Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026: £7,500 off a heat pump, but not a free gas boiler

What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government grant in England and Wales that takes £7,500 off the cost of an air source or ground source heat pump, £5,000 off a biomass boiler and £2,500 off an air-to-air heat pump. Your MCS-certified installer applies and deducts the grant from your bill. It does not pay for gas boilers.

Ofgem runs it for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The money never reaches your bank account. The installer shows the grant as a deduction on the quote, and Ofgem pays the installer once the system is commissioned and the voucher is redeemed (GOV.UK ). The scheme opened in May 2022, and the heat pump grants went up to £7,500 on 23 October 2023.

Four rule changes came into force on 28 April 2026, and most pages that rank for this search have not caught up with them. Air-to-air heat pumps became eligible for £2,500. A valid EPC is no longer essential, because the installer can use other evidence of your current heating. Installers must now take the grant off the price up front. And MCS became the only certification scheme for BUS installers (DESNZ, BUS statistics ).

Looking for a free gas boiler? Start here

We wrote this page because the name sends people the wrong way. Plenty of people search for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme hoping to swap an old gas boiler for a new one at no cost. The scheme does the opposite: it helps you take the boiler out and put a heat pump in. Which route suits you depends mostly on your benefits and income.

Our view, as an installer with an obvious stake in ECO4: if you get a qualifying benefit, check ECO4 before you pay for a heat pump survey. It has a fixed end date and BUS does not close until 2029. If you do not qualify, BUS is a decent grant for the right house, and the rest of this page is about whether yours is one. The form at the top of the page asks about benefits and income and tells you which route to look at.

How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in 2026?

The grant is a fixed amount. It does not change with the size of your house, your income or the price you are quoted, and each property can get one grant (GOV.UK, what you can get ; grant notice, July 2026 ).

The £9,000 grant for oil and LPG homes

For applications properly made between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027, an air source or ground source heat pump gets £9,000 if the home is off the gas grid and the system being replaced runs on oil or LPG. Ofgem counts a home as off the gas grid when it is not heated by mains gas, has no record of a gas meter point, is not on a heat network and is not a new build. A capped or clamped gas meter still counts as gas. Self-builds can get £7,500 but not the higher rate (Ofgem guidance for property owners, v5.1 ). Off-grid homes replacing coal, electric heating or a fossil fuel hybrid stay at £7,500.

Some forums say LPG is left out. It is not. The confusion comes from the June 2026 announcement , which talked only about heating oil. The grant notice and Ofgem's guidance both name LPG.

Air-to-air heat pumps: eligible on paper

The £2,500 air-to-air grant has existed since 28 April 2026, but by the end of August 2026 there had been 145 applications and no vouchers issued (DESNZ ). MCS says it is bringing these installs into scope (MCS ). Our air-to-air heat pump grant guide tracks where that stands.

Who can get it

There is no income test and no age test. The rules are about the property, the old heating and the new system (GOV.UK eligibility ; Ofgem ). You can usually get the grant if all of these are true:

• You own the property. Homeowners, landlords, businesses and second-home owners all count.
• The property is in England or Wales.
• You are replacing heating that runs on gas, oil, LPG or electricity, and the old system comes out completely.
• The new heat pump is sized to meet the whole space heating demand of the home, which the installer works out from a heat loss survey.
• An MCS-certified installer fits an MCS-certified product and makes the application.
• You will legally own the new system once it is fitted.
• You can show what heats the home now. An EPC works, and since April 2026 so does a recent utility bill, a fuel receipt or photos of the old system.

Past insulation funding does not count against you, and an outstanding loft or cavity wall recommendation on your EPC has not blocked an application since May 2024. You cannot get the grant in these cases:

• Social housing, including shared ownership homes.
• A new build being built by a developer. Buying a finished new build that already has a fossil fuel boiler may still qualify.
• A property that has already had a heat pump or biomass boiler paid for by government or by ECO.
• Replacing a heat pump or another low-carbon system.
• A finance deal where a third party keeps ownership of the heat pump.
• Homes in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Biomass boilers have extra conditions: the home must be rural and off the gas grid, the boiler needs an emissions certificate, and self-builds cannot claim for one. A single heat pump above 45kWth capacity is not covered.

