Updated July 2026 · By Energy Ranked
Key takeaways
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) pays £7,500 towards an air source heat pump in England & Wales.
- Your MCS-certified installer applies the grant for you — it comes straight off your quote.
- After the grant, typical installed prices land around £3,500–£8,500 depending on your home.
- Heat pumps are 3–4x more efficient than a gas boiler; running costs depend on your tariff — dedicated heat pump tariffs change the maths significantly.
What the £7,500 grant is
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the UK government’s flagship heat pump incentive for homes in England and Wales. It provides an upfront £7,500 grant towards an air source heat pump (with equivalent support for ground source), paid directly to your installer and deducted from your quote. Scotland runs its own support via Home Energy Scotland, including grants and interest-free loans.
Who’s eligible?
The scheme is deliberately broad. In general you’ll qualify if you own the property, you’re replacing a fossil fuel or electric heating system (gas, oil, LPG or electric), and the installation is done by an MCS-certified installer using MCS-certified equipment. Your installer confirms the details — including your EPC — as part of quoting, and handles the application. You never fill in a government form yourself.
What you’ll actually pay
| Home | Typical system | Typical cost before grant | After £7,500 grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–3 bed semi | 5–8kW ASHP | £11,000–£14,000 | £3,500–£6,500 |
| 3–4 bed detached | 8–12kW ASHP | £13,000–£16,000 | £5,500–£8,500 |
| Larger / older property | 12kW+ / radiator upgrades | £15,000+ | £7,500+ |
The spread comes down to radiator upgrades, hot water cylinder needs and system design — which is why a proper heat-loss survey (included in a serious quote) matters, and why quotes for the same house can differ by thousands.
Will it heat my home properly?
A correctly sized heat pump heats a UK home comfortably all year — including well below freezing (they’re standard in Norway and Sweden). The failure stories you’ve heard almost always trace back to poor sizing or design, not the technology. That’s why MCS design standards exist and why installer quality is the single biggest decision you’ll make.
Running costs: the honest answer
A heat pump turns 1kWh of electricity into 3–4kWh of heat. Whether that beats your gas bill depends on your electricity tariff: on a standard tariff, running costs are usually similar to gas; on a dedicated heat pump tariff (several major suppliers now offer them), most well-installed systems cost meaningfully less to run — while cutting your home’s carbon by ~70%.
Step by step: how the grant actually flows
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is unusual among government schemes in that the homeowner never fills in a form. The sequence: you get quotes from MCS-certified installers (each quote should show the £7,500 already deducted); you accept one; the installer applies to Ofgem for a voucher on your behalf; Ofgem emails you simply to confirm the installer is acting for you — one click; the voucher is issued, the install happens, and the installer redeems the grant directly. The only money you handle is the after-grant balance.
Eligibility in detail
- Where: England and Wales (Scotland runs its own, often more generous, Home Energy Scotland funding).
- Who: owner-occupiers, including most leaseholders and second-home owners; landlords qualify for most property types too.
- What you’re replacing: gas, oil, LPG or direct electric heating — working or broken. The one hard exclusion is replacing an existing heat pump.
- The property: needs a valid EPC. The old rule requiring loft/cavity insulation recommendations to be resolved first was dropped — insulation is still smart, but no longer a gatekeeper.
- New builds: generally excluded (self-build exceptions exist).
What homes actually pay after the grant
| Home | System size | Typical price after £7,500 |
|---|---|---|
| 2-bed terrace / flat | 4–6kW | £3,500–£5,000 |
| 3-bed semi | 7–9kW | £4,500–£6,500 |
| 4-bed detached | 10–12kW | £6,000–£8,500 |
| Large / older detached | 13kW+ | £8,000–£12,000 |
Radiator upgrades, where needed, usually add £600–£1,500 and should be itemised. Hot-water cylinder replacement (needed in most combi-boiler homes) is typically included in the figures above — check the quote states it.
Running costs: the honest comparison
A heat pump delivering a seasonal efficiency (SCOP) of 3.4 turns 27p electricity into the equivalent of ~7.9p heat — right alongside a 90%-efficient boiler burning 6.5p gas at ~7.2p. That’s the standard-tariff case. Dedicated heat-pump tariffs with cheap off-peak windows routinely bring the effective rate down 20–30%, at which point the heat pump wins outright — and it’s the only heating system whose fuel gets cheaper and cleaner as the grid does.
Mistakes to avoid
- Accepting a quote without a proper room-by-room heat-loss survey — sizing off floor area alone is the #1 cause of disappointing installs.
- Not asking how the £7,500 appears — it must be an explicit line item, not vaguely “included”.
- Staying on a standard tariff after installation — switching is the single biggest running-cost lever.
- Ripping out radiators pre-emptively — let the survey decide; many homes need only two or three changed.
More questions, answered
Can I get the grant twice?
One voucher per eligible property. If you own more than one qualifying property, each can claim.
How long does a voucher last?
Three months for air source (six for ground source) from issue — comfortably longer than a typical install lead time.
Is the scheme running out of money?
Funding is confirmed through 2028 with budgets increased after record uptake. There’s no published cliff-edge — but the 2026–27 budget year is the one currently guaranteed in full.
Do hybrid systems qualify?
No — the grant requires fully replacing the fossil-fuel system. Hybrids (boiler + heat pump together) are excluded.
What about flats?
Leaseholders can qualify with freeholder consent and somewhere to site the outdoor unit — easier in maisonettes and ground-floor flats than high-rise.
Check your £7,500 eligibility in 60 seconds
Compare quotes from up to 3 top-ranked, grant-registered MCS installers — with the grant already applied.
FAQ
Do I have to pay the £7,500 back?
No — it’s a grant, not a loan. It’s deducted from your installation price upfront.
Can I get the grant if I have a working gas boiler?
Yes — you don’t need a broken boiler. Replacing a working fossil-fuel system qualifies.
Does my home need to be super-insulated first?
No, but decent loft/cavity insulation makes any heating system cheaper to run and may allow a smaller, cheaper heat pump. Your survey will flag anything essential.
How long does the grant scheme run?
The scheme has funding confirmed for years ahead under the government’s Warm Homes Plan, but grant levels can change between funding years — locking in a quote secures the current amount.
Scheme details reflect published government guidance as of July 2026; eligibility is confirmed by your MCS installer at survey. EnergyRanked is an independent comparison service — see how we work.