Grants and Schemes

Home Energy Grants and Schemes in the UK: The Full Guide

The UK has a patchwork of grants, loans, discounts and tax relief that can pay towards heating, insulation, renewable generation and energy bills, and the patchwork changes from year to year. The biggest single payment open to most homeowners right now is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which gives £7,500 off the cost and installation of an air-to-water, ground source or water source heat pump in England and Wales¹. Alongside it sit the Great British Insulation Scheme for the least efficient homes, the Warm Homes: Local Grant of up to £30,000 of measures per property in England, the £150 Warm Home Discount on electricity bills, and the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme north of the border³.

Not everything that gets searched for still exists. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme ran only from September 2020 to March 2021 and is closed⁷, and both the Green Homes Grant and the Warm Homes Fund are no longer accepting new applications⁸. Some schemes have end dates already fixed: the Great British Insulation Scheme closes on 31 March 2026⁵, while the Boiler Upgrade Scheme runs until 30 December 2029² and the Warm Home Discount is confirmed through to 2030-31⁴.

This guide sets out each scheme that is open, who administers it, what it pays, who qualifies, and how the position differs between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also covers the rules on combining grants, because those rules decide what a household can actually claim.

Key UK energy grants for homes in brief

The open schemes divide into three kinds: capital grants that pay for physical work on the house, bill support that reduces what a household pays, and loans that spread the cost. Each is administered differently, and knowing the administrator tells a household where to apply.

The capital grants are the ones that change the house itself. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides upfront capital grants towards the cost of installing approved heat pumps¹². The Great British Insulation Scheme was designed to help around 300,000 households in the least energy-efficient homes⁹. The Warm Homes: Local Grant provides grants to low-income households in privately owned properties, delivered through local authorities¹¹.

Bill support works differently. The Warm Home Discount requires large domestic energy suppliers to provide an annual discount of £150 to eligible households¹³, funded by a levy on all domestic gas and electricity customers³. It reduces a bill; it does not improve the building.

Scotland runs its own framework. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme offers homeowners a grant, an interest-free loan or a combination of both, with grant funding of up to 75% of the combined cost of measures up to a maximum of £7,500, and up to £18,000 for rural households⁶. Wales has its own retrofit offer in Green Homes Wales, which can be used alongside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme¹⁴. Northern Ireland is outside the GB-wide schemes: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Great British Insulation Scheme both stop at the border, and Northern Ireland households need to look at the separate arrangements covered in home energy grants in Northern Ireland.

Closed schemes still shape expectations, because households search for them. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme provided grants to homeowners and landlords in England between September 2020 and March 2021⁷, and the National Audit Office reported it was intended to enable up to 600,000 households to install efficiency improvements and low carbon heat measures, saving up to £600 on their energy bills¹⁵. It ended early. The closed home energy grants page covers these in full.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme: heat pump funding of £7,500

The headline figure is simple: £7,500 off the cost and installation of air-to-water heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and water source heat pumps¹. The same £7,500 applies whether the system is air source or ground source². The scheme also covers biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings¹.

The scheme launched on 23 May 2022 to support the decarbonisation of heat in buildings¹², and vouchers were issued from 23 May 2022 for eligible technologies installed from 1 April 2022¹⁶. It is targeted at domestic and non-domestic properties in England and Wales, and self-build properties are eligible¹⁶. The closing date is 30 December 2029².

Three features matter to a household weighing the money. First, the grant is upfront capital, not a retrospective claim: the installer discounts it from the invoice². Second, the grant sits alongside VAT relief: the Value Added Tax (Installation of Energy-Saving Materials) Order 2022, instrument 2022 No. 361, zero-rates the installation of energy-saving materials, and there are currently no known outstanding effects for it¹⁷. Third, the scheme's budget does not roll forward: unspent budget is not carried over to the next scheme year¹⁸, so a slow take-up in one year does not build a bigger pot for the next.

The scheme's own reporting shows steady delivery. The quarterly report covering 1 May 2026 to 31 July 2026 records the position across voucher applications, redemptions and payments¹⁹, and heat pump deployment statistics track installations across the UK quarter by quarter¹⁶. What the grant does not do is cover the whole cost: a heat pump installation typically costs more than £7,500, and the householder pays the balance. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme page covers the detail, and how much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant? breaks down the amounts by technology.

Eligibility for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme explained

The scheme is targeted towards domestic and non-domestic properties in England and Wales, and self-build properties are eligible¹⁶. That territorial limit is the first cut: a home in Scotland or Northern Ireland cannot claim it, and Scottish households are served instead by the Home Energy Scotland framework⁶.

Within England and Wales, the property must have a valid energy performance certificate². The certificate matters even where other requirements are relaxed: Ofgem's guidance for property owners is explicit that exempt properties will still require a valid EPC to be submitted at voucher application stage²⁰.

