The Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme has not funded new measures since January 2024, and its funding is due to end in 2026, the Scottish Government has confirmed in its Heat in Buildings progress report 2025, published on 2 October 20251.
The scheme sits among a group of Scottish Government delivery schemes that provide grants and loans to homes and businesses for energy efficiency measures and clean heating systems, including targeted support for those in or at risk of fuel poverty1. The report gives most recent data for the financial year 2024-25, except for Area Based Schemes, where the most recent data are for 2023-24. For the Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant, data are reported by calendar year1.
The report also sets out changes to the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, which it describes as providing grants and loans to install clean heat and energy efficiency measures and as open to all domestic owner-occupiers in Scotland1. That scheme replaced the Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback scheme in December 20221. The Scottish Government states that it has removed hybrid heat pumps, solar PV and battery as eligible measures, along with the eligibility of self-builders for funding, to target funds at measures that best support direct decarbonisation of heat in existing homes1.
"The scheme has not been funding new measures since January 2024 and funding is due to end in 2026"
Measures installed under the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme fell between 2023-24 and 2024-25 in most categories, as the table below shows1.
| Measure | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Energy efficiency | 2,030 | 1,960 |
| Of which, insulation | 1,721 | 1,665 |
| Of which, other energy efficiency | 309 | 295 |
| Other renewables/clean heat | 8,989 | 5,396 |
| Of which, ZDEH/biomass | 2,306 | 2,658 |
| Of which, solar PV | 3,368 | 1,319 |
| Of which, battery storage | 3,216 | 1,406 |
| Of which, other renewables | 99 | 13 |
The report attributes the decrease in overall applications to the removal of eligibility for solar measures between 2023 and 2024, which it says allows finite funding to be prioritised for heat pump installations and energy efficiency measures1. ZDEH includes heat pumps1.
Separately, Warmer Homes Scotland, the national fuel poverty programme, launched a new phase on 2 October 2023 with a greater focus on clean heating where this is financially and technically feasible1. It has operated since September 2015 and has helped more than 46,000 households throughout Scotland1. In 2024-25 it supported 7,334 households with 14,778 heating, insulation and renewable measures installed, and it continues to install new gas boilers, which the report says can currently be cheaper to run due to high electricity costs and can be installed quicker1.
Why it matters for households
For a household in Scotland that has not yet applied, the central government energy efficiency grant route has not funded new measures since January 2024, and the funding behind it ends in 20261. That leaves the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme as the main open route described in the report, but with a narrower list of eligible measures than before: hybrid heat pumps, solar PV and battery storage have been removed, and self-builders are no longer eligible1. A home that would previously have paired a heat pump with solar panels or a battery now faces a different funding position for those elements.
The figures show where the money has gone. Solar PV installations under the Home Energy Scotland scheme fell from 3,368 in 2023-24 to 1,319 in 2024-25, and battery storage from 3,216 to 1,406, while heat pump and biomass measures rose from 2,306 to 2,6581. For a household weighing up on-site generation against insulation and clean heating, the grant-funded balance has shifted towards the latter.
Warmer Homes Scotland remains focused on households in or at risk of fuel poverty, and the report states that clean heating systems will not be installed where doing so would push people into fuel poverty or worsen its depth1. The programme's continued installation of gas boilers reflects running costs and installation speed rather than a clean heat preference1.
What happens next
Funding for the Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme is due to end in 20261. The report states that the Scottish Government is reviewing processes in Warmer Homes Scotland to see where clean heating levels can be increased further1. It also states that data for Area Based Schemes for 2024-25 will be published separately as part of the regular Area Based Schemes annual final measures report1. No further dates for the central government energy efficiency grant scheme are given in the report.