Grants and incentives
There are many reasons to consider installing low-carbon technology in your home or community. However, to promote the uptake of small-scale renewable and low-carbon technologies, there are a range of incentives and grants available.
Your eligibility may be dependent on where you live and the technology type.
MCS certification is a route for consumers to access incentives. Before progressing with any installation, you should always check that your Installer is MCS certified and using MCS certified products. You can check this in our Installer search.
BOILER UPGRADE SCHEME (BUS)
Heating our homes and workplaces with low carbon heat is one of the best things we can do to help combat climate change. Currently, heating all the buildings in the UK produces almost a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions.
A new, flat, upfront grant, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) aims to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low-carbon heating systems. These include air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and, in limited circumstances, biomass boilers.
Low-carbon heating systems can be commissioned any time from 1 April 2022, and applications for grants opens from 23 May 2022.
SMART EXPORT GUARANTEE (SEG)
The UK government announced new laws that will ensure households and businesses with small-scale renewable technologies, are paid for exporting their excess electricity to the grid.
This new scheme will allow solar PV owners to continue earning from their solar system’s generation.
The Smart Export Guarantee requires medium – large electricity supply companies (those with more than 150,000 electricity customers) to offer a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Smaller suppliers can do so on a voluntary basis.
GREEN HOMES GRANT (GHG)
The Green Homes Grant was a £2 billion government-funded voucher scheme designed to help with the installation of energy efficiency measures on homes in England to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.
The voucher of up to £5,000 covered at least two thirds of the cost of some energy-saving home improvements. Some homeowners on qualifying benefits could get a voucher for up to £10,000 towards the cost of these home improvements.
Low carbon heating including air source heat pumps, ground/water source heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass boilers were included in the Green Homes Grant scheme as primary measures. To be eligible for a voucher, the low carbon heating must have been installed by an MCS certified contractor who was also TrustMark approved.
The scheme closed at the end of March 2021.
DOMESTIC RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE (DRHI)
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (DRHI) was a government-backed financial incentive scheme designed to encourage UK homes to swap to renewable heating systems. Under the RHI, heat pump system owners were rewarded for the renewable heat they generate over a seven-year period.
Important: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) closed the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (DRHI) to new applications at 23:59pm on 31 March 2022. This included applications to register Metering and Monitoring Service Packages (MMSP).
The closure of the DRHI does not affect any installations that currently claim under the scheme.
Information on the DRHI can be found on the Ofgem website.
HOME ENERGY SCOTLAND LOAN
If you live in Scotland, you could benefit from an interest free loan for investing in a range of low carbon technologies.
The amount of funding you can claim depends on what improvements you want to make.
To find out how to turn your house into a cosy, efficient home with an interest-free loan funded by the Scottish Government. Call Home Energy Scotland for free on 0808 808 2282.
The loan is only available for properties in Scotland.