Ofgem published version 3.0 of the ECO4 Measures Table on 5 April 2024, alongside version 2.1 of the ECO4 Delivery Guidance1. The measures table sets out which measures are eligible under the ECO4 scheme and the conditions attached to each.
The measures table update added a row for electric storage heaters, differentiating guidance on upgrades to a high heat retention electric storage heater in homes with and without solar PV2. The same version also revised footnotes and made other eligibility and presentation changes1. The delivery guidance published on the same date covered separate ground: it clarified the two processes for cross checking a person's benefit status with the Department for Work and Pensions to confirm Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation membership, added information on child benefit income thresholds, and added a section on a new requirement to collect the amount of customer contribution toward the installation of measures1. It also set out additional guidance on demonstrating the insulation preconditions are met, including a new section on the 15 Year Simple Payback, and expanded the rules on signature application, including clarity on acceptable and unacceptable practices relating to copy and pasting2.
On electric storage heaters and electric heating systems, the guidance states:
"Under the first ECO4 legislative amendments on 14 August 2023, electric storage heaters and Electric Heating Systems are classed as renewable heating systems when installed in a home which has solar PV or receives solar PV as part of the same project."
The same version removed references to electric boilers throughout the delivery guidance and as an acceptable post-main heat source from Table 222. It also removed the requirement for a full set of heating controls alongside first time central heating, and removed the need to evidence that a property was connected to gas on the start day of the ECO4 project2. References to "new buildings" were changed to "new domestic premises" throughout2.
The measures table has since been revised further. Version 4.0 was published on 26 March 2026, reflecting the extension of ECO4 by nine months to 31 December 20261. Version 3.2 of the delivery guidance, published on 8 December 2025, clarified when Ofgem will seek to reject non-compliant measures and how rural areas in Scotland are defined1. Version 3.1, published on 10 October 2025, contained general formatting and drafting improvements1.
Why it matters for households
The measures table is the document that determines whether a particular improvement can be installed under ECO4 at all, and under what conditions. The addition of an electric storage heater row matters for homes without a gas connection, where a high heat retention storage heater may be the practical route to a more efficient heating system. The condition attached to renewable heating system status, that the home has solar PV or receives it as part of the same project, links two measures together: a household considering a storage heater upgrade may find the assessment turns on whether solar PV is present or included.
The removal of electric boilers as an acceptable post-main heat source narrows the options available in the guidance. The removal of the gas connection evidence requirement at the start of a project, and of the full heating controls requirement alongside first time central heating, change what must be demonstrated rather than what can be installed. The customer contribution section added in the same version means the amount a household pays toward an installation is now recorded.
For a home's energy independence, the practical effect is that eligibility and scoring depend on the version of the guidance and table in force when a measure is installed. The scoring and minimum requirements determine whether a project can proceed, and the eligibility rules on benefits, tenure and property conditions sit alongside them. Where ECO4 funding is combined with other government grants, the guidance restricts which schemes can be blended1.
What happens next
ECO4 has been extended by nine months to 31 December 2026 under version 4.0 of the delivery guidance, published on 26 March 20261. The Great British Insulation Scheme closed on 31 March 20261. Ofgem has not reported a further version of the measures table beyond 4.0.