Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026: £7,500 and £9,000 Heat Pump Grants Explained

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a government grant in England and Wales that takes £7,500 off the cost of an air source or ground source heat pump. Homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas connection can get £9,000 until 31 March 2027. Air-to-air heat pumps qualify for £2,500 and biomass boilers for £5,000. You never apply for it yourself, because the MCS certified installer makes the application to Ofgem and takes the grant off your quote before you pay.

We handle the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paperwork on every eligible heat pump we fit across Hinckley, Leicester, Nuneaton, Coventry, Rugby and Tamworth. The rules shifted twice in 2026, once in April when the EPC requirement was dropped and air-to-air systems were added, and again in July when the higher grant for oil and LPG homes arrived. What follows reflects the scheme as it stands now.

How Much Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant in 2026?

An air source heat pump attracts £7,500, rising to £9,000 in an oil or LPG home that isn’t connected to mains gas. Each property can receive one grant.

Most of the homes we survey are better suited to an air-to-water heat pump, since it feeds radiators and a hot water cylinder in the same way a boiler does. An air-to-air system warms rooms by blowing heated air and gives you no hot water, so on its own it rarely replaces a full central heating system.

Who Can Get the £9,000 Heat Pump Grant?

You can get £9,000 if your home is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. The extra £1,500 applies to air source and ground source heat pumps on applications from 21 July 2026, and Ofgem lists 31 March 2027 as the end date unless the government extends it.

A lot of the villages we cover around Hinckley and Bosworth and into North Warwickshire sit off the gas network, and the oil boilers in them are often 15 or 20 years old. If that describes your home, our comparison of heat pumps and oil boilers for off-grid homes looks at the two side by side, and our article on oil boiler alternatives covers the other routes off oil.

Am I Eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

You’re likely to be eligible if you own the property and the heat pump is replacing a fossil fuel or electric heating system. The conditions are:

• You own the property, which can be your home, a second home, a property you let or business premises.
• The property is in England or Wales.
• The heat pump replaces an existing oil, gas, LPG or electric heating system.
• No fossil fuel boiler is kept running alongside the heat pump as a hybrid.
• A single heat pump is no larger than 45kWth, which is far more than a typical house needs.
• Your installer is MCS certified and belongs to a consumer code.

Previous funding for insulation or other efficiency work doesn’t count against you.

Which Homes Can’t Get the Grant?

Social housing can’t use the scheme, and nor can most new builds while they’re still with the developer. A finished new build that was fitted with a gas or oil boiler can qualify. Homes that have already had government money towards a heat pump or biomass boiler are excluded, and the grant can’t be used to replace an existing heat pump or other low carbon system. Biomass grants aren’t available on the gas grid or for self-builds.

Self-builds can claim a heat pump grant if you built the house, or paid a builder to, and it has never belonged to a business. We’ll ask for proof such as the title deeds before applying.

Do I Need an EPC or Insulation to Apply?

No. Applications made from 28 April 2026 no longer need a valid Energy Performance Certificate. If you have one, we pass the certificate number to Ofgem. If you don’t, we supply other evidence of your existing heating, such as a fuel bill or photographs of the boiler.

The old rule that loft and cavity wall insulation recommendations had to be cleared first went in May 2024. Insulation still has a big effect on running costs, though, and it’s one of the first things we look at. Every survey includes a room-by-room heat loss calculation, and if poor insulation would force a bigger, dearer heat pump, you’ll hear that from us before you sign anything.

How Do I Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

We apply on your behalf, so there’s no Ofgem form for you to fill in. On one of our installations the process runs in this order:

1. We survey the house, measure every room, check the radiators, pipework and electrics, and confirm you qualify.
2. You get a quote showing the full price, the grant and the amount you pay, because installers have to pass the grant on as an upfront discount.
3. Once you accept, we apply to Ofgem for a voucher and Ofgem contacts you to confirm you agreed to it.
4. The heat pump has to be installed and commissioned within 120 days of the application, so we book the work well inside that window.
5. We commission the system, register it with MCS and hand over the certificate.
6. We redeem the voucher with Ofgem, and you’re asked to confirm the discount came off your bill.

If anyone asks you to pay the full price and claim the grant back afterwards, walk away. The scheme doesn’t work that way.

How Long Will the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Run?

The scheme now runs to 2030, and the government’s Warm Homes Plan sets aside around £2.7 billion for it up to 2029/30. Budgets are set a year at a time, which means grant values can change between years. The £9,000 rate for oil and LPG homes has its own end date of March 2027.

Can I Combine the Grant With Other Help?

Partly. Heat pump installations carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, and that sits on top of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Lower-income households in Leicestershire may qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which can pay for insulation and air source heat pumps, but you can’t take that and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for the same heat pump. Demand for the local grant has been high enough that the county council has paused direct applications and is asking people to register their interest through GOV.UK.

Low and zero interest Warm Homes loans are also being rolled out through lenders taking part in the scheme, and these can cover heat pumps. Lenders set their own rates and checks. Our breakdown of heat pump costs, running costs and grants shows what a typical installation comes to once the grants are counted.

Is the Grant Enough to Make a Heat Pump Worth It?

For many homes it covers a large share of the bill. The median installed price of an air source heat pump under the scheme was £13,041 in 2025/26, which drops to about £5,500 after the £7,500 grant and about £4,000 after £9,000. Your figure will move with the size of heat pump, whether a new cylinder is needed and how many radiators change.

Oil and LPG homes tend to see the clearest saving on running costs, since both fuels cost more per unit of heat than mains gas. In a gas home the saving leans much more on good design and the right electricity tariff. After installation, a yearly service keeps the heat pump efficient and the warranty intact, and our article on what is included in a heat pump service explains what we check.

What If I Live in Scotland?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme only covers England and Wales. Scottish homes apply through Home Energy Scotland, which offers its own heat pump grant and interest-free loan.

Key Facts

• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 off an air source or ground source heat pump in England and Wales.
• Oil and LPG homes with no mains gas connection can get £9,000 until 31 March 2027.
• Air-to-air heat pumps get £2,500 and biomass boilers £5,000.
• Your MCS certified installer applies to Ofgem and deducts the grant from your quote.
• A valid EPC is no longer required for applications made from 28 April 2026.
• The heat pump must be installed and commissioned within 120 days of the application.
• Social housing, most new builds and homes that have already had a government-funded heat pump are excluded.
• Heat pump installations have 0% VAT until 31 March 2027.