The Boiler Upgrade Scheme allowance has recently been increased to £7,500 per air source and ground or water source heat pump installation across England and Wales, according to the certification body MCS. The figure appears in an MCS news article dated 29 January 2024 announcing the organisation's first year exhibiting at the Everything Electric home energy shows1.
MCS describes the scheme as one of the government incentive schemes that MCS certified products and installers give access to, alongside the Smart Export Guarantee1. The article does not set out the scheme rules, the previous grant level, or the date the increase took effect, and no other figure for the allowance is given1.
The same article states that MCS is exhibiting at all three Everything Electric UK events in 2024, and that its team will discuss installing small-scale renewables and the incentive schemes available through MCS certified products and installers1. MCS describes itself as an industry-led quality assurance scheme that certifies low-carbon products and installations, and says it is taking a major role in complaints management for the sector under a new scheme1.
| Item | Detail as reported |
|---|---|
| Scheme | Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)1 |
| Allowance | £7,500 per installation1 |
| Technologies | Air source and ground/water source heat pumps1 |
| Nations | England and Wales1 |
The article does not report eligibility conditions, application routes or how the allowance is paid, and none of these are stated in it1. For the scheme's scope and how applications work, see The Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Grants for Heat Pumps and Biomass and How the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Application Works; the amount itself is covered in How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant? and the position in Wales in How much is the heat pump grant in Wales?.
Why it matters for households
A grant at this level reduces the upfront cost of replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump, which is the step that most directly shifts a home's heating away from gas or oil and towards electricity. The allowance is stated per installation rather than per property or per household, and it applies to air source and ground or water source heat pumps in England and Wales1. Households weighing a heat pump against a replacement boiler, or against other support such as ECO4, can compare the headline figure with the installed cost; the cost position with the grant applied is set out in How much does a heat pump cost with a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant?, and the alternatives in Boiler Upgrade Scheme vs ECO4: which grant is right for your home?. Whether a gas boiler affects eligibility is covered in Can I get the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant if I have a gas boiler?, and the wider eligibility picture in Boiler Upgrade Scheme Eligibility: Which Homes and Systems Qualify. Because the grant is delivered through certified installers, the certification route matters as much as the sum: MCS states that its certified products and installers are what allow access to the scheme1.
What happens next
MCS lists its 2024 exhibition dates as Everything Electric London from Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 March at the ExCel London, Everything Electric North from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May at the Yorkshire Event Centre, and Everything Electric South from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 October at Farnborough International1. No closing date, budget or future change to the £7,500 allowance is reported in the article1.
Sources1 cited
- Join MCS at Everything Electric for the first time - MCS, mcscertified.com