The voucher process, step by step

You do not apply to Ofgem yourself. The installer does, and your job is to choose them well and answer Ofgem's email in time. The steps below follow Ofgem's property owner guidance .

1. Find MCS-certified installers. The MCS installer search can filter for installers with a BUS account, and MCS suggests getting quotes from at least three.
2. The installer visits and does a heat loss assessment. You should get an itemised quote showing the full price, the grant and what you pay, plus an estimate of how your bills will change. Showing the grant as a deduction is a legal requirement.
3. You accept a quote and the installer applies to Ofgem for a voucher.
4. Ofgem emails you from boiler.upgrade.scheme.ofgem@notifications.service.gov.uk to confirm you agree. You have 14 days to reply, or 28 days if you use the assisted digital route. Miss it and the application may be rejected. Ofgem may also check your identity.
5. Ofgem issues the voucher. The installer then has 3 months to fit, commission and redeem it for an air source heat pump, an air-to-air heat pump or a biomass boiler, and 6 months for a ground source heat pump.
6. The installer redeems the voucher, Ofgem pays them, and you pay the balance on the quote. Ofgem or MCS may inspect the install, with 2 days' notice for a site visit.

Ofgem will not confirm in advance that a home qualifies, so a quote that says "grant approved" before a voucher exists is a red flag. For how a survey and installation run on the ECO4 side, see how it works.

What you pay after the grant

The grant rarely covers the whole job. Government figures put the median cost of an air source heat pump installed under the scheme at £12,908 between April and June 2026, and a ground source heat pump at £27,232. Both figures include the grant (DESNZ, August 2026 statistics ). In real terms the air source median is 11% lower than in the same quarter of 2023.

For comparison, the government's own business case puts a typical gas boiler replacement at about £3,500, and says a heat pump costs on average £9,000 more to install than a like-for-like fossil fuel system before the grant (DESNZ business case ). So for most households on mains gas, even after £7,500 off, the heat pump costs more up front than a new boiler. That is the honest starting point.

Two things can narrow the gap. Heat pumps and their installation carry 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 (Ofgem ). And the new Warm Homes Loan Scheme can lend for the part the grant does not cover, up to £20,000 for an air source heat pump before the grant comes off, with no income limit but a credit check. Its rules describe a consumer launch from September 2026 (scheme rules ); we have not confirmed which lenders are taking applications. Our Warm Homes Plan page covers the loan in more detail.

Running costs are where we will not give you a number. They depend on insulation, the tariff, how the system is set up and what it replaces. The installer has to give you an estimate of the effect on your bills, so ask for it in writing. The government's evaluation found 90 to 95% of owners satisfied with their heat pump, and a fall in bills was the change owners reported most often. Our heat pump calculator gives a rough suitability check before you book surveys.

Is a heat pump right for your home?

Not always, and a grant does not change that. Ofgem notes that heat pumps perform best in well-insulated homes, and the scheme requires the unit to heat the whole home on its own, with no gas boiler kept as a backup. A draughty house with thin loft insulation can still have one, but it needs a bigger unit and will cost more to run.

In our view the strongest case is an off-grid home on oil or LPG. Those households already pay for fuel deliveries, and they are the ones the £9,000 rate is aimed at. A home on mains gas with a boiler that still works is the harder case, because the sums depend so much on tariffs and insulation.

Before you sign, ask the installer what else changes in the house, such as radiators or a hot water cylinder, and whether those costs are in the quote. If you are on a benefit and live in England or Scotland, we can check the home for ECO4 and talk you through whether BUS, ECO4 or the Local Grant fits better. What we will not do is tell you a heat pump suits a house that is not ready for one.

BUS vs ECO4 vs Warm Homes: Local Grant

Three schemes, three different funders, and only one of them is open to people who are not on a low income.

Sources: Find a Grant , Ofgem ECO for households and GOV.UK Local Grant . Our free boiler scheme page explains ECO4 in full, and the air source heat pump grant page compares BUS and ECO4 for heat pumps only.

