What the grant is worth for an air source heat pump
Standard grant
£7,500
For an eligible air source (air-to-water) heat pump replacing gas, oil, LPG or electric heating.
Enhanced off-gas value
£9,000
For homes off the mains gas grid, as the scheme defines it, replacing oil or LPG heating. A capped gas meter still counts as mains gas.
For applications properly made by
It is one grant per property, and it covers the heat pump only. Solar panels, a battery or a new hob are separate purchases, which our guide to an all-electric home covers.
The conditions behind the enhanced value, including how the scheme defines “off the gas grid”, are set out on the off-gas heat pump grant page. This guide follows the standard route, which is the same for both values.
Installed heat pumps in homes currently have 0% VAT, due to return to 5% after 31 March 2027. That is already in the installer’s price, not something you claim.
Who can use it
Set by the scheme · Ofgem and GOV.UK
The scheme requirements that decide most applications
These are the main points, not the complete rules. Your installer assesses the full picture when applying, and Ofgem confirms eligibility only at that stage.
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers England and Wales only.
- The scheme is aimed at property owners, including homeowners, landlords and owners of business premises.
- The scheme supports replacing fossil fuel heating — gas, oil or LPG — or electric heating, but not an existing heat pump.
- Every scheme installation must be carried out by an MCS-certified installer.
- A property is usually not eligible if public funding has already paid for a low-carbon heating system at the same address.
Our service · not a scheme rule
How Warm Home Support handles your enquiry
These describe how we look at an enquiry. They are not Boiler Upgrade Scheme requirements, and they do not change what the scheme itself allows.
- We help property owners and landlords. If you rent, the owner needs to be involved before anything can progress — we can explain what to share with them.
- We ask what heats the property now, what type of property it is and whether there is space outside for a heat pump before suggesting a next step.
- Where it looks appropriate, we can help progress your enquiry to an MCS-certified installation partner. Their survey decides what is actually recommended and installed.
- Depending on the property and the installation proposal, a customer contribution may be identified. The exact amount is confirmed after assessment, never before.
- Not every enquiry will suit our service, even where the scheme itself may apply. If that is the case, we will say so plainly.
GOV.UK adds two points people often ask about. A finished new build you have bought with a fossil fuel boiler can be eligible, while one the developer is still building cannot. And having had funding for insulation or other energy-efficiency work does not disqualify the property; only earlier public funding for a low-carbon heating system at the same address does.
The complete criteria, with a short checker, are on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme eligibility page.
The journey, step by step
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Step 1: Check the basics
You own the property, it is in England and Wales, and you are replacing gas, oil, LPG or electric heating rather than an existing heat pump.
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Step 2: Find installers registered for the scheme
The MCS installer search can filter for businesses registered for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Ask two or three for a survey.
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Step 3: The heat-loss survey
Room by room, with the outdoor unit position, the noise calculation, the cylinder space, the radiators and the electrical supply checked on the same visit.
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Step 4: Compare itemised quotes
Each quote must show the full price, the grant and what you pay after it. Compare the design, not just the balance.
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Step 5: The installer applies to Ofgem
Once you agree a quote, the installer applies on the Ofgem website. Ofgem emails you, and you have 14 days to confirm the installer is acting for you.
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Step 6: Voucher, installation and commissioning
Ofgem issues a voucher. The installer has 3 months to install and commission an air source heat pump and register it with MCS.
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Step 7: The grant comes off the invoice
The installer redeems the voucher and is paid by Ofgem. Your invoice shows the same deduction as the quote, and you pay the balance.
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Step 8: Handover and the first winter
Controls explained, the hot water schedule set, the weather compensation on, and your electricity tariff compared with the heat pump in mind.
Step 1: check the basics
Three questions settle most cases before anyone visits: do you own the property, is it in England and Wales, and what heats it now? The scheme covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own support, which our Scotland and Northern Ireland pages describe.
If your home has mains gas, the standard value applies. If it heats with oil or LPG and has no gas connection, the enhanced value may apply, but the definition has traps. A capped gas meter counts as mains gas. Our guide on how to check whether you are off the gas grid walks through it.
Step 2: find installers registered for the scheme
Every scheme installation must be carried out by an MCS-certified installer, and only they can apply. MCS is the quality mark for small-scale renewables such as heat pumps and solar panels, and its installer search lets you check that a business is certified for the technology you are having installed. The search has a filter for “Registered for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?”, which saves asking.
Ask two or three installers to survey. A survey is the only way to get a real quote, and a quote given without one is a guess.
Warm Home Support is an information and enquiry service, not an installer. Where it looks appropriate, we can progress an enquiry to an MCS-certified installation partner. Their survey decides what is recommended.
Step 3: the heat-loss survey
A proper survey is room by room, and it decides the size of the heat pump, the water temperature it will run at and which radiators, if any, need to change. On the same visit the installer should check:
- where the outdoor unit will stand, and whether that position passes the MCS noise calculation at your neighbours’ nearest windows;
- where the hot water cylinder will go, because a combi boiler has none and a heat pump almost always needs one;
- the radiators, since a heat pump runs cooler water than a boiler and some rooms may need a larger one;
- the electrical supply, including the main fuse and whether the network operator has to be told;
- the pipework between the unit, the cylinder and the radiators.
Our guide to whether a home is suitable for a heat pump explains what each check is for.
Step 4: compare the quotes
The scheme sets a rule about the quote itself. It must show the total cost before the grant, the value of the grant and what you pay after it is deducted. A quote that hides the grant inside a single figure, or that mentions it only in conversation, is not one to sign.
