Funding Available for Improving Home Energy Efficiency

There are a number of funding options available for households looking to improve the energy efficiency of their home. These schemes are administered by the energy suppliers, the local authority or via government, and each has its own eligibility criteria.

What follows below is summary information on each scheme, including the benefits, eligibility and timings.

If you would like some further guidance on eligibility and/or help with applying to any of these schemes, then please contact us

This information is correct at 25/10/23.

Scheme Name

Eligibility

Measures covered

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

Low income or vulnerable household.

EPC rating of D, E, F or G.

Grants administered by energy companies.

“Energy efficiency measures” – includes insulation and heating.

Warmer Homes

Household income less than £31,000 per annum, or vulnerable household.

EPC rating of E, F or G.

Solid and Cavity wall insulation

Loft insulation

Solar panels

Air Source heat pumps

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

Non-means-tested.

Funding towards replacing fossil fuel heating.

Air Source Heat Pump

Ground Source Heat Pump

Biomass Boiler (rural, off-gas-grid)

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

Payment for generation of low-carbon electricity that is supplied to the grid.

Solar PV

Wind

Micro CHP 

COSY Loan Scheme

(Closed for the summer period, hopes to reopen in Winter 2023)

All East Hampshire District Council households.

Windows and doors replacement

Boiler replacement 

Insulation

Solar PV and more

Great British Insulation Scheme (previously called ECO+)

Homes with Council Tax Bands A-D and an EPC of D or lower. 

Single insulation measure

Connected for Warmth - Insulation Scheme

Owner-occupier or private landlord

Property in Council Tax Bands A-D

Loft Insulation

Cavity Wall Insulation

Connected for Warmth - Heat Pump scheme

Low income or vulnerable household

Home heated by electric/oil/LPG/Solid fuel

Air Source Heat Pump

For further details on each of these grants, please expand the boxes below.

Grant funding available for energy efficiency measures

Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a legal obligation placed on larger energy suppliers to financially support domestic households to install measures that improve energy efficiency in the home.

Measures covered: 

There is a long list of improvements that energy companies could support to meet their ECO targets but, in practice, most companies concentrate on cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. It may also be possible to get help with replacing an inefficient boiler or other heating system.

Eligibility:

  • Either be a homeowner or have permission from your landlord
  • Be in recipient of means tested benefits OR
  • Be on a low income
  • Home energy efficiency is EPC band D - G

Answer some simple questions to check your eligibility here.

Making an application:

You can make further enquiries about ECO measures by contacting any of the obligated energy suppliers.

Additional Useful Links:

Updated August 2023.  Applications open until 31 March 2025.

Funding for low income and vulnerable households in off-gas properties to install energy-efficient measures.

Owner-occupiers and Private tenants who meet the criteria can apply.  Landlord permission will be sought, and the landlord may need to make a financial contribution towards the scheme.

Measures covered:

  • Solid wall insulation (internal & external)
  • Room in roof insulation
  • Cavity wall insulation
  • Underfloor insulation
  • Loft insulation
  • Park external Wall insulation
  • High Heat Retention Storage Heaters
  • Air source heat pumps
  • Solar PV
  • Smart heating controls (when combined with another measure)

Eligibility:

  • Home is off the gas-grid and heated with electric storage heaters / oil / lpg / solid fuel boiler;
  • Home has low energy performance: energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of E, F, or G;
    AND
  • Total household annual income of £31,000 or less (before housing costs are deducted) OR
  • Total household annual income of £20,000 or less after housing costs (mortgage/rent and council tax) OR
  • Entitled to a means-tested benefit.

Making an Application:

Apply via the Warmer Homes website or telephone 0800 038 5737.

Additional Useful Links:

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants to encourage property owners to install low carbon heating systems to replace their fossil fuel systems.

Available funding:

  • £7,500 off the cost of supply and installation of an air source heat pump;
  • £5,000 off the cost of supply and installation of a biomass boiler (off-gas grid properties in rural locations only);
  • £7,500 off the cost of supply and installation of a ground source heat pump.

