Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant For Heat Pumps

What Is The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a Government scheme to encourage homeowners and business owners to replace their fossil fuel boilers and install low carbon heating systems, like air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps. The grant is available until 2028.

Homeowners or businesses will receive a grant of £7,500 for installing a heat pump, be it an air source heat pump, or a ground source heat pump. This applies to applications made after the 23rd October 2023. As an MCS accredited installer, Alto Energy will apply for and administer the grant on your behalf and will be discounted off your quote. Payment is made by Ofgem to Alto Energy after completion and retained by Alto Energy.

Who Is Eligible For The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

What technologies are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

In short – heat pumps.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant will support the following technologies:

• Air source heat pump systems - £7,500 grant

• Ground source heat pump systems - £7,500 grant

Heat pump systems with a capacity of 45kW or less will be eligible for the scheme. All projects will need to be completed by an MCS approved installer, like Alto Energy, and have an MCS certificate issued for the project by the MCS approved installer.

WHAT PROPERTIES ARE ELIGIBLE for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is only available in England and Wales. All existing domestic and non-domestic properties are eligible, so long as they are not replacing an existing low carbon heating system (heat pump or biomass), not social housing, and the demand is under 45kW.

Relaxation Of EPC Requirement - Previously, retrofit projects have always needed a valid EPC at the point of applying for the BUS grant. From now on, this requirement has been dropped. Whilst the application will still be simpler with a valid EPC, there is now a pathway where we can upload alternative evidence of the previous heating system to support the BUS grant application.

Relaxation Of Supplementary Heating - Previously, the heat pump was required to provide all of the space heating and domestic hot water. From now on, it is possible for other “supplementary heaters” to provide domestic hot water, as well providing space heating to particular rooms or areas. Any supplementary heater must be either a renewable or direct electric heat source – it cannot under any circumstances be a fossil fuel system. An example of a typical application of this rule change is the use of an electric towel rail in the bathroom – previously we would have advised that this wasn’t possible, however moving forward this will be.

As well as the existing housing stock, the Government also recognises the need to prevent fossil fuel systems being installed in the first place, and to this end new self-build homes are also eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. In order to be eligible, self-build homes must meet the Ofgem definition of “Custom Build”, which can be found on the Ofgem website.

The following situations will not be eligible for a grant:

• Hybrid installations with a back-up boiler

• Replacing a renewable heat source

How Do I Get The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant?

The entire Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant process is led by the MCS accredited installer. So, if you chose Alto Energy for your heat pump project, we will apply for and administer the grant on your behalf.

The process for obtaining your grant is the following:

1. Alto Energy will produce an outline quotation for your project.

2. Once you’re happy that you want to proceed with a heat pump, you pay us to complete the full MCS designs for your property. If it’s a new build or major renovation project we can do this from plans, otherwise we will need to carry out a site survey to gather detailed information about your project.

3. After the designs are completed, we will issue a final quotation.

4. Once you accept the quotation, we will apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher on your behalf as soon as we have received all the required information.

5. We will then arrange delivery. Following delivery, we will schedule a commissioning visit with one of our engineers.

6. Once the project is finished, we will redeem the voucher to cover our costs.

Any Questions?

If you have questions about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.