The UK Energy Grants Maze Explained: A Guide to ECO4, Warm Homes: Local Grant, BUS & More
Not Sure What You Qualify For?
Answer a few questions for an indication of which schemes might suit your home. It is a guide, not a funding decision.
Government schemes can help some households pay for insulation, heat pumps and other energy-saving work. But the rules differ by scheme and by nation, and several schemes have closed. This guide explains what is open in September 2026, who each scheme is for, and how to check.
UK Energy Partnership is run by Harber Glaves Trading Ltd. We are not a government body and cannot decide who gets funding — check eligibility with the official scheme.
How UK Home Energy Support Is Organised
- Obligation schemes: energy suppliers are required to fund work (ECO4). ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026, and the government has confirmed there will be no successor supplier obligation.
- Direct government funding: paid for by government under the Warm Homes Plan (the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Warm Homes: Local Grant in England). Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own schemes.
How People Usually Qualify
- Benefits: getting certain means-tested benefits (ECO4, Warm Homes: Local Grant, the Nest scheme in Wales)
- Income: a lower household income (ECO4 Flex, or usually £36,000 or less for Warm Homes: Local Grant)
- Where you live: some postcode areas in England qualify for Warm Homes: Local Grant regardless of income
- No income test: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, 0% VAT on installed energy-saving materials, and the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan
Your home’s EPC rating matters for most low-income schemes, but it is no longer required for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)
What Is ECO4?
ECO4 places a legal obligation on larger energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency and heating measures for lower-income and vulnerable households in England, Scotland and Wales. Ofgem is clear that it is not a grant scheme: different suppliers and installers may offer different levels of support, so work may be fully or partly funded and you may be asked to contribute. Work must be completed by 31 December 2026.
Who Qualifies for ECO4?
- Your home: rated EPC D, E, F or G if you own it; E, F or G if you rent privately (with the owner’s permission). Social housing rules are narrower.
- Benefits route: someone in the household gets Universal Credit, Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit), Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, or Child Benefit (subject to income caps)
ECO4 Flex – Routes Through Your Council
Not on benefits? Your council may accept you through ECO4 Flex if, for example:
- Your gross annual household income is below £31,000 (Route 1)
- You meet at least two low-income or vulnerability indicators, such as living in a low-income area or getting a low-income Council Tax reduction (Route 2)
- You are referred because of certain health conditions, such as heart or breathing conditions or limited mobility (Route 3)
What Can ECO4 Cover?
Insulation
- • Loft insulation
- • Cavity wall insulation
- • Solid wall insulation (internal or external)
- • Floor insulation
Heating
- • Upgrades to inefficient heating systems
- • Renewable heating, such as heat pumps, where suitable
- • A broken-boiler replacement only where an efficient boiler has broken down and cannot be economically repaired (capped)
- • Heating measures come with insulation conditions
How to apply: contact any energy supplier taking part in ECO4 (it does not have to be your own) or your local council. See Ofgem’s ECO guidance for homeowners and tenants or our ECO4 guide.
Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) – Closed
GBIS closed on 31 March 2026 and was not extended. You can no longer apply. It mostly funded single insulation measures, such as loft or cavity wall insulation. Any site still inviting you to apply for GBIS is out of date.
The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) has also closed; Warm Homes: Local Grant replaced it. What to do now GBIS has closed.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)
What Is BUS?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government grant in England and Wales towards low-carbon heating. It has been extended to run to 2030. Your installer applies, and must take the grant off the upfront price.
Who Qualifies for BUS?
- Ownership: you own the property in England or Wales (including a second home or a home you rent out)
- Existing system: you are replacing fossil fuel heating such as gas, oil, LPG or electric
- No EPC needed: the requirement for a valid EPC was removed in 2026
- Installer: an MCS certified installer applies and must install the system within 120 days of applying
- Not eligible: most new builds, social housing, homes that already had government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler, and hybrid heat pump systems
Grant Amounts
- £7,500 for an air source or ground source heat pump
- £9,000 for those heat pumps in eligible off-gas-grid homes heated by oil or LPG (21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027)
- £2,500 for an air-to-air heat pump (from 28 April 2026)
- £5,000 for a biomass boiler (rural, off-gas-grid homes only)
- Heat batteries are not yet funded
What People Actually Pay
Median installed cost of an air source heat pump under BUS (April–June 2026): £12,908, including the grant
BUS grant: -£7,500
Left to pay: around £5,400
Running costs depend on your tariff. Replacing a gas boiler, the Energy Saving Trust estimates a typical semi-detached home could save up to around £220 a year or pay around £110 a year more on a standard tariff, and save roughly £200–£530 a year on a heat pump tariff with the gas supply removed.
Typical costs, last reviewed September 2026. Sources: DESNZ Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics (July 2026); Energy Saving Trust, July 2026 prices.
Warm Homes Plan
Published January 2026 – not a scheme you apply to directly
The government’s plan for £15 billion of public investment to upgrade up to 5 million homes.
What Does It Include?
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £2.7 billion to 2030
- Warm Homes: Local Grant: council-run upgrades for lower-income households in England (see below)
- Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund: delivered through social landlords
- Loans: government-backed low and zero-interest loans have been announced; lenders are being signed up
- Changes ahead: a new Warm Homes Agency is planned, and from 2027/28 the government intends to combine the two low-income grant schemes into one
Warm Homes: Local Grant
Open now – England only
£500 million delivered through councils, with work running until 31 March 2028. It replaced the Home Upgrade Grant.
