Energy Grants and Schemes: What Exists, and Where to Apply
There is money available to help with the cost of heating a home, and it is spread across schemes run by different bodies, covering different nations, worth different amounts and applied for in different ways. This page is the register: what exists, what each is worth, and where the official application is.
What this page is, and what it will not do
It will not tell you whether you qualify. That is not modesty — it is that these schemes turn on things this site cannot see. Which benefits a household receives. A property’s EPC band and council tax band. Whether a particular supplier is in scope. In the Warm Home Discount’s case, a government data match that the household itself never sees.
Telling someone they qualify when they do not is worse than saying nothing, because they stop looking. So every entry below ends at the official checker, and the decision is made there.
Schemes you can apply for
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
OpenEngland and Wales
A grant towards replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump or, in limited cases, a biomass boiler. The property needs a valid EPC without outstanding insulation recommendations. The grant is claimed by the installer, not the household.
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.UKChecked against www.gov.uk on 6 August 2026.
Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)
OpenGreat 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.UKChecked against www.gov.uk on 6 August 2026.
Warm Home Discount
OpenEngland, Scotland and Wales
A one-off discount on an electricity bill for households on a low income. Most eligible households are identified automatically from benefit records and are written to rather than having to apply. Scotland runs a partly different route to England and Wales.
Credited to your energy bill
£150
Fixed amount, set by government for each scheme year.
How to apply: Usually automatic. A letter confirms it; contact your supplier if you expect one and it does not arrive.
Run by: Participating energy suppliers, under Ofgem administration
Check eligibility on GOV.UKChecked against www.gov.uk on 6 August 2026.
Winter Fuel Payment
OpenEngland, 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.UKChecked against www.gov.uk on 6 August 2026.
Which nation you live in decides a lot of this
Energy is partly reserved and partly devolved, and the schemes reflect that in a way that catches people out. Each card states its own coverage rather than leaving you to assume, because the combinations are genuinely irregular.
The Winter Fuel Payment is the sharpest example: it covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and not Scotland, which replaced it with the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment through Social Security Scotland. That is not Great Britain, and it is not the United Kingdom either. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is England and Wales only, with Scotland running its own separate support. If you live in Scotland, assume nothing on this page applies until the card says so.
Why the headline amount is rarely the amount
Every scheme here has a number attached to it in public conversation, and in most cases that number is the best case rather than the expected one.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is quoted at £7,500, which is the air source and ground source heat pump level; a biomass boiler is £5,000 and an air-to-air heat pump £2,500, while an off-gas property heated by oil or LPG can reach £9,000 with the uplift that runs to March 2027. The Winter Fuel Payment is not a figure at all but a range from £100 to £300 — and above £35,000 of income HMRC takes it back through your tax code, which means the amount received and the amount kept are different numbers.
That is why no figure on this page appears without the note beside it. If you want to know what your own energy costs before any of this, the price cap rates for your region are the place to start.
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 2026Great 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 schemeChecked against www.gov.uk on 6 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tell me whether I qualify?
No, and no page that does not know your benefits, your income, your tenure and your property should tell you it can. These schemes turn on facts we cannot see — which benefits a household receives, a property’s EPC and council tax bands, and in the Warm Home Discount’s case a government data match the household itself never sees. Every entry here links to the official checker, which is the only place the answer is real.
Is the Winter Fuel Payment available in Scotland?
No. Scotland replaced it with the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland rather than the DWP. This is the clearest example of why the nations are stated on every card: the Winter Fuel Payment covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is an unusual combination and not the same as Great Britain.
Why is a closed scheme still listed?
Because a reader who has heard of it needs to be told it has ended. The Great British Insulation Scheme closed on 31 March 2026, and someone who read about it last year and finds nothing here would reasonably assume they were looking in the wrong place and carry on looking. Being told the date is what stops the search.
How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme worth?
It depends what you install. £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler, £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump — and until March 2027 an extra £1,500 where the property is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. The single figure usually quoted is the heat pump one, which is why the note is shown beside it.
How current are these summaries?
Every card carries the date its scheme’s own GOV.UK page was last checked, and those checks are daily. Where an official page has changed since the summary was written, the card says so. GOV.UK is always the authority; these summaries exist to get you to the right one quickly.
Related reading
Written by
Rob Gibbs
Hi, I'm Rob, and I run Energy-Review.co.uk. I initially started this project in 2018 when I was looking to switch energy suppliers and found there wasn't a website that provided simple, data-backed reviews on all the suppliers available. Since then, I have spent a lot of time (too much, some may say!) looking at all publicly available data about each supplier and writing reviews using this information. These reviews are updated as regularly as possible, and any data is backed up by a source where necessary. I have also started writing guides on various energy-related topics, which hopefully you will find useful. If you find any issues, please use our contact form to let us know.