1. MoneySavingExpert.com
  2. Household Bills
Skip to content of guide

In this guide

MSE weekly email

FREE weekly MoneySaving email

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!

FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe

Heat pump grants

How to apply and get a £7,500 Government grant

Clare Casalis
Clare Casalis | Edited by Andrew Capstick
Updated 29 August 2024

As part of the drive to reduce carbon emissions, the Government is offering grants of £7,500 to households in England and Wales to help towards the cost of installing a heat pump. Here's what you need to know about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. 

Skip to content of guide

In this guide

Who's this guide for? Anyone who is planning on purchasing a heat pump.

Other related guides... Heat pumps explained | The Great British Insulation Scheme | EV tariffs | Solar panels | Cheap green energy  Find all our energy guides in one place.

What is a heat pump?

2041335314

A heat pump is a form of 'low-carbon' central heating that captures heat from outside your home (from the air or underground), heats it up using electricity, and then transfers it inside your home.

Heat pumps are said to be an environmentally-friendly alternative to gas or oil boilers, as they don’t burn fuel, and so release a lot less carbon dioxide compared to traditional boilers. For more on how heat pumps work and the different types available, see our Heat pumps explained guide. 

Although a heat pump replaces your gas boiler, you'll still pay for your electricity in the same way, so use our How to switch your energy for full info and use our Cheap Energy Club to find your cheapest tariff.

You can use the Government's heat pump checker to see if a heat pump could be suitable for your home.

How much does a heat pump cost?

According to the Energy Saving Trust, an air source heat pump typically costs around £14,000, while a ground source heat pump can be much more. 

You may also needs to factor in changing some of your radiators and adding more insulation to your home to ensure your heat pump can work to its full potential.

While a heat pump will work with standard radiators that you'd typically have with a gas boiler, they're not always suitable – heat pumps generally operate at a lower temperature, so they work better with larger radiators. Your installer will let you know if you need new ones. 

Is a heat pump worth it?

Deciding whether to get a heat pump for your home is a big decision. It'll depend on your own needs and finances. For more on heat pump costs and how they compare with other heating systems, see our Heat pumps explained guide.

Who can get the £7,500 heat pump grant?

Homeowners in England and Wales can get a one-off grant from the Government to help replace less efficient gas boilers through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

Under the BUS, which runs until April 2028, you can a grant of £7,500 to help with the cost of installing a heat pump. This could be:

  • an air source heat pump; or

  • a ground source heat pump (including water source heat pumps and those on shared ground loops)

Also bear in mind the grant's mainly for people who need old boilers replacing, as it's unlikely to be worth replacing a functioning boiler.

See 'What are the different types of heat pumps?' for more info. 

Who can get a heat pump grant?

To be eligible for the heat pump grant:

  • You must be a homeowner. If you rent, you can make the suggestion to your landlord to get one, but you can't install one without their permission.

  • You must be replacing an existing fossil fuel system. Such as a gas or oil boiler. You can also replace electric storage heaters and get the grant. 

  • Your property must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). An EPC tells you how energy efficient your home is and gives it a rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient) and are valid for 10 years from the date of issue. You can check your home's EPC rating on the Government's EPC register.

What are the exclusions to the government heat pump grant?  

You can't get a government heat pump grant:

  • for a hybrid system, such as a combination of gas boiler and air source heat pump 
  • to replace a low carbon heating system 
  • for systems with a capacity of more than 45kW
  • if you've previously received Government funding for a heat pump, for example through the Energy Company Obligation scheme. But you can still apply if you’ve received separate funding for unrelated energy efficiency upgrades, such as for insulation.

If you think you fit the criteria, you can see how to apply below.

  • You no longer need to get insulation installed to be eligible - but you may want to anyway

    Once you've got an EPC, it'll give you recommendations on how to improve your home's energy efficiency. Previously, you'd only be eligible for the heat pump grant if you had no outstanding recommendations to install or improve your loft or cavity wall insulation.

    However, this was changed in May 2024, and it's no longer a requirement to get the grant. But you may want to consider it anyway, as it'll help your heat pump work to its full potential and can help reduce running costs.

    To check if you're eligible for free insulation, see our Great British Insulation Scheme guide.

  • How much funding is available?

    Originally there was a £450 million budget for the scheme, to last until the end of March 2025. However, in December 2023, the Government announced £1.5 billion of additional funding until March 2028.

    The UK Government has set a target to install 600,000 heat pump a year from 2028.

Will a heat pump grant cover all of the cost?

2184214647

There's no one size fits all when it comes to the cost of installing a heat pump – it'll depend on the size of your home, and how much your existing radiators and heating system will need adapting.

But with air source heat pumps typically costing between £14,000 and £19,000 to install, the £7,500 government grant won't completely cover the costs of installation for many.

Some suppliers are offering to reduce installation costs

Some suppliers such as Octopus and Ovo, have offers which they claim can help further reduce the costs of installation (and some offer specialist tariffs aimed at cutting running costs). 

  • Octopus Energy's 'Cosy 6' is a 6kW heat pump. If you get the £7,500 grant, and no additional work is required to your home, it won't cost you a penny. If additional work is needed, it says costs start from around £3,000.

  • Ovo Energy has partnered with Heat Geek to install heat pumps from £500 (including the £7,500 grant).