Beyond that, compare what is in each design:
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Heat pump | The model and its output, and that it matches the heat loss the survey found rather than a round number. |
| Design temperature | The water temperature the system is designed to run at. Lower is more efficient, and it depends on the radiators. |
| Radiators | Which rooms get a new radiator, and what size. “As required” is not an answer. |
| Hot water cylinder | Its size and where it goes. |
| Electrical work | Any consumer unit, cabling or main fuse work, and who tells the network operator. |
| Performance estimate | The expected seasonal efficiency and annual electricity use. Every MCS quote should include one. |
| Grant | £7,500 shown as a deduction, with the balance you pay. |
| Warranty and aftercare | Workmanship and product warranties, and who you call in the first winter. |
The balance left after the grant varies from home to home. We do not publish price ranges, because a figure that does not come from your own survey is not worth having. Our heat pump grants page explains what drives the difference.
Step 5: the installer applies, and Ofgem emails you
Once you agree a quote, the installer applies on your behalf on the Ofgem website, with the evidence the scheme asks for. Ofgem then contacts you to confirm that the installer is acting for you. You have 14 days to respond, and if you do not, the application does not go ahead.
The email is genuine. A fee to reserve the grant is not.
Ofgem’s message asks you to confirm your consent. It does not ask for money. Nobody should charge you a fee to “secure” or “reserve” a grant, and the grant is never offered to you as cash. Our guide to energy grant scams lists the warning signs.
Step 6: the voucher, the installation and the checks
If the application is approved, Ofgem issues a voucher. For an air source heat pump the installer has 3 months to install the system, commission it and register it with MCS. Ground source systems get 6 months, because of the groundwork.
Installation itself typically takes a few days: the outdoor unit, the cylinder, any radiators, the pipework and the electrics, then commissioning and a handover. Ofgem might also contact you by phone or visit your property to check the installation, and MCS may carry out its own checks. Both are normal.
Step 7: the grant comes off the invoice
The money moves between the installer and Ofgem. Your invoice shows the same deduction the quote did, and you pay the balance. If the deduction is missing from the invoice, ask for it to be broken out before you pay.
One rule matters if timing slips. An application can be made after the work is done, but only if it is properly made within 120 days of commissioning. Agree with the installer before the work starts that the application will be made, and when.
Step 8: handover and the first winter
Ask for the controls to be explained, the weather compensation to be switched on and the hot water schedule to be set. Then compare electricity tariffs with the heat pump in mind. Our heat pump running costs guide explains what keeps the bill down, and why a hotter radiator is not a better one.
If nothing else in the home uses gas, you can ask your supplier about removing the gas meter and closing the account, which ends the gas standing charge.
The timings the scheme sets
| Stage | Limit | Who it binds |
|---|---|---|
| Confirming your consent after Ofgem emails you | 14 days | You |
| Installing and commissioning an air source heat pump after the voucher is issued | 3 months | The installer |
| Installing and commissioning a ground source heat pump | 6 months | The installer |
| Applying after the system has already been commissioned | 120 days from commissioning | The installer |
| Applications for the enhanced off-gas value | Properly made by 31 March 2027 | The installer |
Everything before the application is on your timetable: booking surveys, reading quotes, deciding. That is usually the longest stage, and it is the one worth not rushing.
The EPC position, stated carefully
Where there is no valid EPC, the installer can use:
- A utility bill dated within the last three months, or the most recent fuel receipt
- Photographs of the existing heating system
- The certificate number of an expired EPC, where one exists
So you do not have to buy a new EPC to apply, and an old one does not stop you. What you should not conclude is that EPC information no longer matters at all.
Planning permission and noise
Most air source heat pumps in England go in without a planning application. The one-metre boundary rule was removed on 29 May 2025, and the test is now the MCS noise calculation, which your installer carries out. The main limits are one outdoor unit at a house that is not detached, or two at a detached house, a unit of no more than 1.5 cubic metres, not on a pitched roof, and not at a listed building. Conservation areas have tighter limits on walls and roofs that face a road. Wales has its own similar rules.
Our guide to a heat pump in a terraced or semi-detached home goes through the rules in detail, because narrow yards are where they bite.
Seven things that stop an application
- Keeping the old boiler. The existing fossil fuel heating has to be fully replaced. A hybrid set-up with a gas boiler alongside the heat pump does not qualify.
- A capped gas meter claimed as off-gas. It still counts as mains gas, so the enhanced value does not apply, although the standard grant can.
- Replacing an existing heat pump. The scheme funds the move away from fossil fuel and electric heating, not a like-for-like swap.
- Social housing, including shared ownership.
- A new build the developer is still building.
- Earlier public funding for low-carbon heating at the address. If you are unsure what a previous owner claimed, say so, and the installer can check.
- An installer who is not MCS-certified. The work cannot be funded, however good the price.
If an application is refused
Ofgem tells the installer why. Most refusals are about evidence rather than the home, and a corrected application can be made. Ask the installer what was missing before assuming the answer is final.
Grant values can change
The grant values are set by the government, and the scheme has been extended to 2030. The value that applies to you is the one in force when your installer’s application is properly made. Values have changed before, in both directions, so if a figure is central to your decision, do not leave the application sitting once you have agreed the quote. Our scheme facts were last checked on 13 September 2026.
Check your property
Pick the grant you want to check. Three quick checks, then our team calls you back. It is free, with no obligation.