Eligibility:

  • Own your property and it must have an installation capacity up to 45kWth
  • Have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation 
  • Be replacing an existing fossil fuel system (oil, gas, or direct electric)

Making an application:

Installers apply for the grant on behalf of the resident; Ofgem is the scheme’s administrator.  Installers must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) to be able to claim the grant.  

Aim to get a range of quotes from different installers for best value for money.  You can find an installer in your area on the MCS website. 

Additional Useful Links:

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a government-backed initiative which provides the homeowner with a regular payment for surplus low-carbon electricity generated and exported to the National Grid.  For context, you can expect to receive around £100 a year from a typical solar PV system.

The Smart Export Guarantee replaces the Feed In Tariff scheme, which closed to new applicants in March 2019.  You cannot receive both FIT export and SEG payments.

Eligibility:

You generate electricity using one of the following technologies:

  • Solar photovoltaic (solar PV)
  • Wind turbine
  • Micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP)
  • Hydro
  • Anaerobic digestion (AD)

These installations must be located in Great Britain and have a total installed capacity (TIC) of no more than 5MW, or no more than 50kW for Micro-CHP.

Making an application:

The rates of payment (tariffs) vary by electricity supplier, so you are advised to shop around to find a supplier that is best for your individual circumstances.  The tariff must be greater than zero at all times, and may be a fixed or variable tariff.

Payments are calculated using export meter readings.

Additional Useful Links:

June 2023 update - this scheme is now closed for the summer, and we will update you when it becomes available again.

Interest-free loans towards the costs of installing energy efficiency measures in your home (up to a maximum award of £4,000).

Full details of the scheme, plus links to the application form, are found on the EHDC website.

We asked EHDC some further questions about this scheme, and have published their response on our blog.

Awaiting final details of this scheme, which is due to start in Summer 2023 and run until 2026.  Further information at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/great-british-insulation-scheme and https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/what-is-the-great-british-insulation-scheme-eco-plus/

Help with funding of a single insulation measure.

Scheme will be run by energy suppliers, in a similar way to previous ECO schemes.

Low Income Group:

  • In receipt of means-tested benefits
  • EPC is D-G.

 

General group:

  • Home is in Council Tax Bands A-D
  • EPC rating is D-G.
  • Homeowner may have to contribute towards the measure (approx 10% of costs - but may vary by energy supplier)

Funding for insulation or Air Source Heat pumps for owner-occupiers and private tenants.

Insulation Scheme

Fully-funded cavity wall insulation and loft insulation to households throughout Britain.

Measures covered:

  • Cavity wall insulation
  • Loft insulation - or top up if you have less than 7.5 inches (200mm) of loft insulation
  • Smart heating controls (when combined with another measure)
  • Smaller energy saving measures - identified by installers at the premises, such as LED lightbulbs, radiator panels, draft-proofing strips, etc.

Eligibility:

  • Home is in Council Tax Bands A-D
  • Measures must be technically feasible (as determined by survey)

Making an Application:

Apply via the Connected for Warmth website or telephone 0800 107 8576.

Additional Useful Links:

 

Air Source Heatpump Scheme

Eligibility:

  • Home is off the gas-grid and heated with electric storage heaters / oil / lpg / solid fuel boiler;
  • Home has low energy performance: energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of E, F, or G;
    AND
  • Total household annual income of £31,000 or less (before housing costs are deducted) OR
  • Total household annual income of £20,000 or less after housing costs (mortgage/rent and council tax) OR
  • Entitled to a means-tested benefit.

Making an Application:

Apply via the Connected for Warmth website or telephone 0800 029 4547.

Additional Useful Links:

Other sources of support

Want to find out more about schemes that could help you to improve the energy efficiency of your home? Check out the links below.

Government Energy Advice tool

East Hampshire District Energy Support

Chichester District Energy Support

West Sussex Insulation and Heating Grants

Waverley Borough Council Energy Support

The Environment Centre