Boiler Grants UK 2026: Every Scheme That Helps Replace Your Boiler
The BUS grant gives you £7,500 towards a heat pump to replace your boiler. ECO4 can fully fund it. We cover every route available in 2026.
Boilers
Yes, you can get help replacing your boiler. If your household is on qualifying benefits, ECO4 can fund a full boiler replacement at no cost to you. If you'd rather switch to a heat pump, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme knocks £7,500 off the installation. And if neither applies, you still have options worth knowing about before you spend £3,000 on a new combi.
Two schemes. That's the short answer.
ECO4 is the one most people are looking for when they search "free boiler replacement." It's funded by the big energy suppliers (British Gas, Octopus Energy, EDF and others) and delivered through their approved installer networks. If your household receives qualifying benefits like Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit or income-related ESA, and your home has an EPC rating of D or below, you could get a full boiler replacement at zero cost. The scheme covers the boiler, the installation and any necessary pipework changes. ECO4 is open until December 2026.
About a third of UK households meet the income criteria. That's not a small number. ECO4 is always worth checking.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) works differently. It doesn't replace your gas boiler with another gas boiler. Instead, it gives you £7,500 towards an air source heat pump or £5,000 towards a ground source heat pump. The grant is applied at the point of installation by your MCS-certified installer, so you never handle the money. BUS is open until March 2028 and isn't means-tested. Own your home and have a fossil fuel heating system? You qualify.
One thing people miss: you can't stack these. ECO4 covers a boiler replacement. BUS covers a heat pump. Pick the route that fits your situation.
What about GBIS (the Great British Insulation Scheme)? That one covers insulation, not boilers. But if your home is draughty and under-insulated, getting cavity wall or loft insulation through GBIS first makes whichever heating upgrade you choose work better.
£2,000 to £4,500. That's what a new gas combi boiler costs, fully installed, according to the Energy Saving Trust. A Worcester Bosch or Vaillant combi in a straightforward swap (no major pipework changes) sits at the lower end. A system boiler for a larger property with a hot water cylinder pushes towards the top.
If your current boiler is 15 years old and failing, your walls aren't insulated, and you don't qualify for ECO4 or BUS? A new gas boiler is the pragmatic call. It'll cut your gas bills by 20 to 30% compared to a boiler from the mid-2000s, and you can upgrade to a heat pump later once the house is better insulated and the technology is even cheaper.
Essential reading
The BUS grant gives you £7,500 towards a heat pump to replace your boiler. ECO4 can fully fund it. We cover every route available in 2026.
ECO4 funds free boiler replacements for eligible UK households. Income-tested, not age-tested. Check if you qualify in 60 seconds.
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ECO4 funds free boiler replacements for eligible UK households. Income-tested, not age-tested. Check if you qualify in 60 seconds.
Common questions
A few questions about your home, two minutes of your time. We'll cross-reference every active scheme and show you what's available.
Here's the honest bit. If your home is already reasonably well insulated (EPC band C or above), you have outdoor space for the unit, and you're replacing a fossil fuel system anyway, a heat pump is the better long-term investment. Running costs are lower than gas in most cases, maintenance is minimal, and the £7,500 BUS grant brings the price down significantly.
£7,000 to £16,000. That's the full range for an air source heat pump before the grant. After the £7,500 BUS grant, you're looking at £0 to £8,500 depending on the system size and complexity. For a well-insulated three-bed semi, a typical installation comes in around £10,000 to £12,000 before grant, which means £2,500 to £4,500 out of pocket. Not far off a new gas boiler.
But if your walls are uninsulated, your radiators are undersized, or you live in a listed building with restrictions? A heat pump probably isn't your best first move. Insulate first, then reassess.
| Option | Cost before grants | Cost after grants |
|---|---|---|
| Gas combi boiler | £2,000–£4,500 | £0 (ECO4) or full price |
| Air source heat pump | £7,000–£16,000 | £0–£8,500 (after BUS) |
| Ground source heat pump | £15,000–£35,000 | £10,000–£30,000 (after BUS) |
Gas boiler costs from Energy Saving Trust. Heat pump costs from GOV.UK BUS data and MCS installer registry.
You've seen them. "Free boiler replacement, apply now!" with a stock photo of a smiling family. They're not scams, exactly. Most of these ads are lead generators for ECO4 installers. The scheme is real, the free boiler is real, but the ads set unrealistic expectations. Not everyone qualifies. The process takes weeks, not days. And the companies running these ads earn a referral fee whether your installation goes smoothly or not.
Anyway. If you think you might qualify for ECO4, you're better off checking through an independent eligibility tool (like ours) rather than handing your phone number to a Facebook ad.
Our eligibility checker cross-references your home details against every active scheme. It takes about two minutes and covers ECO4, BUS, GBIS and any local authority grants in your area. No phone number required, no obligation, no salespeople.
You'll need your postcode, a rough idea of your property type, and whether your household receives any qualifying benefits. That's it.