you plainly whether you qualify for free improvements before anything is arranged.

Support Nest offers: guidance, insulation, heating and heat pumps

For eligible households, Nest funds a package of home energy efficiency improvements. The Welsh Government's own list of what the scheme can provide includes a heat pump, insulation and solar panels³, and Which? describes the scheme as providing insulation, solar panels and heat pumps¹⁰. Where a heating system is unsafe or unreliable, the Welsh Government says the scheme can fund the replacement of a boiler or electric storage heaters to ensure you have a safe and reliable heating system⁵.

StepChange summarises the offer as free, impartial advice and, in some cases, free home energy efficiency improvements such as a new boiler, central heating and insulation¹¹. Not every measure is covered: a 2015 consultation summary recording Care & Repair survey findings noted that the scheme did not cover replacement windows or the replacement of old, inefficient boilers at that time¹², so what is offered depends on the assessment of your home.

For a household's energy independence, the significance is that these measures are fully funded rather than loaned: Citizens Advice has called for the scheme to provide trusted advice and fully funded energy efficiency upgrades for low income households in Wales¹³. The work is also delivered locally: the scheme's 2022-23 annual report records 100% of installations completed by Wales-based installers¹⁴.

Who qualifies: income, benefits, health and housing status

Nest's eligibility rules combine three things: your tenure, your income, and your home's energy performance. A House of Commons research briefing sets out the conditions: you must own or privately rent your home, receive a means tested benefit or live in a low income household, and live in a home with an EPC rating of 54 (E) or less, or 68 (D) or less where a household member has an eligible health condition¹⁵.

The eligible health conditions are defined on the scheme's own eligibility page⁴:

• respiratory disease, including respiratory infections, broncho-constriction in asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• circulatory disease, including cardio-vascular disease, strokes and heart attacks
• mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, psychosis and bipolar disorders
• dementia
• intellectual and development disorders

Social renters are not covered by the improvements side of the scheme: the rules cover owner-occupiers and private renters only¹⁵. Private renters also need their landlord's agreement, covered below. If you are not eligible, the scheme states it can help you find other schemes that suit your circumstances⁶.

EPC bands: the 54 (E) and 68 (D) limits and reserve list

The energy performance test is central to eligibility. Your home must have an EPC rating of 54 (E) or less; or 68 (D) or less if someone in your household has an eligible health condition⁴. Band D runs from 55 to 68 on the standard EPC scale, so the 68 cut-off includes every D-rated home¹⁶.

If your home has an EPC rating of 68 (D) or less but no one in your household has an eligible condition, your details will be placed on a reserve list⁴. That means a D-rated home on a low income without a health condition is not refused outright, but it is not guaranteed work either.

One practical point: not every Welsh home has a certificate. ONS analysis shows EPCs cover around 55% of the housing stock in Wales, based on Census 2021 analysis¹⁷. If your home has never been assessed, that is something to raise when you call, and a home energy assessment is how a rating is established in the first place.

Applying and the assessment process explained

The route in is a phone call. The Welsh Government's guidance says to check if you are eligible for help by calling Nest free on 0808 808 2244, or you can request a callback from an advisor⁵. Isle of Anglesey County Council adds that you can visit the Nest website at nest.gov.wales¹⁸.

Citizens Advice describes what follows: Nest will check your eligibility for the scheme, ask to see some evidence, for example a letter confirming your benefit entitlement, and then arrange for an assessor to visit your home¹⁹. The evidence you may be asked for includes:

• a benefit award letter or Council Tax statement, as evidence of a means tested benefit⁴
• for owner-occupiers, one of: a mortgage statement, a buildings insurance policy, or the property deeds⁴
• for private renters, your landlord's details, so Nest can request permission for any work⁴

On landlords, the scheme's 2022-23 annual report states that Nest works in partnership with Rent Smart Wales to ensure all private landlords are officially registered before being allowed access to support¹⁴.

How to reach Nest: telephone, opening hours, Welsh and email

The freephone number is 0808 808 2244, confirmed by the Welsh Government, National Energy Action and Which?⁵. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays⁵.

Calls and emails are welcomed in Welsh: the Welsh Government's guidance states this in both languages⁵. For people who are hard of hearing, neurodivergent, or who have difficulties communicating by telephone, Nest says you are welcome to contact the service by email at advicewales@est.org.uk²².

If you do not think you are eligible, or are not sure, you can still contact Nest for energy efficiency advice, help with other grants, energy tariffs and benefits entitlement checks²². The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action also directs households to call Nest on 0808 808 2244 for help²⁰.

Nest's place among UK energy schemes

Each UK nation has its own entry point for this kind of help, and Wales's is Nest. England's equivalent route is the GOV.UK Find Ways to Save Energy tool; Scotland has Home Energy Scotland; Northern Ireland has the NI Energy Advice line and the Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme, whose eligibility similarly depends on your income, housing tenure and where you live²⁴. Our overview of free home energy advice in Wales covers the other advice channels alongside Nest.

For a household thinking about a longer route to energy independence, Nest is one funding source among several, and it is worth checking what grant help you can get before you start work. Nest's own advice line can point you to other schemes if you do not qualify⁶, and the broader question of where to start energy improvements and what order to do them in applies to funded work just as much as work you pay for yourself. The starting point for everything in Wales is the same: one free phone call.