Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant For Heat Pumps

What Is The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a Government scheme to encourage homeowners and business owners to replace their fossil fuel boilers and install low carbon heating systems, like air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps. The grant is available until 2028.

“The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant will be £7,500 for all technologies, meaning the same rate is applicable to both air source and ground source heat pumps”
— DESNZ

Homeowners or businesses will receive a grant of £7,500 for installing a heat pump, be it an air source heat pump, or a ground source heat pump. This applies to applications made after the 23rd October 2023. As an MCS accredited installer, Alto Energy will apply for and administer the grant on your behalf. Payment is made by Ofgem to Alto Energy after completion of the installation and then forwarded directly onto the homeowner.

Who Is Eligible For The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

What technologies are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

In short – heat pumps.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant will support the following technologies:

  • Air source heat pump systems - £7,500 grant

  • Ground source heat pump systems - £7,500 grant

Heat pump systems with a capacity of 45kW or less will be eligible for the scheme. All projects will need to be completed by an MCS approved installer, like Alto Energy, and have an MCS certificate issued for the project by the MCS approved installer.

WHAT PROPERTIES ARE ELIGIBLE for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is only available in England and Wales.

All existing domestic and non-domestic buildings are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. As with previous grant schemes there will be a requirement for any basic energy efficiency measures to have been completed prior to the heat pump installation. This means that if you have cavity walls they must be filled, and you need a minimum of 270mm rockwool insulation (or equivalent thermal resistance) in the loft. In order to demonstrate this, you will need to have an up to date Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) which does not show these measures as being required.

As well as the existing housing stock, the Government also recognises the need to prevent fossil fuel systems being installed in the first place, and to this end new self-build homes are also eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. In order to be eligible, self-build homes must meet the Ofgem definition of “Custom Build”, which can be found on the Ofgem website.

Hybrid Systems and Partial Heating

In order to be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, the heat pump must be designed to provide all of the heating and hot water to the property. The scope of the property will be defined by the EPC for that property.

The following situations will not be eligible for a grant:

  • Hybrid installations with a back-up boiler

  • Heating only heat pumps, where the heat pump just provides heating and not the hot water

  • Installations where the heat pump only covers part of the load defined on the EPC

How Do I Get The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

The entire Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant process is led by the MCS accredited installer. So, if you chose Alto Energy for your heat pump project, we will apply for and administer the grant on your behalf.

The process for obtaining your grant is the following:

  1. Alto Energy will produce an outline quotation for your project.

  2. Once you’re happy that you want to proceed with a heat pump, you pay us to complete the full MCS designs for your property. If it’s a new build or major renovation project we can do this from plans, otherwise we will need to carry out a site survey to gather detailed information about your project.

  3. After the designs are completed, we will issue a final quotation.

  4. Once you accept the quotation and pay for the goods, we will arrange delivery. Following delivery, we will schedule a commissioning visit with one of our engineers.

  5. We will then apply to Ofgem for your Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant once we have all the information we need.

  6. Once the project is finished, we will redeem the voucher and pay the full grant money into your account.

Any Questions?

If you have questions about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.

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