Government expands Boiler Upgrade Scheme with £9k for LPG households

• Government to offer £9,000 to homes that use oil or LPG
• Plug-in solar panels could be rolled out to low-income households
• Octopus Energy unveils world’s biggest Zero-Bill site

There’s been some very good heat pump news this week and for households looking to use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. If your home is heated by oil or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) you can now get £9,000 towards a heat pump in a move that should help households hit hardest by the US-Iran war.

This is the government’s latest effort to get people off gas and onto electricity; we think it’s a great move, and even though it won’t bring bills down overnight, anything that gets households away from fossil fuels, and anything that helps people install heat pumps, is a good thing.

On top of the news about heat pumps, the government has also said it will launch a pilot scheme for plug-in solar panels for low-income households. We’re not 100% sure what this will look like yet, but we think it will see solar panels offered to thousands of the poorest homes in the UK. However it happens, more people will soon be saving money with solar energy, which is a great thing. 

And speaking of plug-in panels: Lidl is reportedly planning to have them on sale for about £400, meaning a lot more households could soon get all the great benefits solar energy offers. 

The question is – is all of this enough to get energy bills down? In the short term, it’s unlikely, as every day we seem to have more chaos in the Middle East which hikes up the price of gas. We’re counting down the days until the next energy price cap announcement, which is almost certainly going to be a painful one. Sadly, protecting the households from the price of gas is going to require a huge and long term effort from the government, but at least they’re moving in the right direction.

Government expands Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The government is doing its best to get us off gas and onto renewables. Households on oil and LPG, the hardest hit by the US-Iran crisis, can now get £9,000 towards a heat pump. This is a huge step towards protecting the most vulnerable people from the ballooning price of gas.

Plug-in solar panels on supermarket shelves

If reports are to be believed, you could soon buy a plug-in solar panel with your milk and bread as Lidl is apparently going to be stocking them before long. This is great, and we’re hoping to start trying them out ourselves in the coming weeks. We’ll have full reviews for you soon.

Octopus Energy unveils world’s largest Zero-Bill site

Have you ever heard of a place called Wisbech? If you haven’t, you should look it up because 300 households in the Cambridgeshire town won’t pay a single penny for their energy for at least 10 years thanks to Octopus Energy teaming up with Prosperity Group. The houses aren’t ready yet, but by 2028, the people who move in will be using solar panels and heat pumps to keep their bills at £0.

EVs are now cheaper than petrol cars

Yes, you read that right. According to Autotrader, a new EV now costs less than a petrol car, which makes the eco-friendly choice more financially sound than ever. The difference is only a few hundred pounds, but it’s still great news and shows how government grants and private sector discounts can get people away from fossil fuel volatility. 

Average price of clean technology

Solar PV system: £7,524.67

Solar storage battery: £9,311.11

Air source heat pump: £13,676.96

Ground source heat pump: £28,923.18

Number of the week 

£0

That’s how much the residents of the Zero-Bill site in Wisbech will pay for their energy from 2028 until 2038, thanks to Octopus Energy’s initiative. 

Sources:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/decisive-action-to-break-influence-of-gas-on-electricity-prices
• https://octopus.energy/press/charging-ahead-octopus-energy-and-prosperity-group-unveil-worlds-largest-zero-bills-site/
• https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/lidl-plug-in-solar-panels-uk-b2962493.html
• https://plc.autotrader.co.uk/news-views/press-releases/new-electric-cars-now-cheaper-than-petrol-on-average-for-the-first-time-says-autotrader/

Written By

Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Deputy editor

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.

He has represented The Eco Experts on national television several times, including the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live and ITV Tonight .

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. 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.

More about

Reviewed By

Will Georgiadis

Since 2018, Will has been the engine of the Expert Reviews production team as sub-editor, senior sub-editor, and now production editor. Will is responsible for making sure that the content Expert Reviews publishes is of the highest quality; he also keeps the team’s vast workflow running smoothly and maintains the ancient and revered Expert Reviews style guide. With five years of experience behind him and thousands of articles edited, sub-edited and triple-checked, Will is confident that you won’t find a single mistake on the site – and if you think you have, you’re wrong.

More about