How to apply for a heat pump grant

You’re thinking of getting a heat pump but wondering how to fund it? The Government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers a grant to help homeowners cover part of the cost of installing a heat pump.

These grants will help you with the upfront costs. Starting in April 2022, the scheme is currently running until 2027, so you still have time to take advantage of the £7,500 heat pump grant. This will cover both ground source and air source heat pumps.

So why should you apply? A heat pump government grant is designed to partially cover the cost of the heat pump system and its installation and make it more affordable to move away from a fossil fuel heating system (typically a gas boiler) and onto a more energy efficient, low carbon heating system.

This guide will tell you what you need to know to help fund a heat pump with a grant. Your installer needs to be fully Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accredited to carry out heat pump installations in order to secure the grant – and the good news is that all our trusted, local installers are MCS accredited. Not only that, they will apply for the grant on your behalf! The grant will then be netted off your installation cost. All of this will be set out clearly on your quote and invoice.

The step-by-step process to applying for a heat pump grant in the UK

Firstly, check if you're eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is for homeowners residing in England and Wales - Scotland and Northern Ireland, for example, have different financial support offerings or different energy systems.

To be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and access a heat pump grant, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must own the property where you want to install the heat pump - heat pump grants aren’t available to those in social housing and new build properties
• You must be replacing a fossil fuel system with a renewable heating system, such as a heat pump (either ground or air source). You aren’t eligible if you are replacing an existing heat pump or renewable system
• You must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation. You can check this at https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate if you’re unsure. There are some exemptions from Ofgem, you can read about them here.
• You must use an MCS accredited installer

How much help can you get with a government heat pump grant?

The grant of up to £7,500 is a considerable amount of money to help you with the cost of buying and installing a heat pump.

Depending on the type and size of heat pump you choose, and the necessary changes needed to your house to make it efficient, a new system can cost around £13,000 on average to install. So securing a heat pump grant can certainly supplement a large chunk of this cost, although it’s unlikely that it will cover the full cost of installing a heat pump.

It’s worth being aware of the details of what a UK heat pump grant won't cover:

• You cannot get a government heat pump grant for a hybrid system e.g. a combination gas boiler and air source heat pump
• You cannot get a heat pump grant to replace a low carbon heating system
• The system you install must meet certain standards, such as minimum efficiency levels. Our installers will help advise on this point
• The heat pump system you choose must have a maximum capacity of 45kWth (for context homes in the UK would typically need between 4kWth and 16kWth)

Conclusion

At Thermly, we’re here to make the application process easy. Our trusted and accredited installers will apply for the grant on your behalf and simply take it off the invoice, considerably reducing your installation cost.

To find out more about how Thermly can help you become heat pump ready, head to: https://thermly.co.uk/heat-pumps

For more about who we are, visit: https://thermly.co.uk/about-us