So the £7,500 grant could cover the full cost of installation for some, but it's likely most households will need to spend at least some of their own cash.

Innovation charity Nesta has developed this nifty tool to help you get a ballpark figure for the cost of installing an air source heat pump for your home. But do note, this is still only a demo calculator and as such, it has some limitations – it can’t give a cost estimate for flats, for homes in Northern Ireland, or for very large or very small homes.

How to apply for a heat pump grant

Step 1: Find and choose an installer

The system and the installer have to meet the standards of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). You can find an installer through the MCS directly. As always, make sure you get at least three quotes, to make sure you're getting the best deal. 

The installer will apply for the grant on your behalf, so all you need to do at this stage is ask for the installer issue you a quote and apply for it. Ofgem says the installer should deduct the voucher offer from your quote upfront. 

Step 2: Give your consent to Ofgem

After the installer contacts Ofgem to apply for the grant, you will be contacted by Ofgem. This will usually be by email. You need to confirm that you have asked the installer to act on your behalf and that your house is suitable for a heat pump. If you don't reply to Ofgem within 14 days, the application may be rejected. 

Remember, if you give your consent to Ofgem this doesn't oblige you to have the work done. That will be dealt with separately in a contract with the installer, so you can still change your mind. 

Step 3: Once it's been approved, get it installed

Ofgem will tell you if you've been approved for the £7,500 grant. Make sure the price you've agreed with the installer includes the grant amount.

Ofgem will then issue a voucher for the £7,500 grant to the installer. The voucher will be valid for three months for an air source heat pump or six months for a ground source heat pump, so your installer will need to fit them within this timeframe. If you miss this deadline, you can reapply.

The £7,500 grant will be taken off the price you pay your installer for the heat pump and the installation. The installer will then receive the grant from Ofgem, you don't need to claim anything.

  • Part pay with a credit card if you can

    If you don't have the cash upfront, then a heat pump might not be right for you – they're unlikely to save you money on heating, and adding interest on top of that isn't ideal. 

    However, you may want to part pay for the heat pump installation on your credit card if you can. By paying just £1 of the cost on a credit card you get full Section 75 consumer rights, which means by law the lender's jointly liable with the retailer.

    This means you have exactly the same rights with the card company as you do with the installer, so if it goes bust, you can simply take your complaints there instead and get money back if there's no delivery. See our Section 75 guide for a full explanation.

    If paying by debit card, there's also valuable hidden protection that means you may be able to get your money back if something goes wrong. It's called 'chargeback' and applies to most debit and charge cards, as well as Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit cards – though it isn't a legal requirement. See our Chargeback guide.

What to do if you have problems with your heat pump installation

Step 1: Speak to your installer

If you experience problems with your new heat pump system, such as performance issues, faults, or safety concerns, the first thing to do is speak to your installer.

Send a formal complaint to the installer who carried out the work. They have 14 days from receiving your letter to resolve the issue(s). 

Step 2: Get help from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme

If your installer can't or won't help, you can get help from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The MCS has a list of what issues are covered by the scheme. 

If you haven’t heard back from MCS within five working days, get in touch with it. You can call the MCS helpdesk on 0333 103 8130 or email it.

Your rights are also protected by a number of codes, set up to safeguard consumers in renewable energy sectors. There are organisations like the Renewable Energy Consumer code (RECC) and the Home Insultation and Energy Systems Contractor Scheme (HIES) which can also help.

If your installer is MCS certified (which is has to be to get the Government grant), it's a condition that they must be a member of one of these organisations. The MCS can tell you when to get in touch with them.

Are heat pump grants available in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The Scottish Government has a separate scheme which provides cashback on purchases of 'renewable heating systems'. 

Homeowners can apply for up to £7,500 (or £9,000 if you qualify for the 'rural uplift') grant to install a new heat pump (either air source to water, ground source to water, water source to water, or hybrid air source to water). 

This is on top of the Home Energy Scotland scheme that provides interest-free loans for efficient home improvements, where you can get an interest-free loan of up to £7,500 for a heat pump.

There is no scheme to help pay for a heat pump in Northern Ireland.

Share this guide
MSE Forum

Have your say in our forum!

We'd love to hear your experiences and questions on heat pumps in our Forum

Go to the MSE Forum

Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com

MSE tools & calculators

Clever ways to calculate your finances 

Credit Card Eligibility

See which cards are likely to accept you

Tool

Loans Eligibility

See which loans you've the best chance of getting

Tool

MSE App

Get MSE on your Apple or Android phone

Tool

Broadband Unbundled

Compare broadband deals & save

Tool

Mortgage best buys

Compares thousands of mortgages

Tool

Mortgage Calculator

Eight calcs for all your mortgage sums

Tool
Tools and calculators

What the * means above
If a link has an * by it, that means it is an affiliated link and therefore it helps MoneySavingExpert stay free to use, as it is tracked to us. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site. It's worth noting this means the third party used may be named on any credit agreements.

You shouldn’t notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. Plus the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by these links. We aim to look at all available products. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link. For more details, read How this site is financed.

MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MONY Group Financial Limited. MONY Group Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MONY Group PLC and MONY Group Financial Limited (registered in England No. 3157344) is MONY Group House, St. David's Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ.