What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
In the UK, around 14% of carbon emissions come from heating our houses with gas. As part of the journey to reach net zero by 2050, the government launched the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to bring down the upfront cost of buying a heat pump.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a £450 million scheme offering grants of £7,500 towards your heat pump installation. Combined with the cut to VAT on clean technologies, it’s making it easier and more cost effective for more people to swap fossil fuels for renewable energy.
Why is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme needed?
Getting a heat pump requires more work than replacing a fossil fuel boiler with a newer model. This makes the upfront cost higher – something which the Government’s £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant helps to bring down.
Heat pumps are designed to generate heat at a lower temperature and more slowly than boilers, to improve efficiency. Because of this, some homes will require upgrades to their central heating system, such as new pipework, radiators or a hot water cylinder, to keep their homes comfortable at this lower, more efficient flow temperature. This brings up the cost of installing a heat pump compared with a fossil fuel boiler, but does lead to lower ongoing running costs.
A detailed design consultation will show you how many upgrades your home may need.
How are the heat pump grants paid out?
If you choose to get a heat pump, the first step is to contact an MCS certified heat pump installer, like Good Energy, for a quote. Based off your initial quote, we would advise if your heating system is eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
Once your heat pump design is complete, and your installation is booked in, your installer will apply to Ofgem on your behalf for a voucher for the cost of the grant. You will then receive an email, asking you to provide consent on the government website.
Once the installation has been completed, your installer will contact Ofgem again to redeem the voucher. The redeemed vouchers are issued straight to your installer.
Vouchers for air source heat pumps and biomass boilers are valid for three months, and ground source heat pump vouchers are valid for six months.
Who’s eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is ideal for homeowners in England and Wales who are looking to lower their carbon emissions and turn to more sustainable forms of heating.
There are a few critera you will need to meet to be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant:
- You must be the homeowner. If you rent, you can speak to your landlord about getting a heat pump.
- You must be fully replacing your fossil fuel heating (or electric storage heaters) with a sustainable heating system. This can be an air source heat pump, ground source heat pump, or in some cases a biomass boiler, with a capacity of up to 45kWh.
- Self-build properties are also eligible, but not new builds until they’ve pass into your ownership.
- Your installer must be MCS certified (see all of Good Energy’s heat pump certifications here).
- You need to have an EPC issued within the last 10 years – these are easy to organise if yours is out of date.
- Your new heating system needs to achieve a minimum efficiency of 280%. At Good Energy, ours achieve an average efficiency of 340%.
Get a quote today
Good Energy is a registered heat pump installer working in homes across the south and midlands in England.
