Energy Grants and Schemes: What Exists, and Where to Apply

Current schemes

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme

  ●Open

  England and Wales

  A grant towards replacing a fossil fuel heating system — oil, gas, electric or LPG — with a heat pump or, in limited cases, a biomass boiler. You must own the property, which can be a business, a second home or one you rent out to tenants. Having already had government funding to make the property more energy efficient, such as insulation, does NOT disqualify you. The installer must commission and install within 120 days of applying. You cannot get a grant for most new build properties, for social housing, or for a property that has already had government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler. A biomass boiler qualifies only where the property is off the gas grid, in a rural location, and the boiler has an emissions certificate.

  Paid as a grant

  £7,500

  Grant levels: £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, £7,500 towards a ground source heat pump (including water source and shared ground loops), £5,000 towards a biomass boiler, and £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump. Until March 2027 an additional £1,500 is available towards an air source or ground source heat pump where the property is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. One grant per property.

  How to apply: Choose an MCS-certified installer, who applies on your behalf and takes the grant off the quoted price.

  Run by: Ofgem

  Check eligibility on GOV.UK

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026.

• Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)

  ●Open

  Great Britain

  Insulation and heating improvements funded by larger energy suppliers, aimed at low-income and vulnerable households in the least efficient homes. The energy efficiency rating needed differs by tenure: D to G if you own your home, E to G if you rent privately or from a social landlord. A local authority or a supplier can also refer a household under flexible eligibility rules that vary by area.

  Work installed, not money paid

  No fixed value: the benefit is the measure installed, which depends on the property.

  How to apply: Contact your energy supplier, or your local council for a flexible eligibility referral.

  Run by: Larger energy suppliers, under Ofgem administration

  Check eligibility on GOV.UK

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026.

• Warm Homes: Local Grant

  ●Open

  England

  Free energy saving improvements to a home in England, arranged and paid for by the local council. To be eligible the property must be in England, must be privately owned — either by the household or by its landlord, so private renters are included and social housing is not — and must have an Energy Performance Certificate of D, E, F or G. GOV.UK says you can find out the EPC when you apply if you do not know it. Household income must usually be £36,000 a year or less, and a household above that may still be eligible if it is in certain postcode areas or if someone in it receives certain benefits. Whether anything is available also depends on the local council having funding.

  Work installed, not money paid

  No fixed amount: the benefit is the work itself. If you are eligible and your council has funding, they arrange a home survey and may then suggest improvements such as wall, loft and underfloor insulation, an air source heat pump, smart controls or solar panels. GOV.UK says the council organises and pays for whatever work it has agreed with you and that "you will not need to pay for it" — but also that if you have a landlord, the landlord may need to pay for some of the improvements.

  How to apply: Through GOV.UK's "Check your eligibility and apply" service, which is a single online questionnaire covering the whole of England rather than a form per council. Your local council will usually contact you within 10 working days to get more information and arrange a home survey. There is a helpline for people who need help using the online service: 0800 098 7950, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm except bank holidays, and Saturday 9am to 12pm.

  Run by: Local councils in England, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

  Check eligibility on GOV.UK

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026.

• Pension Age Winter Heating Payment

  ▲Checking the official page

  Scotland

  Most eligible people are paid automatically and do not need to apply. A small number can apply now by phone or post; the deadline for winter 2026 to 2027 is 31 March 2027. Letters and payments begin from November 2026.

  A once-a-year payment towards winter heating costs for people of State Pension age in Scotland. It replaced the Winter Fuel Payment for Scottish households. Eligibility is assessed on your circumstances during the qualifying week, Monday 21 to Sunday 27 September 2026: you must have been born on or before 27 June 1960 and have lived in Scotland on at least the last day of that week. You are not eligible if you were in hospital receiving free treatment for the whole qualifying week and the 52 weeks before it, were in custody under a court sentence for the whole qualifying week, or need permission to enter the UK on terms that bar claiming public funds. Residential care has its own rule: you are not eligible if you were in care for the whole qualifying week, entered care before 29 June 2026 and received Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support during that week.

  Paid as a grant

  Between £105.55 and £316.70 for winter 2026 to 2027, in four rates: £105.55, £158.35, £211.15 and £316.70. The amount depends on your age in the qualifying week, the age of anyone you live with who is also eligible, whether you live in residential care, and whether you receive Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support, jointly or otherwise. Living alone, or with no one else eligible: £211.15 if born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960, and £316.70 if born before 28 September 1946. Sharing a household with another eligible person changes the amount, and the two of you may be paid different rates from each other; where neither receives any of those benefits and both were born before 28 September 1946, each is paid £158.35. In residential care, having entered before 29 June 2026, the rates are £105.55 and £158.35 on the same age split. Where a couple hold a joint award of one of those benefits, one shared payment is made rather than two. mygov.scot's own table is the only complete statement of which rate applies to which combination and should be linked rather than summarised. If your own income is over £35,000 HMRC takes the payment back; that threshold applies to individual incomes, so a joint household income above it does not count. Paid into the same account as your State Pension or your Social Security Scotland benefits, showing as 'PAWHP' on the statement.

