Home Energy Scotland has introduced an extra £1,500 for both its heat pump grant and its energy efficiency grant, to support rural and island homes with potentially higher improvement costs1. The uplift raises the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,0001. The scheme is funded by the Scottish Government and is open to eligible owner-occupiers in Scotland1.
"We have introduced an extra £1,500 for both heat pump and energy efficiency grants to support rural and island homes with potentially higher improvement costs. This increases the heat pump grant flat rate and the maximum limit of the energy efficiency grant to £9,000."
The uplift applies to homes in a remote rural and island area, or an off-gas accessible rural area, as defined by the Urban Rural Classification1. Home Energy Scotland says it should have told applicants whether they can claim the uplift, and that it will assess eligibility based on postcode where it has not1. Queries about uplift eligibility go to servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk1.
Grant funding for energy efficiency improvements is up to 75 per cent of the combined cost of the improvements, up to a maximum grant of £7,500, or £9,000 with the rural uplift1. Grant funding for heat pumps is up to £7,500, or £9,000 with the rural uplift, and the remainder can be taken as an optional interest-free loan1. The minimum funding that can be applied for under the grant and loan schemes is £5001. Funding covers up to 100 per cent of the quoted installation cost of an improvement, but cannot exceed the maximum offered for that individual improvement, and the maximum includes both grant and loan funding1.
The same terms and conditions set out other changes and limits:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rural uplift | Extra £1,500 for heat pump and energy efficiency grants |
| Heat pump grant | Up to £7,500, or £9,000 with rural uplift |
| Energy efficiency grant | Up to 75% of combined cost, maximum £7,500, or £9,000 with rural uplift |
| Minimum application | £500 |
| Solar PV and energy storage | No longer available for applicants who received an application link after 6 June 2024 |
| Solar PV and energy storage deadline | 31 July 2024 for applicants who received a link between 27 June 2023 and 6 June 2024 |
| Self-build applications | Must be submitted before 1 August 2024 |
| Loan administration fee | 1.5% of total loan value, maximum £150 |
| Loan interest | None |
Applicants who received a link to apply between 27 June 2023 and 6 June 2024 can only get funding for solar photovoltaics and energy storage as part of a package with a heat pump or high heat retention electric storage heaters, and have until 31 July 2024 to submit their application1. For applicants who received a link after 6 June 2024, funding for solar PV and energy storage is no longer available1. Applications for self-build properties must be submitted before 1 August 20241.
Funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and Home Energy Scotland reserves funding when it sends a written funding offer, not when an application is made1. It aims to process applications within ten working days of receiving a fully complete application1. Work must not start before a written funding offer is received1. Applicants must have an energy report recommending the improvements they are applying for, such as an EPC, a Home Energy Improvement Report or a Home Renewables Selector report1. The property must be the applicant's only or principal private residence, owned as a natural person rather than a business, and must not be a holiday home or second home1.
Why it matters for households
For a rural or island home, the uplift raises the ceiling on support for a heat pump or for insulation and other efficiency measures by £1,500, which changes the arithmetic on a retrofit where access, transport and contractor availability can push quoted costs above the levels seen in towns. Because the maximum funding for each improvement includes both grant and loan, the uplift lifts the combined total as well as the grant element. The grant and loan can be combined across energy efficiency, low and zero emission heating, other renewables and heat network connections, so a household can stack measures within the scheme's limits1.
The removal of solar PV and energy storage funding for new applicants narrows what a household can fund through the scheme, and the 31 July 2024 deadline closes the route for those who already hold an application link1. Self-generation and battery storage are the measures most directly tied to a home's ability to meet its own electricity demand, so their withdrawal from the scheme changes the options for homes that had planned them alongside a heat pump. The scheme's first-come, first-served allocation and the rule that funding is reserved only at written offer stage mean timing affects whether money is still available within the financial year1.
What happens next
Applicants who received an application link between 27 June 2023 and 6 June 2024 have until 31 July 2024 to submit for solar PV and energy storage funding1. Self-build applications must be submitted before 1 August 20241. Home Energy Scotland says it aims to process applications within ten working days of receiving a fully complete application1. No further changes to the scheme beyond these dates have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Document template, homeenergyscotland.org