The Homes for Net Zero scheme began in February 2024 and was scheduled to finish on 31 August 2025, according to E.ON, which ran it with Energy Systems Catapult1. The scheme is now closed and no longer taking on applicants1. It was funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), with Energy Systems Catapult as administrator and E.ON Energy Solutions Limited as the named counterparty in the terms1.
Participants were asked to monitor the energy they used at home for a year, registering with Living Lab and linking a smart meter1. E.ON stated that participants could earn up to £100 in vouchers and a chance to get free carbon-reducing energy efficiency products1. The voucher structure was set out as £20 for linking a smart meter, £10 for completing the research, and a further £10 for completing the survey at the end of the trial1. E.ON also said it would retrieve 13 months of smart meter data to understand usage trends before, during and after joining1.
Eligibility required home ownership and all of the following: a gas combi or combi-condensing boiler, solid walls without insulation, Wi-Fi, and a SMETS2 smart meter installed for more than 13 months1. Participants had to be at least 18 years old and resident in the UK1. E.ON noted that homes built after the 1930s probably have cavity walls, while those built before the 1930s are likely to have solid walls1.
Measures were allocated by selection rather than entitlement. E.ON listed £30 in vouchers, a free temperature and humidity monitor, loft insulation and draught proofing among the possible measures, alongside up to four tado° temperature sensors1. It stated that there are a limited number of measures available and that selection for one measure does not guarantee selection for any further measures1. Monitoring equipment provided was to be kept by the participant at the end of the trial1. E.ON's total liability in relation to the scheme was capped at £250, and the laws of England and Wales applied to the terms1.
"The Scheme starts in February 2024 and finishes on 31 August 2025."
Why it matters for households
The scheme sat at the intersection of two things that shape a home's energy independence: the fabric of the building and the data generated inside it. Solid-walled homes without insulation are among the hardest and most expensive to treat, and the eligibility rules targeted exactly that group1. The measures on offer, loft insulation and draught proofing among them, address heat loss rather than the heating system itself1.
The data side is the less familiar part. Linking a smart meter gave E.ON and Energy Systems Catapult a year of household consumption data, plus 13 months of historical readings, with anonymised data shared with DESNZ EDOL for analysis and research1. Households that take part in this kind of research contribute evidence about how homes actually perform, which is the basis on which future grants and schemes are designed and funded. For a household weighing up boiler upgrade options or comparing Home Energy Scotland against Warmer Homes Scotland, the practical point is that research schemes of this type pay in vouchers and equipment, not in capital grants, and they carry conditions: failure to comply with specified activities or requests meant the final voucher payment would not be made1.
What happens next
The scheme closed to applicants and its stated end date of 31 August 2025 has passed1. No successor scheme, extension or replacement has been reported1. Households looking at current support routes have the ECO4 obligation, the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme, and the closed Green Homes Grant and Home Upgrade Grant as historical comparators. Delivery of ECO and related schemes is handled by bodies such as YES Energy Solutions.
Sources1 cited
- Homes for net zero | Making a difference , eonenergy.com