The Boiler Upgrade Scheme takes £7,500 straight off the price of an air source or ground source heat pump. Here is who qualifies, what changed in 2026, and how the application actually works.
Tell us about your property and an MCS-certified engineer will be in touch, usually the same working day.
| Technology | Grant |
|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (air to water) | £7,500 |
| Ground source heat pump, including water source and shared ground loops | £7,500 |
| Air to air heat pump | £2,500 |
| Biomass boiler (eligible rural off-gas-grid properties) | £5,000 |
| Off-gas-grid home replacing heating oil, from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027 | £9,000 |
Heat pump installation is also zero rated for VAT, which is a separate saving on top of the grant.
Two changes matter, and a lot of information online has not caught up with either.
Air to air became eligible. Previously excluded entirely, air to air heat pumps now have their own £2,500 tier. The condition is that your existing gas boiler is fully removed or permanently decommissioned.
Oil homes got an uplift. For installations between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027, off-gas-grid households replacing heating oil can get £9,000 instead of £7,500. That is directly relevant across the Weald: Wadhurst, Frant, Goudhurst, Mayfield, Rotherfield, Crowborough, Cranbrook and Hawkhurst are full of oil-heated properties.
The earlier requirement for a valid EPC with no outstanding insulation recommendations has also been dropped, which brought a lot of older Kent and Sussex housing back into scope.
Small non-domestic buildings can also claim, which surprises a lot of business owners.
The common causes are an installer who is not MCS certified, an attempt to keep the old boiler as backup, a property that turns out to be a new build, or a voucher that expires before the work is completed. All four are avoidable and all four are our responsibility to manage, not yours.
Grant rates and conditions do change, and they changed twice in 2026 alone. We confirm your exact position in writing at survey stage, and the current official detail is always on GOV.UK under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £2,500 towards an air to air heat pump, and £5,000 towards a biomass boiler in eligible rural off-gas-grid properties. From 21 July 2026 until 31 March 2027 there is an uplift to £9,000 for off-gas-grid homes replacing heating oil.
No. Your MCS-certified installer applies on your behalf and the grant is deducted from your invoice, so you never handle the money. We do the paperwork as part of the job.
No, not any more. The requirement to hold a valid EPC with no outstanding loft or cavity wall insulation recommendations was removed, which opened the scheme to a great many older properties that were previously shut out.
Generally no. The scheme is aimed at replacing fossil fuel heating in existing properties. There are narrow exceptions for self-builds, which we can check for your specific case.
No. The existing fossil fuel system must be fully removed or permanently decommissioned. Hybrid systems are excluded from the scheme.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers England and Wales. Scotland has Home Energy Scotland, Wales also has Nest, and Northern Ireland has NISEP. Our coverage area is Kent and East Sussex, so the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the relevant route for essentially all our customers.
Get a free, no-obligation quote for heat pump installation in Tunbridge Wells, with the grant deducted so you see the real figure. We come back to you the same working day.