Editorial Policy
How we research, review, correct and fund what we publish about ECO4 and other UK energy grants.
In short
- • Grant rules come from official sources (GOV.UK, Ofgem, DESNZ), not from installers or other grant websites.
- • ApplyFreeBoiler.uk is run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, an ECO4 installer. It is not the Government or Ofgem.
- • If you find an error, tell us and we will check it against the official source and correct it.
- • Section 7 explains where your details go and how the site makes money.
Contents
1. How we research
Our guides start from primary, official sources. We read the scheme rules ourselves rather than repeating what other grant websites or installer marketing say about them.
The government's overview of the scheme.
The scheme administrator's rules, guidance and reports.
The department that sets scheme policy, including the end date.
Energy efficiency advice and research.
The public EPC register, used to understand a property's rating.
- • Eligibility criteria, dates and deadlines are stated with a link to the official source where practical.
- • Where official sources are silent or disagree, we say so instead of guessing.
- • We do not publish savings figures, success rates or customer numbers unless we can point to where they come from.
- • News articles and supplier pages are used for context only, never as the source for a rule.
2. How often we review
We review our core scheme pages (eligibility, how it works and the main grant guides) at least every three months, and sooner whenever official guidance changes.
When we change a page's "last updated" date, it is because its content has been checked against the sources above.
3. When schemes change
Government schemes change, and some end. For example, the government has confirmed that ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 (see the government response on the ECO4 end date). When something like that happens, we:
- • Watch GOV.UK, Ofgem and DESNZ announcements every week.
- • Update the pages most affected first: anything quoting an end date, eligibility criteria or funding.
- • Say clearly that a scheme is closing, and link to Ofgem and DESNZ guidance on applications already in progress rather than paraphrasing it from memory.
- • Avoid urgency or scarcity claims that the official dates do not support.
- • After a scheme ends, update or archive its pages so nobody is told they can apply for something that has closed, and point to what replaces it where official guidance says there is a replacement.
4. Who writes and reviews
Written by: our team at Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, drawing on the surveys and installations we carry out
Reviewed and fact-checked by: our company director
Accountable for the site: the director of Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd (see the About page)
Where an article carries a byline, it names a real person who wrote or reviewed it. Where an article is credited to "ApplyFreeBoiler Team", that means staff at Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd. From October 2026, every new or updated article is signed off by our director before it goes live.
5. Use of AI tools
We use AI tools for some tasks, such as helping to research a topic, drafting or summarising text, and creating illustrations. Until October 2026 some blog posts were drafted and published automatically. We have switched that off and are reviewing those posts, updating or removing any that are out of date. New and updated articles are checked by a person before they go live.
- • AI is never used to decide whether a household is eligible. Eligibility rules come from the official sources listed in section 1.
- • Facts, figures and dates are checked against those sources before they are published.
- • AI-generated images are illustrations. They are not presented as photographs of real customers, installers or installations.
6. Corrections and complaints
If you think something on this site is wrong or out of date, email info@applyfreeboiler.uk with the subject "Correction request". Please include the page address, what is wrong and, if you can, an official source.
- • We aim to acknowledge corrections within two working days.
- • We check the claim against the official source and fix the page promptly if it is wrong.
- • For significant corrections we add a dated note to the page saying what changed.
Complaints about our service: use the same email address. If you are unhappy with how we handled your personal data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. For problems with an installation, contact us first and see Ofgem's guidance for homeowners and tenants.
7. How we are funded
ApplyFreeBoiler.uk is run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, a heating and insulation installer. It is not a charity or a government body. This section says plainly what happens to the details you submit and how the site makes money.
Free for households
Eligible households pay nothing for work funded under ECO4. We do not charge for our guides or for the eligibility check.
What happens when you submit a form
This applies to our eligibility, application, LA Flex, contact and referral forms.
- The form is checked for errors. On the eligibility form we also look up your property's public Energy Performance Certificate on the GOV.UK EPC register.
- An email with your answers is sent to our team. Most forms also send you a confirmation email.
- A row is added to our lead spreadsheet (Google Sheets). It holds the date, your name, email address, telephone number, postcode, address, benefits information, an EPC link, a status and comments. The full application form also records your date of birth.
- A private topic is created for you in our team chat (Telegram), so colleagues can log the outcome of each call. It holds the same contact and property details and your answers about ownership, benefits and boiler.
- For eligibility forms, we also record in our product analytics (PostHog) that a form was submitted, with the service requested, whether you own your home and your boiler's age. This event is linked to your email address.
- A member of our team contacts you by phone or email. The outcome is logged against your row, for example "no answer", "survey booked" or "not interested".
- If you appear to qualify, we book a survey of your home. If the survey confirms you qualify, our team installs the agreed work. To claim the funding, we submit details of the installation, your address and your eligibility evidence to the energy supplier funding the work, as the ECO4 rules require.
Our Privacy Policy explains your rights, how long we keep data and how to ask for it to be deleted.
How we make money
We are paid by the energy supplier for each installation we complete and submit under ECO4. We are not paid by households.
We also run a refer-a-friend programme in which people who refer others may be paid. The programme page has the current terms.
Why this does not change what we publish
We are an installer, so we have a commercial interest in households applying. We hold ourselves to this: eligibility and scheme explanations are written from official sources, and we say plainly that eligibility is decided under the scheme rules after a survey.
8. Contact
Questions about this policy, or how a page was researched? Email info@applyfreeboiler.uk. Who runs the site and how to reach us by phone or post is on our About page. See also our Disclaimer.
Who runs this site
Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd
Registered in England and Wales, company number 16100301
Registered office: 15 Cardigan Drive, Bury, England, BL9 9LG