Combining BUS with ECO4 or other funding

You cannot stack them on one heat pump. Ofgem states that ECO4 funding must not be blended with other government grants and names BUS (Ofgem ). The BUS rules work the other way too: a property that has already had a heat pump or biomass boiler funded by government or ECO cannot then get a BUS grant for one. The same goes for the Local Grant. If the council pays for your heat pump, BUS will not.

The Warm Homes Loan is the exception, because it is designed to sit alongside BUS and cover the remaining cost. Past insulation work, whoever paid for it, does not stop you claiming.

Is there still money in the scheme?

Yes, and demand is at a record. July 2026 brought 8,150 applications, the highest month since the scheme opened (DESNZ, published 24 September 2026 ).

One figure surprises people who came here for a boiler: 55% of the paid grants replaced gas heating, and 17% replaced oil. So BUS does help people move off a gas boiler. It just will not pay for another one.

The 2026/27 budget is £400 million, rising in each year to 2029/30 under the Warm Homes Plan (DESNZ business case ), and the Find a Grant listing shows a closing date of 30 December 2029. The next statistics release is due on 29 October 2026.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland: Home Energy Scotland instead

BUS does not apply in Scotland. The Scottish equivalent is a Home Energy Scotland grant of up to £7,500 for a heat pump, with an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500 on top, and an extra £1,500 for eligible rural and island homes (Home Energy Scotland ). The process is the reverse of BUS. You apply, not the installer; you must contact Home Energy Scotland and get a written offer before any work starts, because it does not fund work retrospectively. Replacing an existing heat pump gets a loan only. The installer and product must be MCS-certified, and the system must provide all of the home's heating and hot water. The advice line is 0808 808 2282.

We install under ECO4 in Scotland, so if you are on a qualifying benefit there, ECO4 is worth checking first. Our Scotland page covers it.

Wales: BUS applies, and so does Nest

BUS works in Wales on the same rules as England. Wales also has Nest, the Welsh Government scheme for homeowners and private renters on a means-tested benefit or a low income, in homes rated EPC E or below (or D with an eligible health condition). Call Nest on 0808 808 2244 (Welsh Government ). We do not install in Wales.

Northern Ireland

BUS does not cover Northern Ireland, and GOV.UK lists the Northern Ireland Boiler Replacement Scheme as closed.

Landlords and rented homes

Private landlords can use BUS on homes they let, on the same grant amounts as owner-occupiers, one grant per property. The landlord is the one who gives consent to Ofgem, and Ofgem's guidance says the landlord must tell the tenant about the installation before it goes ahead. Social landlords are excluded, and so are shared ownership homes.

Tenants cannot apply for BUS, because they do not own the heating system. A tenant on a qualifying benefit can sometimes get ECO4 work done with the landlord's permission. Our landlord grants page sets out both routes.

Why applications fail or stall

Most problems trace back to a rule in Ofgem's guidance that nobody mentioned at quote stage.

• The consent email went to spam and the 14 days ran out. Add the Ofgem notification address to your contacts once you accept a quote.
• The plan keeps the gas boiler as a backup, or the system is a hybrid. Neither is eligible.
• The heat pump is too small to meet the whole heating demand.
• The property already had a heat pump or biomass boiler funded by government or ECO, sometimes under a previous owner.
• The installer or the product is not MCS-certified.
• The voucher ran out before the work was commissioned, which means a fresh application and fresh consent.
• The work was done first and the application went in more than 120 days after commissioning, or the retrospective claim was refused.
• The heat pump is on a finance plan where the lender keeps ownership.
• A self-build claimed the £9,000 rate, which only applies to existing homes.

If an application is refused, the installer can ask for a review within 28 days. Suspected fraud goes to Ofgem at counterfraud@ofgem.gov.uk.

Who runs this site, and what we do not do

ApplyFreeBoiler.uk is run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, an ECO4 heating and insulation installer working in England and Scotland since 2021. We are paid by the energy supplier for each installation we complete under ECO4. We are not paid by households, and we have no say over who gets a BUS grant.

Because ECO4 is how we are paid, weigh what we say about it accordingly. That is why every BUS figure on this page links to GOV.UK, Ofgem or DESNZ, and why we tell you plainly that BUS applications are made by an MCS-certified installer. What we can do is check your home, tell you whether ECO4 or the Local Grant is likely to fit, and talk you through the BUS route if neither does.

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