Everything you need to know about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

• Get £7,500 towards a new heat pump installation from the government
• Homes and businesses can apply
• The installer applies for the grant on your behalf

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is a government heat pump grant intended to support the decarbonisation of homes and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.

The scheme provides upfront capital grants of up to £7,500 to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low-carbon heating systems including heat pumps and biomass boilers.

Under the scheme, homes and businesses can get £7,500 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump (ASHP) or a ground source heat pump (GSHP). You can also get £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler.

Another thing to remember is that you needn’t worry about the quality of your heat pump with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme because you can get the best air source heat pumps available by appying.

It’s worth getting a heat pump to help lower your energy bills and help reduce your carbon footprint. As Octopus Energy customer, Chris, said: “I replaced a 14-year-old combi boiler that kept failing, and it was the perfect time to upgrade.”

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Quick facts

• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £7,500 to replace a gas-powered heating system with a heat pump.
• You must own your own home, be replacing an oil or gas-powered heating system, and have a valid EPC certificate to be eligible.
• You can still get a biomass boiler if you live off the gas grid, live in a rural property (in some cases), and your boiler has an emissions certificate showing that polluting emissions are minimal.
• If you are likely not eligible if you live in a newbuild property, a social housing property, or a property that’s already received government funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler.
• Your installer can tell you if you’re eligible and apply on your behalf.

How much money does the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offer?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers:

• £7,500 off the price of an air source heat pump heat pump
• £7,500 towards the price of a ground source heat pump
• £5,000 towards the cost of a biomass boiler

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme DOES NOT offer money towards getting a hybrid heat pump system, such as a combination of gas boiler and heat pump.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme DOES NOT offer money to replace an already existing low carbon system. That means if you have a heat pump already, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme WILL NOT offer money to replace it with another heat pump.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme savings

By cutting the cost of a heat pump by £7,500, homeowners could be paying as little as £500 for the rest of their heat pump, depending on the size of their house and what type of heat pump they choose.

For someone living in a one-bedroom property, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme might cover the whole cost of an air source heat pump.

According to our calculations on air source heat pump costs, installing a heat pump can save a homeowner approximately £4,891 in energy costs over the system’s operational lifespan compared to a gas boiler.

And this figure will increase as the price of gas stays high, and the price of electricity drops. With renewable energy accounting for a larger proportion of the UK’s energy mix, and natural gas being a finite fossil fuel, it is inevitable that the price of will increase and the cost of electricity will eventually go down.

Installing a heat pump is a vital part of future-proofing your home and reducing your carbon footprint and your reliance on fossil fuels.

How does the scheme work?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme operates on a “first-come, first-served basis,” with customers having to rush to register their interest with air source or ground source heat pump installers.

Installers then apply for the £7,500 grant on behalf of customers and remove that amount from the cost of the heat pump installation.

This makes the grant simpler for homeowners than the now-defunct Green Homes Grant, which required you to apply for energy-saving improvements yourself.

The scheme cannot be used to install hybrid heat pump systems (like a combined gas boiler and air source heat pump).

The scheme also sets a maximum capacity of 45kWth for individual systems and 300kWth for shared ground loops.

How many households have used the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in 2025?

According to government figures, by the end of December 2025, 95,639 Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers had been issued. In the same timeframe, 110,758 applications have been made, 98% if which are for air-source heat pumps, with the others mostly for ground-source heat pumps or biomass boilers.

In December 2025, there were 2,864 Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers issued, 11% higher than December 2024 and 31% lower than November 2025.

In October 2024, the government committed a further £50 million to meet booming demand. In June 2025, during the Spending Review, the government committed a total of £13.2 billion to the Warm Homes Plan, which includes the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

One of the reasons for the popularity of the scheme is the simplicity of its eligibility criteria.

Who is eligible for the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant?

Homeowners, landlords, and small businesses in England and Wales can receive up to £7,500 off heat pump installations, provided they replace an existing fossil fuel system and have a valid EPC.

To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must own the property you’re applying for, including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants
• You must be replacing fossil fuel heating systems, such as oil or gas
• You must have a valid EPC certificate

You can get the BUS grant for a biomass boiler if you meet all these requirements:

• You property is off the gas grid
• Your property is in a rural location
• Your boiler has an emissions certificate showing that polluting emissions are kept to a minimum

The BUS is not available to properties that have already received public funding for a heat pump or biomass boiler in the past, through schemes like the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

Properties considered to be social housing under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 are also not eligible.

New builds are also not eligible, unless they have been completed with a fossil fuel boiler. 

If your property is a custom-built home, it won’t need an EPC to qualify, as you will have had to follow the latest eco-friendly building regulations to complete it. You will also need to be the person who built the home to apply, and it must never have been owned by business.

If you meet all of these requirements, an installer can apply to get a discount on an air or ground source heat pump for you.

Biomass boiler grants of £5,000 are available for off-gas grid properties in rural areas with fewer than 10,000 residents.

The building must also meet high emissions standards, which the government has explained is “to mitigate any negative impact on air quality.” Of course, that’s not how emissions work – but it’s certainly true that biomass boilers are better for the climate than gas boilers.

How do I apply for a Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant voucher?

Applying for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is really simple.

• First, find quotes from MCS-certified installers.
• Check that you’re eligible (your installer will tell you if you’re eligible or not).
• Agree a price with your chosen installer.

At that point, the installer will apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on your behalf, usually through the Ofgem website.

After they receive the voucher, they’ll have three months (120 days) to use it to install an air source heat pump or biomass boiler at your home, or six months if you’re getting a ground source heat pump installed.

After the installation has taken place, they’ll be able to redeem this voucher to reduce the overall cost.

What are the UK government targets for heat pump installations by 2028?

The UK government aims to reach 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028, though current progress remains below the Committee on Climate Change’s 2030 targets.

We’ve debunked the most common myths and misinformation about heat pumps here.

According to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), more than 275,000 certified heat pump installations have been completed in UK homes, as of January 2025.

With that in mind, there is still a long way to go to hit the 3.3 million mark that the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says the government needs to reach by 2030 in order to achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The government has its own goal of 600,000 per year by 2028.

A key limiting factor could be the need for better public awareness of heat pumps and the grants that exist to help overcome the upfront cost.

In the National Home Energy Survey 2024, we revealed that 1-in-4 people in the UK were not aware of any government grants available for low-carbon technology, and only 28% are aware of the BUS.

This is an improvement on the 2023 survey, which found that just 51% of people were even aware of heat pumps.

Written By

Christopher McFadden Contributor

Christopher is an Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) specialist with extensive experience advising consumer and trade clients on energy efficiency and sustainability.

With a Master’s in Earth Sciences from Cardiff University, Christopher has attained professional energy and sustainability auditing qualifications and various postgraduate certificates and diplomas. He is a qualified and accredited Level 3 and Level 4 non-domestic and domestic energy assessor, a Green Deal assessor, and a Practitioner member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). He also recently qualified as a level 5 Retrofit coordinator.

In addition to his day job, Christopher has also honed his skills as a STEM writer for several well-known online publishers, sharing his knowledge and passion for science, engineering, and dinosaurs with millions of readers around the world.

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Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Content manager

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history and ghost stories. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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