Grants FAQ

Up to £7,500 toward an eligible air source heat pump in England and Wales when you meet the Boiler Upgrade Scheme rules. The amount is set by government and applied for by your MCS-certified installer; it comes off your installation quote before you pay, so there is nothing to claim back yourself. The scheme also covers some other low-carbon technologies at different rates, but at UKEM we focus on air source heat pumps.

After the £7,500 BUS grant, a fully fitted air source heat pump often lands around £4,000 to £5,000 out of pocket, depending on the property. What pushes the number up or down: the size of your home, the model you pick, and prep work like radiator upgrades. Your quote shows the exact figure with the grant already off.

No. Despite the name, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme doesn't fit free boilers. It's a heat pump grant. The "boiler upgrade" part means swapping a fossil fuel boiler for a low-carbon heat pump, not replacing one boiler with another. Free boiler schemes for low-income households are separate, usually means-tested programmes. BUS is open to any homeowner replacing a gas, oil, LPG, or electric heating system.

No, your MCS certified installer does it for you. From 28 April 2026, only MCS installers can submit Boiler Upgrade Scheme applications to Ofgem. UKEM is on the MCS register, so we file your BUS application alongside the install.

Yes. The grant comes off first, then finance covers what's left. On a £12,000 installation after a £7,500 grant, you are financing £4,500. You can spread that over monthly payments.

Most UK homes work for an air source heat pump. You need a garden, yard, or external wall for the outdoor unit. Modern systems run down to -20°C without losing efficiency. During the survey, our engineer confirms the right size and the best spot, based on your heating and hot water demand.

No. The government scrapped the loft and cavity wall insulation requirement in May 2024. You still need a valid Energy Performance Certificate, but the BUS grant has no minimum insulation rating to hit.

Allow around two weeks from quote to install. The fitting itself takes 2 to 4 days, depending on the system and any prep work.

BUS runs to 2030. Each year has its own budget, so the earlier you apply, the less chance of hitting a funding cap.

Homeowners and small landlords in England and Wales, with a property built before 2025, no existing heat pump on site, and a valid EPC. The installer must be MCS-certified and registers the application against your address. New builds, second homes used commercially, and properties already running a heat pump are excluded. The Ofgem BUS scheme page lists the full criteria.

Yes. The government publishes the live grant amounts and eligibility on gov.uk and through Ofgem. We always quote against the rate that applies when you book, not a future announcement. If you are eligible, delaying in the hope of a different figure later usually costs more in wasted bills than it saves on the install.

No. Scotland runs its own equivalent through Home Energy Scotland. The Scottish grant is structured similarly but pairs with an interest-free loan covering the rest of the install, which can stretch the support further than the English and Welsh route. Northern Ireland has no direct heat pump grant of comparable size in 2026. Our UK energy grants guide covers the regional split in detail.

No. Homeowners of detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses were removed from the scheme in 2022. You can still get an EV charger installed, you just pay the full amount. See our EV chargers page for pricing.

Up to £500 per charging socket. The amount increased from £350 on 1 April 2026. It comes straight off your installation cost, so you pay the remainder only.

It has to be a smart charger on the OZEV-approved model list, capable of shifting charging to off-peak hours. The Ohme ePod and Ohme Home Pro both qualify. The Tesla Wall Connector does not, so if you want the £500 grant you'll need to go with an approved unit. We can fit either; we just let you know upfront which option gets the discount.

Yes. The charger has to be installed at a dedicated off-street parking space where you park the vehicle. On-street locations don't qualify.

Yes. Landlords can claim for up to 200 sockets across their residential portfolio. Each socket gets up to £500.

The scheme closes on 31 March 2027, and the government has confirmed this is the final year. If you qualify, there is no benefit to waiting.

The charger stays with the property. You don't need to repay the grant, and the new occupant inherits a working home charger. If you're a renter, it's worth agreeing with your landlord upfront about what happens at the end of the tenancy.

