A new £400 million energy efficiency grant for households in England will launch in 2025, the government announced on 18 December 2023 as it allocated £6 billion of capital funding to energy efficiency schemes covering 2025 to 20281. The grant is intended to help households make changes such as bigger radiators or better insulation1.
The £400 million sits within a wider package. The same announcement allocated £1.545 billion to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, £500 million to a new local authority retrofit scheme for up to 60,000 low income and cold homes, £1.253 billion to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for up to 140,000 social homes, and £530 million to the Heat Network Transformation Programme1. The £6 billion was first announced at the Autumn Statement 2022 and was allocated to new and existing schemes on 18 December 20231.
The government said further detail on the design of the £400 million grant, including the naming of the scheme, will be announced in due course1. The funding covers 2025/2026 to 2027/20281. The announcement stated that the schemes listed are subject to business case approval and value for money assessments1.
"a new £400 million energy efficiency grant, launching in 2025, for households in England to make changes such as bigger radiators or better insulation"
The government also said the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation are set to help up to 700,000 families install improvements such as insulation by March 20261. It said almost half of homes in England now hold an Energy Performance Certificate of C or above, up from 14% in 20101.
| Scheme | Allocation | Funding years |
|---|---|---|
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme | £1.545bn | 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 |
| £400m energy efficiency grant | £400m | 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 |
| Local authority retrofit scheme | £500m | 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 |
| Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund | £1.253bn | 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 |
| Heat Network Transformation Programme | £530m | 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 |
Why it matters for households
Grants of this kind reduce the upfront cost of physical changes to a home, such as insulation and larger radiators, which affect how much heat a property loses and how efficiently it can be heated1. For a household, that bears on energy independence in a practical sense: a better insulated home needs less energy to reach the same temperature, so less of the household budget is exposed to whatever the wholesale price of gas does.
The £400 million grant is separate from supplier-funded routes. The Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme are expected to help up to 700,000 families by March 20261, and eligibility for those schemes is set out by government1. Households in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not covered by the £400 million grant as described, which is for England only1; separate Home Energy Grants in Scotland, Home Energy Grants in Wales and Home Energy Grants in Northern Ireland arrangements exist. The Home Energy Grants in England page covers the England picture, and the full UK guide sets out how the schemes compare.
Because the design has not been published, who will qualify, what measures will be funded and how applications will be made have not been reported1. That leaves the practical effect on any individual household unknown for now.
What happens next
Further detail on the design of the £400 million energy efficiency grant, including the scheme's name, will be announced in due course1. The grant is scheduled to launch in 2025, with funding running from 2025/2026 to 2027/20281. The new local authority retrofit scheme is planned to open in 20251.