  How to apply: Automatic for most people, with a letter before payment. Payments for winter 2026 to 2027 started from November 2026. You only need to apply if you have deferred your State Pension since you were last paid this or the Winter Fuel Payment, or if you are in a couple with a joint award of Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Universal Credit where the main claimant is under State Pension age. Applications are by phone on 0800 182 2222 or by post, and the deadline for winter 2026 to 2027 is 31 March 2027, though Social Security Scotland will consider a late application with a good reason.

  Run by: Social Security Scotland

  Check eligibility on mygov.scot

  Checked against mygov.scot on 20 September 2026. The official page has changed since this summary was written, so check the mygov.scot link before relying on it.

• Warm Home Discount

  ▲Checking the official page

  England, Scotland and Wales

  Closed at the moment. GOV.UK says it will reopen in October 2026 for winter 2026 to 2027. Nothing needs doing in the meantime: most eligible households are found automatically from benefit records.

  A one-off discount on an electricity bill for households on a low income, applied by the supplier rather than paid to the household. For winter 2026 to 2027 the qualifying date is 23 August 2026, and on that date your supplier must be part of the scheme, you or your partner must receive certain means-tested benefits, and your name or your partner's must be on the electricity bill. In England and Wales the qualifying means-tested benefits are Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit, and everyone who qualifies is in the automatic "core group". Scotland works differently and has two groups: a core group paid automatically, and a "broader group" who must apply to their own supplier, which may set extra criteria and decides which benefits count.

  Credited to your energy bill

  £150

  A fixed £150 for winter 2026 to 2027, set by government for each scheme year rather than fixed for ever. It is credited against your electricity bill and is not paid to you as cash. If one supplier provides both your gas and your electricity you may be able to have it against the gas bill instead; your supplier decides that.

  How to apply: Usually automatic, with a letter confirming it. In England and Wales there is nothing to apply for. In Scotland some households are paid automatically and others must apply directly to their electricity supplier. Your supplier must be part of the scheme for any of this to apply. If you were confirmed eligible for winter 2025 to 2026 and had not received the discount by 31 March 2026, contact your electricity supplier.

  Run by: Participating energy suppliers, under Ofgem administration

  Check eligibility on GOV.UK

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026. The official page has changed since this summary was written, so check the GOV.UK link before relying on it.

• Winter Fuel Payment

  ▲Checking the official page

  England, Wales and Northern Ireland

  A payment towards winter heating costs for people born on or before 27 June 1960 who usually live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Most eligible people are paid automatically and get a letter in October or November. Entitlement is assessed on circumstances during the qualifying week of 21 to 27 September 2026. People in hospital or prison for the whole of that week, and some care home residents receiving certain benefits, are not eligible.

  Paid as a grant

  Between £100 and £300 for winter 2026 to 2027, depending on date of birth and whether anyone you live with is also eligible. Living alone, or with no one else eligible: £200 if born between 28 September 1946 and 27 June 1960, £300 if born before 28 September 1946. If your total income is over £35,000 HMRC takes the payment back through your tax code or Self Assessment; a partner's income does not count towards that threshold. Paid into a bank account rather than credited to an energy bill.

  How to apply: Usually automatic for anyone receiving the State Pension or most other benefits. A claim is needed only by people who have never received it before, or who have deferred their State Pension since last receiving it. Claims for winter 2026 to 2027 open from 21 September 2026. It is also possible to opt out, before 20 September 2026.

  Run by: Department for Work and Pensions

  Applications open: 21 September 2026

  Check eligibility on GOV.UK

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026. The official page has changed since this summary was written, so check the GOV.UK link before relying on it.

What Warm Homes has installed, by region

Who holds Warm Homes: Local Grant funding

How long the administrator is taking

Applying is one thing; being dealt with is another. Ofgem publishes monthly figures on the schemes it administers, and they answer a narrow question well: how much work is arriving, how much is waiting, and where a target exists, whether it is being met. They do not answer how many homes were improved — for that, see the deployment figures by area.

Schemes that have closed

Listed rather than removed. Someone who read about one of these last year and finds nothing would reasonably conclude they were looking in the wrong place and keep searching. The date is what stops that.

• Great British Insulation Scheme

  ■Closed 31 March 2026

  Great Britain

  Closed to new applicants. The scheme helped households in the lower council tax bands with a poor energy efficiency rating get free or cheaper insulation, and was broader than ECO4 in that a household did not need to be on benefits to qualify for the general group. The eligibility checker has closed and installations had to be complete by 31 March 2026.

  Work installed, not money paid

  No fixed value: the benefit was the insulation installed. Closed to new applicants.

  How to apply: Closed. Anyone with an existing application should contact the energy supplier they applied to. Complaints about insulation installed under the scheme go through Ofgem's energy company obligation complaints route.

  Run by: Larger energy suppliers, under Ofgem administration

  Read what GOV.UK says about the closed scheme

  Checked against GOV.UK on 20 September 2026.