Most installs take around half a day. We mount the unit, run cabling from the consumer unit, and test everything before we leave. If the route from the fuse board to the charger is longer than usual, it might stretch to a full day. We confirm the timeline when we quote.

Yes. The £500 comes off first, and you can spread the balance over fixed monthly payments at 9.9%APR Representative, with no deposit required. See our finance page for terms and eligibility.

Three groups: renters, landlords, and flat owners. You need dedicated off-street parking, a smart OZEV-approved charger, and an authorised installer. Renters need landlord consent for the install. Owner-occupiers of houses are not eligible in 2026, this group was removed from the scheme some years ago. The gov.uk page sets out the eligibility split per scheme strand.

The installer applies for it and discounts your invoice by the grant amount, up to £500. You pay the balance. The installer claims the grant back from OZEV after the install is signed off, so the money never passes through your hands. You will need to provide the installer with proof of tenancy, ownership of the flat, or landlord status before the application goes in. Full process at gov.uk.

Generally one grant per parking space, capped at two chargepoints per eligible household. The cap exists to allow a second charger if a second EV is added. Once those have been claimed against an address, no further OZEV money is available at that property. Landlords have separate annual caps on how many chargepoints they can fund across a portfolio. The gov.uk scheme page sets the precise limits.

You qualify for ECO4 if you meet two criteria. First, you own your home or you are a private tenant with your landlord's written permission. Second, someone in your household receives a qualifying income-related benefit such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, or Jobseeker's Allowance. Your property also needs an EPC rating of D, E, F or G. If you fall outside the standard route, your local council may still help through LA Flex (Flexible Eligibility), which extends ECO4 to households facing fuel poverty or vulnerable to cold-related illness. Use our on-page eligibility check to confirm in two minutes.

Your property needs an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rated D, E, F or G. ECO4 targets less efficient homes, so properties already rated A, B or C are not eligible. If you don't know your current rating, we look it up for you as part of the eligibility process and the surveyor confirms it on site.

ECO4 covers a wide range of energy efficiency measures, grouped into four areas:

• Insulation: cavity wall, loft, room-in-roof, and internal solid wall insulation.
• Heating: non-condensing to condensing boiler upgrades, first-time central heating, and electric storage heaters.
• Renewables: solar PV panels and air source heat pumps.
• Smart heating controls: programmable thermostats and zoned controls.

The exact package depends on a property survey designed to lift your EPC rating as much as possible. Not every home qualifies for every measure. A property that is already insulated, for example, might receive renewables instead. The aim is the largest realistic improvement to your home's energy efficiency.

ECO4 covers the full cost of eligible measures. There is no fixed pound amount because the value depends on your property and the upgrades needed. Some homes receive insulation worth a few thousand pounds; others get a full heating system replacement worth considerably more. ECO4 is not a cash grant: energy suppliers pay the installer directly, with nothing for you to fund at any stage. Supplier quotas are filling up, so earlier applications complete more reliably before the December 2026 closing date.

Applying is a three-step process and we handle the paperwork at every stage.

1. Eligibility check. Fill in our short form with your postcode, property type, and benefit details. It takes around two minutes with no commitment.

2. Survey and verification. Our energy advisor arranges a property survey and verifies your benefits with the DWP through the Energy Saving Trust. The surveyor designs a measure package to lift your EPC rating.

3. Installation. We schedule and complete the work with certified engineers and submit your updated EPC certificate.

Start with our on-page eligibility check. You don't need to deal with energy suppliers or Ofgem directly.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) on its own does not qualify for ECO4, because the scheme is targeted at income-related benefits. If someone in your household also receives a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit, you remain eligible. PIP-only households can sometimes apply through LA Flex, a council-led extension to the standard eligibility criteria.

Yes. Private tenants can apply for ECO4 with their landlord's written permission, as both parties need to agree to the work before it can proceed. Landlords often welcome the upgrade since it improves the property's EPC rating. Social housing tenants should check first with their housing provider, who may have their own ECO arrangement in place.

