Funding to improve the energy efficiency of your home
Funding schemes to help improve the energy efficiency of your home.
Upgrading your home to make it more energy efficient can be expensive. However, there are schemes available to help you fund the changes.
Home Upgrade Grant
Sutton Council has secured government funding for residents who are struggling with their energy bills and living in homes without gas central heating. If your home doesn't have gas central heating, you may be eligible for the fully funded installation of energy efficiency upgrades to your home.
To be eligible, you must:
- Be an owner occupier or private renter of a home that is not heated by gas central heating.
- Have a household income of less than £36,000 a year.
- Live in a home with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D, E, F or G.
To check your eligibility and apply, call the Energy Saving Trust on: 0808 196 8255.
Or apply on the Home Upgrade Grant website
Great British Insulation Scheme
The Great British Insulation Scheme is a new scheme requiring large energy suppliers to fund insulation for Britain's cold homes.
You might qualify for insulation funding if your home:
- has an energy performance certificate (EPC) of D to G (check your EPC)
- is in Council Tax band A to D (check your council tax band)
or if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Child Benefit
- Pension Guarantee Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income Support
- Tax Credits (Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits)
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Pension Credit Saving Credit
You can contact any of the energy suppliers who are obligated to take part in the scheme, even if they are not your energy provider.
If you qualify, the energy supplier will match you with an assessor who will visit your home and decide on the type of insulation you may need.
It is up to the energy companies to decide which projects they choose to fund and by how much, and the installers they choose to work with.
In some cases, you may be asked to contribute to the cost of the installation. If this happens, Ofgem, who administer the scheme, advise you to ‘shop around’ for the best deal to ensure you are satisfied with any offer made.
You should ensure that a written quote is produced listing everything that is included. You should also ask what is not included in the quote, so that there are no hidden costs.
Check your eligibility and apply on GOV.UK
ECO funding
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government scheme that requires large energy suppliers to provide funding for energy efficiency improvements to eligible households. If you are on qualifying benefits, you may be eligible.
ECO grants are available to cover all or part of the cost of energy efficiency measures. The most common measures are:
- loft insulation
- cavity wall insulation
- solid wall insulation
- replacement of a broken boiler
Find out more about ECO funding on the Ofgem website.
Your energy provider should inform you if the grant is available to you. Some suppliers offer ECO funding to non-customers.
Find a list of ECO obligated suppliers on the Ofgem website.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) can declare additional households in London as eligible for ECO funding, under the ECO Flexible Eligibility scheme. This applies to owner occupiers and private tenants only.
View the GLA Statement of Intent, which sets out the eligibility criteria for funding eligible households.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The government is providing grants to encourage homeowners to replace their gas boiler with a heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). These grants can help homeowners overcome the upfront cost of low carbon heating technologies.
The grants available can fund:
- £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
- £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler
- £6,000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump
These technologies work better in homes that are well insulated. This is because they work best when emitting a low level, constant heat, rather than providing heat on demand, like a gas boiler. One of the criteria for funding eligibility is that your home must have a current energy performance certificate (EPC), with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation.
Check your EPC report on GOV.UK.
You should use a fully certified Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) installer to undertake these works. This is to ensure that the chosen technology is sized, installed and commissioned appropriately for your home. Check your installer is fully MCS certified.
Find out more and apply for the boiler upgrade scheme on GOV.UK.
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