Who Qualifies?
- Location and tenure: a privately owned home in England (owned by you or your landlord)
- EPC rating: D, E, F or G (A to C is never eligible)
- Income: usually £36,000 a year or less – or someone in the household gets a qualifying benefit (such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit), or you live in certain postcode areas
- Funding: your council must have funding available
What Does It Cover?
- Wall, loft and underfloor insulation
- Air source heat pumps and smart controls
- Solar panels
Eligible owner-occupiers pay nothing. Private landlords get one home fully funded, then contribute 50% for further homes; tenants pay nothing. Councils can spend on average up to £16,600 per home on energy performance upgrades and up to £16,600 on low-carbon heating, but these are project averages, not an amount each home is entitled to.
How to apply: use the GOV.UK Warm Homes: Local Grant service. If you are eligible and your council has funding, it will usually contact you within 10 working days to arrange a survey.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland
Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan
- • Heat pumps: grant up to £7,500, plus an optional £7,500 interest-free loan
- • Insulation: grant up to 75% of the cost, to a maximum of £7,500
- • £1,500 extra for rural and island homes
- • For homeowners living in the home; no benefits needed. Warmer Homes Scotland helps some lower-income households
Wales
Warm Homes Nest Scheme
- • Free improvements such as a boiler repair or replacement, heat pump, insulation or solar panels
- • Own or privately rent your home
- • Means-tested benefit or low income
- • EPC E or lower, or D with an eligible health condition
Northern Ireland
Affordable Warmth & NISEP
- • Affordable Warmth: for lower-income owner-occupiers and private tenants
- • Check current limits with NI Energy Advice on 0800 111 4455
- • Due to be replaced by the Warm Healthy Homes Fund from April 2027
- • NISEP grants: first come, first served
Quick Reference: Which Scheme Might Suit Me?
| Your Situation | Schemes to Check |
|---|---|
| On certain benefits, home rated EPC D-G (owner) or E-G (private tenant) | ECO4 (until 31 December 2026) |
| England, privately owned home rated EPC D-G, income usually £36,000 or less | Warm Homes: Local Grant |
| Own a home in England or Wales and want a heat pump, any income | Boiler Upgrade Scheme (£7,500, or £9,000 for eligible off-gas-grid oil or LPG homes) |
| Homeowner in Scotland | Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan |
| Wales, on a means-tested benefit or low income | Warm Homes Nest scheme |
| Northern Ireland, lower income | Affordable Warmth Scheme, NISEP |
| Paying yourself for insulation, solar panels, a battery or a heat pump | 0% VAT on installation until 31 March 2027 |
| England or Wales, getting Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Housing Benefit or income-related ESA (Scotland has its own rules) | Warm Home Discount (£150, reopens October 2026) |
| Hoping for GBIS or ECO5 | GBIS closed on 31 March 2026; ECO5 does not exist |
How to Apply for Energy Grants
The process varies by scheme, but generally follows these steps:
Check the Official Scheme
Use our eligibility checker for an indication, then confirm with the scheme itself: GOV.UK, Ofgem, Home Energy Scotland, Nest or NI Energy Advice. Only the scheme, your council or an energy supplier can decide who gets funding.
Apply Through the Right Route
ECO4: an energy supplier taking part in the scheme or your council. Warm Homes: Local Grant: the GOV.UK online service. Boiler Upgrade Scheme: your MCS certified installer applies for you.
Survey & Assessment
A surveyor or installer assesses your home and confirms which measures are suitable.
Check the Installer
Check the installer on the official register for the work (MCS for heat pumps and solar, TrustMark, or the Gas Safe Register for gas work). If you are asked to contribute, get more than one quote.
Installation & Paperwork
Keep guarantees and certificates. If you have solar panels, you will usually need MCS certification to get Smart Export Guarantee payments.
Official registers: MCS, TrustMark and the Gas Safe Register.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ECO4 scheme and how much funding can I get?
ECO4 requires larger energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency and heating measures for lower-income and vulnerable households in England, Scotland and Wales. It is not a grant scheme and has no published maximum amount: work may be fully or partly funded and you may be asked to contribute. It ends on 31 December 2026.
Can I use more than one scheme?
Sometimes, but the rules differ. For example, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not available for a property that has already had government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler. Check with each scheme before you commit.
How long does it take to get energy grant funding?
It varies. For the Warm Homes: Local Grant, if you are eligible and your council has funding, the council will usually contact you within 10 working days. For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, your installer must install the heat pump within 120 days of applying. ECO4 work must be completed by 31 December 2026.
Do I need to repay energy efficiency grants?
Grants do not need to be repaid, but loans do: Home Energy Scotland, for example, offers interest-free loans alongside its grants. ECO4 is not a grant, and you may be asked to contribute to the cost of the work.
What is the difference between ECO4 and the Warm Homes Plan?
ECO4 is funded through energy suppliers and ends on 31 December 2026, with no successor supplier obligation. The Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, sets out £15 billion of public investment to upgrade up to 5 million homes, through schemes such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The Great British Insulation Scheme closed on 31 March 2026.
Check Which Grants Might Suit You
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