By Tom Ashworth, Regional Market Analyst · Former EST home energy advisor · Last reviewed
Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026: £7,500 Grant Status
Updated July 2026. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is open and fully funded across England and Wales, with the headline grant sitting at £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump. In the last twelve months the scheme has quietly changed in ways that matter to homeowners: a new air-to-air grant band, an extra £1,500 boost for homes off the gas grid, and a much faster voucher process than the early days of the scheme. This is a status check on where the BUS stands in the second half of 2026, who qualifies, and what to do if you want to claim before the current terms shift again.
If you want the full mechanics of how the grant is administered, our complete Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide walks through the whole process. This page focuses on what is current and what has moved.
Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme still available in 2026?
Yes. As of July 2026 the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is live, funded, and accepting applications in England and Wales. The current grant is £7,500 for an air source heat pump and £7,500 for a ground source heat pump, paid to your installer as an upfront discount so you never handle the money yourself. The scheme is run by Ofgem on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and there is no waiting list to join. Your MCS certified installer applies for the voucher on your behalf, and the grant is deducted from your final invoice.
That is the short version. The detail is where homeowners tend to get caught out, so the rest of this guide breaks it down.
What the grant is worth in 2026
The grant amounts were last uprated in October 2025 and remain in place. Here is exactly what you can claim, according to the official what you can get figures published on GOV.UK.
| Technology | Grant amount |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (ASHP) | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump (GSHP), including water source and shared ground loops | £7,500 |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Biomass boiler (rural, off-gas-grid only) | £5,000 |
The addition of a £2,500 band for air-to-air heat pumps is the most notable change for 2026. Air-to-air systems, which heat your home through fan units rather than radiators or a wet system, were previously shut out of the scheme entirely. They now qualify, though the lower grant reflects the fact that these systems do not usually provide hot water and are less common in UK retrofits. For most households replacing a gas boiler, the £7,500 air source route remains the one that applies.
One grant is available per property. You cannot stack a heat pump grant on top of a biomass grant for the same address, and you cannot claim for a hybrid system that combines a gas boiler with a heat pump. If you are weighing up the technologies, our air source heat pump cost breakdown shows what the net price looks like once the grant is applied.
The £1,500 off-gas-grid boost
The single biggest recent change is a temporary top-up. Until March 2027, you can claim an additional £1,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump if both of the following are true:
- your property is currently heated by oil or LPG, and
- you do not have a mains gas connection at the property.
That takes the effective grant for an eligible off-gas-grid home to £9,000. This is a deliberate push to reach the rural households where heat pumps deliver the strongest running-cost savings, because the alternative fuels (heating oil and LPG) are expensive and price-volatile. If you heat with oil or bottled gas and you have been putting off the switch, this is the window where the numbers look best. The boost is time-limited, so a survey and quote arranged in 2026 leaves comfortable headroom before the March 2027 cut-off.
If you are replacing an oil boiler specifically, our guide on replacing an oil boiler with a heat pump covers the practical side of that swap, from tank removal to radiator sizing.
Who is eligible for the BUS in 2026
The eligibility rules have not loosened, and they are checked carefully. To qualify you need to satisfy every one of the following. Missing a single criterion is the most common reason applications stall.
1. Your property is in England or Wales
The BUS is an England and Wales scheme. Scotland runs its own, more generous funding through Home Energy Scotland, and Northern Ireland is not covered. If you are north of the border, read our breakdown of heat pump grants in Scotland instead, and Welsh homeowners should check our Wales grants and Nest scheme guide for the schemes that stack on top of the BUS.
2. You own the property
The scheme is open to owner-occupiers and to landlords who own the property and pay for the installation. Tenants cannot apply directly. New-build developers are excluded, with a narrow exception for self-build homes.
3. You are replacing a fossil fuel or electric system
The grant is designed to remove a fossil fuel heating system, typically a gas, oil, LPG, or electric boiler or electric storage heaters. You cannot use the BUS to replace an existing renewable system such as an older heat pump.
4. You have a valid EPC without outstanding insulation recommendations
Your property needs a valid Energy Performance Certificate, and it must not carry outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. If your EPC flags those, you generally need to install the insulation first, or provide evidence of an exemption. This exists because a heat pump works most efficiently in a well-insulated home, and it is the criterion that catches the most people off guard. If your EPC is more than ten years old, commission a fresh one before you apply. Our heat pump EPC requirements guide explains exactly what assessors look for.
5. The installation is done by an MCS certified installer
The company fitting your heat pump must be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), and the specific product must be on the MCS approved list. The installer, not you, submits the grant application. This is why choosing the right contractor matters so much, and why we always recommend getting three quotes from certified firms. Our guide on how to find an MCS certified installer explains how to verify certification before you sign anything, and you can search certified firms through our installer finder.
6. The system meets the technical standards
Your heat pump must meet a minimum efficiency threshold and be correctly sized for the property through a room-by-room heat loss calculation. It also needs to be capable of meeting the full space heating and hot water demand of the home. A system that is undersized to cut the upfront cost will not pass, and it will leave you cold in January.
How the application works step by step
The mechanics are straightforward once you understand that your installer drives the process, not you.
- Get an MCS certified installer to survey your home. They carry out a heat loss survey and confirm the property is suitable. This is also when hidden costs, such as radiator upgrades or a new hot water cylinder, come to light.
- The installer applies for the voucher. Using your details and the property assessment, they submit the application to Ofgem through the BUS portal.
- Ofgem reviews and issues the voucher. Voucher applications are typically processed within a few weeks. The voucher is then valid for a fixed period during which the installation must be completed.
- The installation goes ahead. Your installer fits the system and commissions it.