The installer side has its own condition: the chosen installer must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), a nationally recognised certification². A householder cannot use an uncertified fitter and claim the grant afterwards; the certification is checked at the voucher stage, before any work is done.

On the technology side, the eligible low-carbon heating must not have been installed or commissioned within the last 120 days, and installations must have a capacity of no more than 45kW, which covers most homes, or a shared ground loop capacity of 300kW for ground source heat pump installs². Hybrid systems and biomass have their own conditions, covered in do hybrid heat pumps qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme? and Boiler Upgrade Scheme requirements for biomass boilers.

Who does not qualify is equally plain. Homes without a valid EPC, homes outside England and Wales, and installations by non-MCS installers fall at the first hurdle. Social housing has its own position, set out in can social housing get Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants?, and landlords and second home owners in can landlords and second home owners get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?. Full eligibility detail is on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme eligibility page.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme: a two-stage installer-led voucher route

The application is installer-led, with the installer applying for the grant on the property owner's behalf². The householder does not fill in a grant form. Instead, the process runs in two stages, each with two steps.

1. Stage 1a, voucher application. The installer submits a voucher application to Ofgem, which checks whether the pre-installation eligibility criteria are met²¹.
2. Stage 1b, voucher issue. If the application is successful, Ofgem issues the voucher²¹.
3. Stage 2a, redemption application. Following commissioning of the installation, the installer submits a voucher redemption application²¹.
4. Stage 2b, payment. Once Ofgem has established that the remaining eligibility requirements have been met, the grant payment is made to the installer²¹.

The householder's active part comes at the start. The installer provides your details to Ofgem, and Ofgem will email you directly, asking you to consent to the installer applying on your behalf²². That consent step exists so that a grant cannot be claimed against a property without the owner's knowledge.

The grant reaches the household through the invoice: the installer discounts the grant from the bill and then redeems the voucher with Ofgem after installation and commissioning². In practice this means the quoted price should already reflect the £7,500.

Vouchers have fixed validity periods, including six months for ground source heat pumps²³. Ofgem cannot extend them: "We are not able to extend validity periods under any circumstances"²⁰. If a voucher expires before the work is complete, a new application may be submitted, which restarts the process²⁰. The redemption deadline is covered in how long does an installer have to redeem the Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher?.

Contact points, if something goes wrong or a question arises mid-process:

• General queries: BUS.enquiry@ofgem.gov.uk²⁴
• Complaints about Ofgem's administration of the scheme: feedback@ofgem.gov.uk²⁵
• Submitting documents directly: BUS.propertyowner@ofgem.gov.uk²⁵
• Suspected fraud or misuse: counterfraud@ofgem.gov.uk²⁴
• Requests for a review of a decision: BUS.Review@ofgem.gov.uk²⁶

The full walkthrough is on the how the Boiler Upgrade Scheme application works page.

Great British Insulation Scheme: support for the least efficient properties

The Great British Insulation Scheme is a government energy-efficiency scheme administered by Ofgem in Great Britain¹⁰. Its purpose is to deliver improvements to the least energy-efficient homes, to help tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions¹⁰, and it was designed to help around 300,000 households⁹.

The scheme delivers the rapid installation of value-for-money insulation measures and, in some cases, heating controls²⁷. The measures are specific rather than open-ended:

• Cavity wall insulation, including party wall, for both eligible groups²⁷
• Certain heating controls, such as room thermostats, as a secondary measure where eligible insulation is installed in owner-occupied premises in the low-income group²⁷

Heating controls have been a substantial part of delivery: 25% of measures were heating controls as of December 2025⁹. There is no minimum requirement for a property's SAP rating to be increased through the measure, so a single insulation measure can qualify even where it does not lift the property a whole band²⁷.

Eligibility works through two groups, one of which is the low-income group²⁷. The general route was extended to households in lower council tax band properties, bands A to D in England and A to E in Scotland and Wales, so long as the property's energy efficiency rating was band D or lower⁹. That is one of the few points where the scheme's rules differ between nations, and it matters in Scotland and Wales where the council tax band ceiling is one band higher.

The scheme ran from 25 July 2023 to 31 March 2026²⁸, and the closing date is Tuesday 31 March 2026⁵. A household can apply online via the gov.uk portal, and a home energy supplier may also be participating in the scheme or offering free or subsidised insulation⁵.

Quality protections are built in. All installers must be a TrustMark-registered business, and all measures must be delivered according to PAS2030/2035 standards²⁷. One limit is worth stating plainly: Ofgem does not administer appropriate guarantees or financial protection for measures installed under the scheme; the current list of appropriate guarantees is on the TrustMark website²⁷. Higher-cost measures, such as solid wall insulation, would be more likely to require a contribution from the household²⁷.

