Heat pump grant FAQs — everything in one place

£7,500 in England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for both air source and ground source heat pumps. Scotland pays £7,500 through Home Energy Scotland with a £1,500 rural uplift and optional interest-free loan. Northern Ireland currently has no general equivalent. Biomass boilers attract £5,000 under the BUS in rural off-gas properties.

No. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has no income test, no benefits requirement, and no property value cap. You need to own the property, hold an EPC issued within the last ten years, and be replacing a fossil fuel or direct electric system with an eligible heat pump fitted by an MCS-certified installer. That is the whole list.

In England and Wales, the installer applies to Ofgem and deducts £7,500 from your quote; your only task is replying to Ofgem’s consent email. In Scotland, you apply yourself to Home Energy Scotland and need approval before work starts. The official England and Wales guidance is at gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme.

Most homes land between £3,500 and £8,500 after the £7,500 deduction, from a full installed price of £11,000–£16,000. A typical three-bed semi pays £4,000–£6,500 including a cylinder and a few radiator upgrades. The detailed breakdown by house type is on our air source costs page.

Installed costs run £18,000–£35,000+ depending on trenches versus boreholes, so £10,500–£27,500 after the same £7,500 grant. Ground source earns its premium on larger heat demands and off-grid properties; for an ordinary semi, air source is usually the rational buy — our GSHP page says so explicitly.

No. The requirement to resolve loft and cavity wall insulation recommendations was removed in May 2024. You simply need a valid EPC. Insulation can still be worth doing first — it shrinks the heat pump you need — but it is no longer a condition of the grant.

Not if you want the grant — hybrid installations are excluded from the BUS. The scheme funds complete replacements of fossil fuel or electric heating only. Air-to-air units (wall-mounted warm-air systems) are also outside the scheme because they cannot heat water.

From accepting a quote: the Ofgem voucher typically issues within days once you confirm consent, and installation follows within the voucher window — three months for air source, six for ground source. The physical installation takes two to five days for ASHP. The real queue is installer availability, which stretches to four to eight weeks for good firms in busy seasons.

On a standard tariff with a well-designed system (SCOP 3.5+): roughly level with gas. On a heat-pump-specific tariff: £200–£400 a year cheaper for a typical home. Against oil, LPG, or electric heating the heat pump wins clearly. The running-costs page publishes the full arithmetic so you can rerun it with your own numbers.

Yes — the technology heats two-thirds of homes in Norway. Efficiency falls as temperature drops (COP around 2.0–2.5 at -5°C versus 3.5–4 in mild weather) but output continues to well below any UK temperature. Correct sizing against your location’s design temperature is part of MCS methodology. The myths page covers the cold-weather evidence in depth.

Some, usually. Heat pumps run at lower flow temperatures, so a room-by-room heat loss survey typically flags two to five radiators for upsizing at £150–£350 each. Underfloor heating is not required. Be wary of quotes with zero radiator changes and no heat loss calculation — that combination usually means an inefficient design.

MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) is the UK quality standard for renewable installations. Only MCS-certified installers can claim BUS vouchers, and the certification enforces the design methodology that determines real-world efficiency. Verify any firm in two minutes at mcscertified.com — our MCS guide shows what to check and what to ask.

Yes, in England and Wales — the BUS covers any property you own, including rentals and second homes, one voucher per property. Scotland’s HES grant targets owner-occupiers, so landlords should check the current Scottish position. Small non-domestic buildings (shops, offices, village halls) also qualify for the BUS within the 45 kWth cap.

Not for the same measure — a property cannot take both BUS and ECO4 funding for the heating system. If your household receives qualifying benefits, compare ECO4 first: it can fund 100% of the installation. You can freely combine the BUS with 0% VAT (automatic) and with private finance or green mortgage products.

The zero rate on heat pump installations is legislated until 31 March 2027, after which it is scheduled to revert to the reduced or standard rate unless extended. On a £13,000 installation, a return to 20% VAT would add roughly £2,600. Together with the unguaranteed future of the £7,500 grant itself, it is the main reason not to park the decision indefinitely.

Use our two-minute checker. It establishes which nation’s scheme applies, whether your property and heating system qualify, and what you would pay after the grant — then connects you with MCS-certified installers who run the application. One working day to a clear answer, no obligation.