Yes. ECO4 is a UK government obligation regulated by Ofgem, the energy regulator. Large energy suppliers are legally required to fund these improvements, which is why there is no cost to qualifying households. You can verify the scheme on the GOV.UK consultation page and confirm UKEM's certifications and registrations on the TrustMark register.

ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026 and the government has confirmed there will be no ECO5 successor scheme. After that date, applications close, the legal obligation on energy suppliers ends, and there is no guaranteed replacement programme in place. Any future government support for low-income households remains unconfirmed in scope, funding, and timing. If you qualify for ECO4 today, applying now is the only certain route to a fully funded upgrade. Supplier quotas are filling up as the deadline approaches, so leaving it later carries real risk of missing out.

A £15bn government programme launching in January 2027, replacing ECO4 as the main funding umbrella for low-income home upgrades. It covers insulation, heat pumps, and solar under a single brand, drawing on several existing grant routes plus new local authority funding. Full scheme rules are published in stages by DESNZ. Our Warm Homes Plan news article tracks the rollout, and the gov.uk announcement sets out the headlines.

Insulation, heat pumps, and solar, with a mix of grants pulled under one umbrella. It blends the existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme and successor versions of ECO4, plus widened local authority funding for low-income households outside the benefits route. Total budget £15bn across the parliament. Final rule sets are released in stages by DESNZ ahead of the January 2027 launch. See our Warm Homes Plan news write-up for the latest detail.

A temporary zero rate of VAT on installation of solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and insulation in residential properties. It applies to the materials and labour as a single supply, and saves roughly four figures on a typical solar or heat pump install compared with the previous 5% rate. The scheme runs until 31 March 2027. See gov.uk for the full product list.

31 March 2027. After that date, the rate is expected to revert to 5%, which was the previous level under the energy-saving materials relief. Government has not announced an extension. Practical implication: if you're paying out of pocket for solar, batteries, a heat pump, or insulation, scheduling the install before March 2027 locks in the saving. Gov.uk publishes the scheme detail.

An Ofgem scheme that pays you for surplus solar electricity exported to the grid. Energy suppliers with 150,000 customers or more are required to offer at least one export tariff, and you can sign up with any qualifying supplier regardless of who supplies your import electricity. Payment rates and tariff structures vary by supplier. The Ofgem SEG page lists the scheme rules and current qualifying suppliers.

Roughly 5p to 15p per kWh depending on supplier and tariff. Flat rates sit at the lower end, while time-of-use export tariffs paired with batteries can push the effective rate higher when you export during peak grid demand. Rates change regularly, so it's worth comparing suppliers annually. The Ofgem SEG page lists the qualifying suppliers and links to their published tariffs.

Yes. SEG suppliers need half-hourly export readings, which only a smart meter or equivalent export-capable meter can provide. If you don't already have one, your import electricity supplier installs it on request, usually free of charge. The meter measures what you export to the grid separately from what you import. Without one, no SEG supplier will sign you up. See the Ofgem SEG page for the metering rules.

Yes. The grant comes off the installer's price first, then fixed-rate APR finance applies to whatever you have left to pay. So on a heat pump quoted at £14,000 with a £7,500 BUS deduction, finance covers the remaining £6,500. Our finance page shows how the soft search and FCA-authorised lender route works, and the grants hub lists which schemes stack with finance.

No. Grants like BUS, OZEV, and ECO4 are payments toward the install, not credit, so they don't appear on your credit file and don't factor into affordability checks. The FCA-authorised lender assesses your application on income, outgoings, and credit history in the normal way. A soft search shows whether you're likely to be approved without leaving a mark. See the grants guide for which schemes pair with finance.

Usually no, because ECO4 and the upcoming Warm Homes Plan are designed to fully fund the measure for eligible low-income households. There's no remaining cost for finance to cover. The exception is where a household tops up to a higher-spec system than the grant funds, in which case interest-bearing finance can cover the difference. The grants hub explains who qualifies for full funding.