Home energy grants and finance in 2026:what's actually available

What home energy grants and support are available in 2026?

Everything current that genuinely lowers the cost of a heat pump, insulation or solar panels, checked against official sources on 17 September 2026. If someone offers a scheme that is not here, ask for the official page that describes it.

How does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme work?

It is the only national grant in England that any home owner can get, whatever their income. The amounts are in the table above; the £9,000 rate needs a home with no mains gas connection that is currently heated by oil or LPG, and biomass is limited to rural, off-gas homes.

• You must own the property. Landlords, second homes and small businesses count.
• The heat pump must replace a fossil fuel system: gas, oil, LPG or electric heating. It cannot replace an existing heat pump, and hybrid systems are not funded.
• Since 28 April 2026 you do not need a valid EPC. If your home has one, its certificate number must be given; if not, your installer supplies other evidence such as a recent utility bill and photos of your heating.
• There is no requirement to insulate first, although it usually makes the heat pump smaller and less costly to run.
• Your installer applies, and must show the full grant as a deduction on your quote and invoice. Ofgem may contact you to confirm you agreed to the application.

Our four-question checker tells you in about a minute whether you are likely to qualify, and our guide to what a heat pump costs in 2026 shows what you pay once the grant is off. We apply the grant to your quote up front.

Who can get the Warm Homes: Local Grant?

This is England's main fully funded scheme for lower-income households. Councils run it with government money, from April 2025 to March 2028, deciding what work each home needs and paying for it.

• Income: your household income is usually £36,000 a year or less, or someone in the household receives certain means-tested benefits, or you live in one of the low-income postcode areas listed by the government.
• Energy rating: your home has an EPC rating of D, E, F or G. You can check your EPC before you apply.
• Tenure: the home is privately owned, by you or by a private landlord. Social housing is covered by a different fund.
• Cost: owner-occupiers are not expected to contribute. For privately rented homes, one home per landlord can be fully funded, with a 50% landlord contribution for any more.

You apply online through GOV.UK, and your council will usually contact you within 10 working days to arrange a survey. What is on offer depends on your council's allocation. The government has said it intends to fold this grant and its social housing fund into a single low-income scheme from 2027/28.

What is the Warm Homes Plan, and are there government loans?

The Warm Homes Plan is the government's programme for home energy upgrades to 2030. For households who can pay, it keeps and funds the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with £2.7 billion allocated through 2029/30, and adds government-backed loans. For lower-income households it funds the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the social housing fund.

The loans come through the Warm Homes Loan Scheme. The government pays participating lenders a grant to cut the interest rate, with an initial consumer launch phase from September 2026. It covers heat pumps (alongside the grant or for the whole cost), solar panels, batteries and heat network connections anywhere in the UK, and an EV charger only as part of a solar or battery installation. The current rules exclude insulation. Each lender designs its own products, so compare terms and ask the lender to confirm the product is part of the scheme.

For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme you must own the heat pump once it is fitted, so a heat pump supplied on hire purchase, conditional sale or consumer hire does not qualify. Smart Energie does not sell credit: you pay a deposit when we confirm your price and the balance when the work is done.

What tax breaks and export payments can you claim?

0% VAT is the one everyone gets. HMRC zero-rates installing energy-saving materials in homes from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027, including heat pumps, insulation, solar panels, batteries, controls and draught stripping. The reduced 5% rate is due to return after that. It only applies when the installer supplies and fits the materials.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), run by Ofgem, pays you for solar electricity you send to the grid. Suppliers with at least 150,000 domestic customers must offer a SEG tariff, and smaller suppliers can choose to. Each sets its own rate, contract length and terms, and the rate must always be above zero, so shop around rather than taking your current supplier's offer. The installation must be suitably certified, which for home solar usually means MCS certification, so keep your MCS certificate. Read more on solar panels, batteries and EV chargers.

What help is there in Scotland and Wales?

Wales: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme applies in Wales exactly as in England. The Warm Homes: Local Grant does not. Instead, the Welsh Government's Nest scheme gives free, impartial energy advice to anyone and free home improvements, such as a heat pump, insulation or solar panels, to households that are eligible. Call Nest on 0808 808 2244, Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, to check.

Scotland: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not apply. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan offers up to £7,500 in grant for a heat pump, with up to £7,500 more as an optional interest-free loan, and grants of up to 75% of the cost of insulation to a maximum of £7,500, with a £1,500 uplift for rural and island homes. You must own the home and live in it as your main residence. Call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282.

How do you spot a home energy grant scam?

Grants make a convincing hook for scammers. When Citizens Advice last measured it, in 2021, more than 19 million adults had been targeted by a green scam in the previous year. The warning signs are consistent:

• You were contacted out of the blue, by phone, text, email, social media or at the door, about a grant you did not ask about.
• You are pressed to decide or pay quickly, or asked to pay in an unusual way.
• You are asked for an upfront fee to 'secure' or 'process' a grant. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is taken off your invoice, and councils pay for Warm Homes: Local Grant work directly.
• Someone claims to be from Ofgem, the Energy Saving Trust or the government and asks for bank details, passwords or PINs.
• A caller says your loft or walls are unsafe and must be replaced, and the grant will cover most of it.

If you think you have been scammed, contact your bank straight away, then report it to Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040; Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland) and Citizens Advice. Forward suspicious texts to 7726 and suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. If you are weighing up what to do first with your home, plan your retrofit with us, with no obligation.

Common questions