The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a UK government grant towards replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump or a biomass boiler. It is administered by Ofgem and it is open in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate arrangements, so if you live outside England or Wales, check the scheme for your nation rather than this one.
What it is worth
As at 26 August 2026, the grant is:
- £7,500 towards an air-to-water heat pump. The same amount applies to a ground source heat pump, including water source and shared ground loop systems.
- £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump. This is a different technology to the one most homes are quoted for, and it is funded at a lower rate.
- £5,000 towards a biomass boiler.
- £9,000 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump in an eligible off-gas-grid property. Ofgem states this is available until 31 March 2027.
The uplifted rate is for properties with no mains gas connection that are currently heated by oil or LPG. If that describes your property, the date matters: it is a deadline, not a permanent rate.
You cannot use the grant to replace a system that is already low carbon, and you cannot use it to replace a hybrid heat pump system. It is specifically for moving off fossil fuel heating.
Sources: GOV.UK, “Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme”, what you can get, checked 26 August 2026, https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme; Ofgem, “Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)”, checked 26 August 2026, https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/boiler-upgrade-scheme-bus
Two things that matter more than the amount
It is installer-led, and you cannot apply yourself. An MCS certified installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf and redeems the grant after installation. The value comes off your invoice rather than being paid to you. The installer must commission the system within 120 days of applying. In practice this means your choice of installer decides whether you get the grant at all, so confirm MCS certification before you accept a quotation, not after.
It carries no insulation requirement and no EPC requirement. Ofgem’s guidance recommends that you consider energy efficiency improvements where practical and affordable, and asks you to discuss them with your installer. It does not make them a condition of the grant.
Read that second point carefully, because it cuts both ways. Nothing in the scheme stops you installing a heat pump into a property that is not ready for one. The check is yours to make, and it is the reason whether your property is ready is a better first question than how much the grant is worth.
If you were previously told you did not qualify because of an EPC or an outstanding insulation recommendation, it is worth checking your position again directly on GOV.UK. Scheme rules do change.
If you are reading this because your boiler has just died, the timing matters more than the amount. Your boiler has failed, what are your realistic options sets out what is actually achievable this week and what a like-for-like replacement costs you in grant terms.
Who is eligible
Based on the rules published on GOV.UK and checked on 26 August 2026, you will generally need to:
- Own the property. This includes a second home, a property used for business, and a home you rent to tenants.
- Be replacing an existing heating system running on mains gas, oil, electric heating or LPG.
- Be in England or Wales.
- Use an MCS certified installer, who applies for and manages the voucher on your behalf.
Self-build properties can qualify under specific conditions, including that you or the original owner built the property, or paid a builder to build it, and that it has never been owned by a business or organisation.
New-build properties still under construction, and those still occupied by the developer, are not eligible. Social housing is excluded, as are properties that have already received other government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler. Having previously received funding for other efficiency work, such as insulation, does not on its own disqualify you.
The biomass grant carries three further conditions: the property must be off the gas grid, in a rural location by Ofgem’s definition, and the boiler must have an emissions certificate. Self-build properties cannot claim it.
If your property is off the gas grid and currently heated by oil or LPG, there is a higher rate available at present, and it has a published end date. See the £9,000 off-gas-grid grant and the date it ends.
What this page cannot tell you
Whether a heat pump suits your property, what size you would need, and what the installation would cost are all questions for a qualified assessor. Eco Connect gives independent advice and does not carry out installations, is not MCS certified, and cannot apply for the grant on your behalf. Only an MCS certified installer can do that.
To get quotations, use the MCS find an installer tool and get more than one. https://mcscertified.com/find-an-installer/
For a first indication of whether a heat pump might suit your home, the government publishes its own heat pump check. Ofgem describes it as a general resource that does not assess your eligibility for the grant, which is the right way to read it. https://www.heat-pump-check.service.gov.uk/
Grant values, eligibility rules and dates change. Every figure here is dated and linked to the GOV.UK or Ofgem page it came from. Check the source before you rely on it, including ours.
