The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is the main government grant for replacing an old fossil-fuel heating system with low-carbon heating in England and Wales. It gives a fixed grant, taken straight off the price by your installer: £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, rising to £9,000 for eligible off-gas-grid homes replacing oil or LPG heating (until 31 March 2027). With the Great British Insulation Scheme now closed and ECO4 ending on 31 December 2026, BUS is one of the clearest routes still open. The government’s Warm Homes Plan (March 2026) sets out £2.7 billion of BUS funding up to 2030. This guide explains how much you can get, who qualifies and exactly how to apply.

Apply For A Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme helps reduce the cost of replacing your old heating system with a low-carbon heat pump, making your home more energy efficient and helping lower your heating bills.

How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant?

You can get one grant per property. It’s a fixed amount depending on the technology you install:

  • £7,500 off an air source (air-to-water) heat pump
  • £7,500 off a ground source heat pump (including water source and shared ground loop systems)
  • £9,000 off an air source (air-to-water) or ground source heat pump in an eligible off-gas-grid property replacing oil or LPG heating, for applications made from 21 July 2026 until 31 March 2027 (see below)
  • £5,000 off a biomass boiler
  • £2,500 off an air-to-air heat pump (residential properties only)

You don’t receive the money yourself. It is deducted from what your installer charges you, and shown on your quote and invoice. You can’t get a grant for a hybrid system (such as a gas boiler combined with a heat pump), or to replace a low-carbon heating system.

The £9,000 off-gas-grid grant

Not every home off the gas grid qualifies for the higher rate. For an air source (air-to-water) or ground source heat pump, the property must be replacing a heating system fuelled by oil or LPG and count as “off-gas grid” under the scheme rules, which means it:

  • isn’t fuelled by mains gas (a capped or clamped gas supply still counts as mains gas);
  • has no record of an existing gas meter point;
  • isn’t connected to a heat network; and
  • isn’t a new-build property.

The £9,000 rate applies to applications properly made from 21 July 2026 until 31 March 2027. Your installer must provide evidence that the property meets these conditions, such as an EPC or, if there isn’t one, recent fuel bills or photos of your existing heating system.

Who is eligible?

To qualify you must:

  • Be in England or Wales.
  • Own the property you are applying for. This includes a second home, a property you rent out to tenants, or a small business premises, so landlords qualify.
  • Be replacing a fossil-fuel heating system: oil, gas, electric or LPG.
  • Use an eligible heat pump or biomass boiler, installed by an MCS-certified installer.

The scheme does not cover:

  • most new-build properties (though a finished new build with an existing fossil-fuel boiler can qualify);
  • social housing;
  • properties that have already had government funding or support for a heat pump or biomass boiler.

Biomass boilers are only eligible in limited circumstances: the property must be off the gas grid and in a rural location, and the boiler needs an emissions certificate. Air-to-air heat pumps are only eligible for residential buildings.

Do I need insulation or a certain EPC first?

You don’t need to have insulated your home, or to have acted on any insulation recommendations on your EPC, to get a BUS grant. Having previously received other energy-efficiency funding (such as free insulation) does not disqualify you. A heat pump does work best in a well-insulated home, so your installer may still recommend insulation to get the best performance and running costs.

EPC evidence: if your property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate, your installer includes its reference number in the application. If it doesn’t, you can get one before your installer applies.
Otherwise your installer can provide alternative evidence of eligibility, such as a utility bill dated within the last 3 months or your most recent fuel receipt, photos of the existing heating system, and an expired EPC if you have one.

How to apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

BUS is installer-led, which is the most important thing to understand. You don’t fill in a government form yourself. Instead:

  1. Choose an installer who is MCS certified (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme). You can find one on the MCS register.
  2. Get quotes for your heat pump or biomass boiler and agree one.
  3. The installer applies to Ofgem for a grant voucher on your behalf, including your EPC reference or alternative evidence.
  4. Ofgem contacts you to confirm your consent and identity. You must respond within 14 days or the application may be rejected.
  5. Once the voucher is issued, the installer completes and commissions the system and redeems the voucher within its validity period:
    3 months for air source, air-to-air and biomass systems, or 6 months for ground source heat pumps.
  6. The grant is deducted from your final bill.

Installers can sometimes apply after the system has been commissioned, as long as they apply within 120 days of commissioning. That carries more risk, because there’s no guarantee the grant will be paid, so discuss it with your installer first. Always get more than one quote, and check the installer is genuinely certified before you sign anything.

Worked example

Say you own a three-bedroom house on the gas grid and get a quote of £11,000 to supply and install an air source heat pump.
Your MCS-certified installer applies for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the £7,500 grant is taken off, so you pay £3,500.

If the same house were off the gas grid, heated by oil, and met the conditions above, the £9,000 grant (for applications made by 31 March 2027) would leave you paying £2,000.

Can I combine it with other help?

You cannot get a second grant for the same heat pump, but you can look at separate support for insulation and wider costs. If you are on a lower income, the Warm Homes: Local Grant may pay for insulation and, in some cases, a heat pump as a fully funded package instead. You would use one route or the other, not both for the same measure.
See all the options on our home energy grants overview.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

BUS covers England and Wales. In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland offers its own grants and interest-free loans for heat pumps. In Northern Ireland, support is delivered through the NI Housing Executive. Welsh households can use BUS and may also qualify for the Welsh Government’s Nest scheme.

Sources

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026, against Ofgem’s property owner guidance V5.1 (applications from 28 April 2026; uplifted grants from 21 July 2026). Grant amounts and rules change — confirm the current position on GOV.UK and Ofgem before you apply. Next step: compare all the grants you can still get on our home energy grants overview.