The scheme also includes incentives to support innovative measures that provide further efficiency improvements or additional benefits, but only obligated suppliers can apply under the innovation routes: a household wanting a new or innovative product must work with an obligated supplier, who liaises with Ofgem and submits the application²⁷. Queries go to GBIS.enquiry@ofgem.gov.uk²⁹. The detail is on the Great British Insulation Scheme page and in Great British Insulation Scheme eligibility.

Warm Homes: Local Grant: measures worth up to £30,000 via councils in England

The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) is a grant scheme supporting households with a combined income of less than £36,000 to improve home energy efficiency⁵. Up to £30,000 of measures is available per property⁵. Eligible applicants receive upgrades such as insulation, energy-efficient heating systems, and renewable energy installations⁵.

The scheme is delivered by local authorities rather than by a central application route¹¹. That shapes how a household engages: the route in is the council, and the council and local authority energy grants page explains how to find a live scheme in an area.

The funding split depends on who owns the property:

The income test is the main gate. The scheme rules describe eligibility as a home in England, privately owned, with an EPC of D to G, household savings of less than £25,000 and household income usually £36,000 a year or less, with postcode or benefits exceptions¹¹. The two descriptions of the income test differ in detail: one states a combined income of less than £36,000⁵, the other states income usually £36,000 a year or less alongside the savings and EPC conditions¹¹. Both are official; the fuller conditions come from the scheme rules, and a household should check the specific conditions with the delivering authority.

Because WHLG is England-only, its closest counterparts elsewhere are the Warm Homes Programme in Wales, which funds home energy efficiency improvements for eligible households³⁰, and Warmer Homes Scotland. The comparison for Welsh households is in Nest Wales vs the Warm Homes: Local Grant, and the full detail is on the Warm Homes: Local Grant page and in Warm Homes: Local Grant eligibility and income limits.

Warm Home Discount: £150 off your electricity bill each year

The Warm Home Discount is a fuel poverty reduction scheme, reducing the energy costs of low-income and vulnerable households across Great Britain since its inception in 2011³. It primarily provides support through £150 energy bill rebates, funded through a levy on all domestic gas and electricity customers³. In winter 2025-26 it reached around 6 million households⁴.

The mechanics are worth understanding, because the discount is not government spending in the ordinary sense. Large domestic energy suppliers are required to provide an annual discount of £150 to eligible households¹³, and the money is recovered through the levy on everyone's bills³. A parliamentary description puts the number of supported households at two and a half million low-income and vulnerable households³¹; the figure of around 6 million households for winter 2025-26 comes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's performance report⁴. The two figures differ because they describe the scheme at different points in its expansion.

One figure conflict should be stated plainly. Most official documents give the rebate as £150³. A House of Commons committee page describes it as a one-off £140 payment applied to eligible customers' electricity bills between October and April³¹. The £150 figure is the current one across the most recent official sources, including the 2025 to 2026 statistics¹³ and the government response on continuing the scheme³⁰.

Two changes are fixed in the calendar. First, the scheme is confirmed through to 2030-31⁴. Second, from April 2026 the recovery of Warm Home Discount costs shifts from the standing charge to the unit rate on household energy bills⁴, which changes how the levy appears on a bill even though the rebate itself is unchanged. Scheme years 17, 18, 19 and 20 each run from 1 April to 31 March of the following year for England, Wales and Scotland³.

Eligibility is the practical question for most households, and it is covered in who qualifies for the Warm Home Discount?, with the appeal route in what to do if the Warm Home Discount is refused and the comparison with the winter fuel payment in Warm Home Discount vs Winter Fuel Payment.

Which scheme fits which home

No single scheme covers every home, and the fit depends on where the house is, what work it needs and what the household earns. The chooser below maps the main open schemes to the homes they serve.

The Scottish position is distinct. Home Energy Scotland offers homeowners a grant, an interest-free loan or a combination, with grant funding up to 75% of the combined cost of measures up to a maximum of £7,500, and rural households can claim up to £18,000 in grant funding⁶. The choice between the grant and loan elements is covered in Home Energy Scotland grant vs loan, and the rural uplift in what is the Home Energy Scotland rural uplift?.

Wales runs Green Homes Wales, announced with £5 million to help Welsh households invest in greener homes¹⁴, and it can be used alongside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme¹⁴. The Warm Homes Programme funds home energy efficiency improvements for eligible households³⁰.

Some local signposting services help households navigate the patchwork rather than fund work directly. East Herts Council's Home Energy Support Service provides information on grants and eligibility checking, benefits support, supplier switching advice, energy saving advice, debt advice and referral to other organisations or contractors⁵. Tameside's Your Home, Better service does not offer grants or funding, but can identify sources that could help towards the costs of home energy projects³². These services are worth a household's time precisely because the national schemes overlap and differ.

