Equipment and costs the scheme does not fund
| Item | Funded? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Gas, oil or LPG boiler | No | Heat pumps, and biomass boilers in limited rural cases, only. |
| Hybrid heat pump (with a boiler) | No | GOV.UK: no grant for a hybrid heat pump system. |
| Keeping a boiler as back-up | No | Ofgem: an existing fossil fuel system must be fully replaced. |
| Replacing a heat pump or biomass boiler | No | No grant to replace a low-carbon heating system. |
| Cooling-only or portable air conditioning | No | Only an air-to-air heat pump that replaces the heating, in a home, gets £2,500. |
| Solar panels or batteries | No | Not heating systems under this scheme. |
| Insulation or windows | No | Worth considering, but not funded here. |
| Running costs, electricity bills, servicing | No | A one-off contribution to installation only. |
| A second grant at the same address | No | One grant per property. |
| Systems over the capacity limits | No | 45kWth single, 70kWth multiple, 300kWth shared ground loop. |
| Self-installation | No | Only an MCS-certified installer can apply. |
People and properties it cannot help
- Tenants. The grant goes to the owner. A landlord can use it for a rented home, so the conversation is with them.
- Social housing, including shared ownership. Excluded by Ofgem’s guidance.
- New builds still being built by a developer. Ofgem’s guidance treats developer-built new builds as ineligible, while GOV.UK’s summary says a finished one with a fossil fuel boiler may qualify, so ask an installer to confirm. Certain self-builds can qualify for £7,500, but Ofgem’s property owner guidance (3.13) excludes them from the £9,000 band, and they cannot get biomass. The detail is on the eligibility page.
- Properties that have had government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler.
- Homes in Scotland. Scotland uses Home Energy Scotland’s own grant of £7,500, with an optional interest-free loan.
- Homes in Northern Ireland. GOV.UK says the Boiler Replacement Scheme in Northern Ireland is now closed.
- Leased or finance-owned heat pumps. Ofgem’s property owner guidance (4.42-4.43) says you must become the legal owner of the heat pump, and arrangements where a finance provider or installer keeps ownership are not eligible.
- Homes with no existing heating, unless a self-build. 13% of grants paid so far are recorded as replacing no previous system; Ofgem’s guidance says a self-build, which has no existing heating, can qualify for a heat pump.
Why hybrids are out
A hybrid keeps a boiler in the loop, usually for the coldest days. The scheme was designed to take fossil fuel boilers out of service, so any arrangement that leaves one running alongside the heat pump falls outside it. The practical test an installer applies is simple: after the job, is there still a working fossil fuel system connected to the heating? If yes, the grant is not available.
That does not make a well-sized heat pump a risky choice for a cold house. The Electrification of Heat trial installed heat pumps across a wide spread of homes and reported no property type or era as unsuitable; our sizing and radiators guide explains how installers match output to heat loss.
If you are weighing the two options, our hybrid heat pump comparison sets out the running costs and the grant difference side by side.
If you wanted help with a boiler
A lot of people reach this scheme hoping for help with a failed gas boiler. It cannot help with that. What exists instead is means-tested or locally delivered, such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4, which ends on 31 December 2026) and council-run schemes. Each has its own rules, and other heat pump funding lists what stacks with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and what cannot.
If your boiler has failed and you are weighing a like-for-like replacement against a heat pump, the grant changes the sums: £7,500, or £9,000 if you are off the gas grid on oil or LPG. A heat pump takes longer to arrange than a boiler swap, so if you have no heating at all, tell every installer straight away. Whether a heat pump is worth it sets out the honest comparison.
Air conditioning: covered or not?
The answer changed in 2026. The amending regulations in force from 28 April 2026 added air-to-air heat pumps, which is what most reverse-cycle air conditioning units are, at £2,500. The conditions are strict: residential properties only, and the unit has to replace the existing heating; Ofgem’s rules bar a fossil fuel system from being kept alongside. DESNZ recorded 157 air-to-air voucher applications and 0 vouchers issued by the end of September 2026 (Table 1.1), so ask installers whether they can offer it. The grant is the same whatever fuel it replaces and there is no off-gas uplift. A cooling-only unit, a portable unit or an installation in business premises gets nothing.
Costs the grant leaves with you
Even where the grant applies, it is a contribution, not the whole bill. At the DESNZ median of £12,826 for an air source system, the £7,500 grant is a little over half. The rest typically includes the hot water cylinder, any radiator changes, and any electrical or groundwork. Running costs follow the Ofgem price cap and your tariff, which is the subject of heat pump vs boiler running costs. For paying the balance, see heat pump finance.
Not available yet
The Energy Saving Trust lists two technologies under future funding updates: a heat battery, at £2,500 off the cost and installation, and exhaust air heat pumps. Neither is a live grant, and anyone selling you a heat battery grant today is ahead of the rules. We will update this page if that changes.
Two common misunderstandings
“It is called the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, so it must pay for boilers.”
The name describes upgrading from a boiler to low-carbon heating. The regulations fund heat pumps and, in limited rural cases, biomass boilers. A replacement gas or oil boiler gets nothing.
The name is confusing, and search results mix boiler grants with heat pump grants for exactly that reason.
“A hybrid would be a sensible halfway house, so surely it is covered.”
It is not. Full replacement is the point of the scheme. If you are worried about a cold winter, the evidence on how heat pumps behave in cold weather is on the heat pump myths page.
A hybrid is a legitimate choice for some homes; you would just be paying for it without a grant.