- The grant is redeemed. The installer redeems the voucher with Ofgem and deducts the grant from your bill. You pay only the net amount.
Because the grant is applied as a discount rather than a rebate, you never need to find the full £10,000 to £14,000 upfront and wait to be reimbursed. That single design choice is what makes the BUS more accessible than the schemes it replaced. You can see the official process on the GOV.UK how to apply pages, and Ofgem publishes the administrative rules on its Boiler Upgrade Scheme hub.
What the grant leaves you to pay
The BUS is generous, but it does not usually cover the whole job. A typical air source heat pump installation for a three-bed semi runs to somewhere between £10,000 and £14,000 before the grant, which leaves a net figure in the region of £2,500 to £6,500 depending on the complexity of the work. Homes that need radiator upgrades, a new hot water cylinder, or additional pipework sit at the higher end.
The grant is not the only saving
It is worth remembering that the BUS grant stacks with a separate tax relief. Heat pump installations in domestic properties currently attract a zero rate of VAT, so there is no 20 percent sales tax added to the installation cost. That relief applies to the supply and fitting of the heat pump and associated works, and it comes off the price before the grant is deducted. Together, the grant and the VAT relief mean the effective cost of switching is materially lower than the raw quote suggests, which is a point many homeowners miss when they first see a five-figure installation figure. Your installer should show both the VAT treatment and the grant clearly on the quote, and if the paperwork is vague, that is a reason to ask more questions.
To pin down your own number, run your property details through our heat pump savings calculator, and read our complete heat pump cost guide for a full breakdown of where the money goes. The key point for 2026 is that the grant has stayed put while installation costs have edged down as the installer market has grown, so the net cost of switching is lower now than it was two years ago.
How busy is the scheme?
Uptake has climbed steadily since the scheme launched in 2022. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes monthly figures in its Boiler Upgrade Scheme statistics series, with the most recent release covering activity to April 2026. Heat pumps make up the overwhelming majority of vouchers, with air source systems accounting for around nine in ten applications and ground source making up most of the remainder.
For a wider view of adoption trends, our UK heat pump market statistics roundup pulls together the government targets, installer numbers, and regional patterns behind the headline grant figures. The short version is that demand is rising but the scheme is not oversubscribed, so there is no queue to worry about if you apply now.
Common reasons applications get delayed or rejected
From the pattern of homeowner questions we see, the same handful of issues cause almost all of the friction:
- An EPC with open insulation recommendations. This is the big one. Sort the insulation, or your exemption evidence, before you apply.
- Choosing a non-certified installer. If the company is not MCS certified, there is no route to the grant at all. Verify certification first.
- An expired or missing EPC. A certificate older than ten years, or none at all, will hold things up. Get a fresh assessment.
- Undersized or wrongly specified systems. A quote that skips a proper heat loss survey is a red flag both for the grant and for how the system will actually perform.
- Trying to claim for a hybrid or ineligible system. Gas-and-heat-pump hybrids are not covered. Neither is replacing an existing renewable system.
Getting three quotes from certified installers, and asking each to confirm the property meets all the BUS criteria before you commit, avoids nearly all of these. Our MCS installer guide sets out the questions to ask.
Should you apply now or wait?
Grant schemes change, and the BUS is no exception. The current £7,500 level has held since October 2025, and the £1,500 off-gas-grid boost is explicitly time-limited to March 2027. There is no signal that the core grant is about to be cut, but there is also no guarantee it will stay at £7,500 indefinitely, and the boost will definitely end.
For most households the practical answer is simple. If your existing boiler is near the end of its life, or you heat with oil or LPG off the gas grid, the economics point clearly towards arranging a survey and quote in 2026. Waiting risks losing the off-gas-grid top-up and gains you nothing, because the grant is already at its highest level since the scheme began. If your boiler is new and reliable, there is less urgency, but it is still worth getting your EPC and insulation in order now so you are ready to move quickly when the time comes.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in 2026? It is £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump, and £5,000 towards a biomass boiler in eligible rural off-gas-grid homes. Until March 2027, oil and LPG homes without a mains gas connection can claim an extra £1,500 on top of the air source or ground source grant.
Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme still open? Yes. As of July 2026 it is open and accepting applications across England and Wales, with no waiting list. The scheme is administered by Ofgem.
Can I apply for the grant myself? No. Your MCS certified installer submits the voucher application on your behalf and deducts the grant from your final bill, so you only pay the net amount.
Does the grant cover the full cost of a heat pump? Usually not. For a typical three-bed home the £7,500 grant leaves a net cost of roughly £2,500 to £6,500 depending on the work needed. Use our calculator to estimate your figure.
What stops most applications going through? An EPC with outstanding insulation recommendations is the most common blocker, followed by using a non-certified installer. Fixing both before you apply removes almost all of the friction.
Is there a different scheme in Scotland? Yes. Scotland is not covered by the BUS. Home Energy Scotland offers grants and interest-free loans instead, which our Scotland grants guide explains.
The bottom line
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme in 2026 is in a strong and stable place. The £7,500 grant is at its highest ever level, air-to-air systems have been brought into scope, and the £1,500 off-gas-grid boost makes the case for switching genuinely compelling if you heat with oil or LPG. The eligibility rules are strict but predictable, and the process is designed so you never carry the full cost yourself. The homeowners who benefit most are the ones who get their EPC and insulation sorted early, gather three quotes from MCS certified installers, and apply while the current terms hold.
Written by Tom Ashworth, Regional Market Analyst and former Energy Saving Trust home energy advisor. Reviewed by Sarah Cooper, MCS certified engineer. This guide reflects official GOV.UK and Ofgem Boiler Upgrade Scheme guidance current as of July 2026 and does not constitute financial advice. Always confirm eligibility with a certified installer before committing.