For homes off the gas grid, the closed Home Upgrade Grant allocated £218 million in Phase 1 to improve energy efficiency in low-income homes off the gas grid, with latest funding totals of £220 million⁹; its successor routes are covered in home energy grants in England.

Which grants can be combined, and which cannot

The combining rules are where households most often lose money, because they are counter-intuitive: two grants that each fit a home often cannot be used together on the same work.

The firm prohibitions come from Ofgem's ECO4 delivery guidance:

• Funding from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and ECO cannot be blended for the same measure, and Boiler Upgrade Scheme funding cannot be included within an ECO4 project²⁸.
• ECO and Warm Home Discount funding cannot be combined for any measures²⁸.

So a heat pump funded by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme cannot also draw ECO4 money for the same installation, and a household receiving the Warm Home Discount cannot have ECO-funded measures paid for out of the same pot. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme vs ECO4 and can ECO4 measures be funded with other government grants? pages work through the consequences.

What can be stacked is narrower but real. Green Homes Wales can be used alongside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants for heat pump installations across England and Wales¹⁴. That combination matters for Welsh households doing a heat pump plus insulation package.

The social housing programme has its own bar: under Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3, grant funding from other Energy Efficiency Schemes cannot be used as co-funding³³. Where grants are made to a local authority or combined authority for use on their own social housing stock, this is not considered a subsidy³³. The detail is on the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund page.

Scotland's framework allows a grant and loan combination within the single Home Energy Scotland scheme, up to the £7,500 grant maximum⁶, but that is one scheme's internal structure rather than stacking across schemes.

A practical reading of these rules: plan the package of work first, then map each element to one funding source. Insulation through one route, the heat pump through another, bill support separate again. Where a measure could in principle be funded two ways, the household must choose, and the installer or delivering authority will know which route the measure is being claimed under.

Scheme end dates and other timings to note

End dates are the dates that decide whether a household can act at all. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened on 23 May 2022 and closes on 30 December 2029². The Great British Insulation Scheme ran from 25 July 2023 to 31 March 2026²⁸, with the closing date of Tuesday 31 March 2026⁵. The Warm Home Discount is confirmed through to 2030-31⁴.

Within the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the budget rule creates a year-by-year rhythm rather than a single cliff edge: unspent budget is not carried over to the next scheme year¹⁸. A household planning a spring installation is therefore working within the current scheme year's allocation, not an accumulating pot.

Reporting dates give a household a way to track the scheme's health. The quarterly reports are published on a fixed cycle: issue 14 was published on 26 November 2025³⁴, and issue 17 covers the period from 1 May 2026 to 31 July 2026¹⁹. Heat pump deployment statistics are published quarterly, covering the UK as a whole¹⁶.

Two further dates sit in the wider policy landscape and shape what comes after these schemes. From April 2026, the recovery of Warm Home Discount costs shifts from the standing charge to the unit rate⁴. And the government intends to phase out the installation of new and replacement natural gas boilers from 2035, running in line with replacement cycle timelines so that almost all heating systems in 2050 are low-carbon. Households with working gas boilers are not being forced to switch on a fixed date, but the direction of travel is set, and the grant window to 2029 is the practical bridge.

The impact of these grants on energy self-sufficiency at home

The grants on this page buy different kinds of independence, and it is worth being precise about what each one does and does not free a household from.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme buys independence from the gas network. A heat pump removes the household's dependence on gas deliveries and gas prices, and the £7,500 grant plus VAT zero-rating under the 2022 Order¹⁷ brings the switch within reach of many more households than would otherwise attempt it. What remains is dependence on the electricity grid, on the electricity supplier, and on the manufacturer of the heat pump itself. A heat pump household is not self-sufficient; it has changed which system it depends on.

Insulation grants buy a different kind of independence: less need for any fuel at all. The Great British Insulation Scheme's measures reduce the heat a home loses, so the household needs less of whatever heats it¹⁰. That is the most durable form of the three, because it holds whichever heating system is in place, and it is why the scheme targets the least efficient homes first.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant, with up to £30,000 of measures including renewable energy installations⁵, is the one that can go furthest towards a self-sustaining home, because it can fund generation as well as efficiency. Its limit is its means test: it serves households below the income threshold, not the average homeowner.

The Warm Home Discount buys no independence at all, and does not claim to. It is a redistribution through the levy on all domestic gas and electricity customers³, softening bills for low-income households while leaving the supplier relationship untouched. Its value is financial resilience, not energy resilience.

The closed schemes are a caution against assuming today's grants are permanent. The Green Homes Grant was intended to reach 600,000 households and ended after six months⁷. The Great British Insulation Scheme has a fixed end in March 2026⁵. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme runs to December 2029² and the Warm Home Discount to 2030-31⁴, and none is guaranteed beyond that. A household that wants a warmer, cheaper, more self-sufficient home has a window, not an open-ended entitlement, and the windows are dated on this page.