GRANTS GUIDE
Energy Bills Support Scheme 2026: What Replaced It?
The Energy Bills Support Scheme closed in 2024 and there's no direct replacement giving every household a flat discount.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme closed in 2024 and there's no direct replacement giving every household a flat discount.
Answer a few quick questions to see which government energy grants you're eligible for. Free, instant results.
£400. That's what every UK household got, automatically, spread across six monthly discounts on electricity bills between October 2022 and March 2023.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) was the government's emergency response to the energy price crisis. It wasn't means-tested. It didn't matter whether you earned £20,000 or £200,000. If you had an electricity meter, you got the discount. The scheme cost the Treasury around £11.7 billion and was always intended as a one-off intervention, not a permanent fixture. It did what it was supposed to do: soften the blow of bills that had doubled for millions of households almost overnight.
It's gone now.
The scheme ended in March 2023, with a smaller follow-up (the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding) wrapping up in 2024 for households that hadn't received the original payment. There's been no renewal, no extension, and no replacement that works the same way. If you're searching for "energy bills support scheme 2026" hoping to find another round of automatic discounts, that isn't happening.
But here's what most guides won't tell you: the schemes that are still open could put far more money back in your pocket than £400 ever did. The catch is that they're targeted, not universal. You need to check whether you qualify, and the eligibility rules vary by scheme. That's what the rest of this article covers.
Three government-backed schemes are currently accepting applications. Each works differently, covers different measures, and targets different households. Here's the quick version:
| Scheme | What it covers | How much | Who qualifies | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiler Upgrade Scheme | Heat pumps, biomass boilers | £2,500 to £7,500 | Any homeowner replacing fossil fuel heating | Open until 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan |
| ECO4 | Insulation, heating, renewables | Fully funded | Households on qualifying benefits | Open until December 2026 |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | Varies by council | Varies by local authority | Low-income households, varies locally | Open until 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan |
And one scheme that recently closed: the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), which offered up to £3,000 for insulation measures, shut its doors in March 2026. We mention it because you'll still see it referenced on other sites as if it's live. It isn't.
So which of the three open schemes actually helps you? That depends entirely on your circumstances. A homeowner on Pension Credit with a draughty Victorian terrace is looking at a completely different set of options than someone in a 2015 new-build who just wants to cut gas bills. Let's break each one down.
If you're still heating your home with a gas or oil boiler and you've been wondering whether a heat pump makes financial sense, this is the scheme that changes the maths.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) gives you a grant applied directly to the cost of installation. You don't receive cash. Your installer claims the voucher, and your quote drops by the grant amount. For an air source heat pump, that's £7,500 off the price. Ground source heat pumps also get £7,500. Biomass boilers receive £5,000, and the newer categories, air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries, each qualify for £2,500.
£7,500 is significant. A typical air source heat pump installation runs between £10,000 and £14,000 before the grant, so you could be looking at an out-of-pocket cost of £2,500 to £6,500. For a detailed breakdown of what's involved, our heat pump installation guide walks through the full process and realistic costs.
No income test. No benefits requirement. If you own your home (or are a private landlord), your property has a valid EPC, and you're replacing a fossil fuel heating system, you can apply. The scheme runs until 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan, according to GOV.UK.
Here's our honest take: for most homeowners with a gas boiler that's still working, the BUS grant alone probably isn't enough to justify switching right now. The savings on running costs are real but modest, maybe £100 to £300 a year depending on your insulation and tariff. Where it starts making genuine sense is when your boiler is approaching end-of-life anyway, or when you combine it with insulation upgrades that make the heat pump run more efficiently. If you're weighing up whether a heat pump is right for your situation, our guide on whether heat pumps are worth it goes into the numbers properly.
These two schemes work differently from BUS, and honestly, they're the ones that could save you the most money. But they're also the ones with the strictest eligibility rules.
ECO4 is the big one. It's funded by energy suppliers (not the Treasury directly) and can cover the full cost of major energy efficiency upgrades: loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, boiler replacements, even first-time central heating systems. Fully funded means fully funded. No contribution from you.
The eligibility criteria are tight. You typically need to be receiving a qualifying benefit, which includes Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. Your home also needs to have an EPC rating of D, E, F, or G. If you're not sure what your rating is or what it means, our EPC ratings guide explains every band and what each one qualifies you for.
ECO4 runs until December 2026. That's not far away.
We see a lot of people assume they won't qualify and never bother checking. That's a mistake. Around a third of UK households receive at least one qualifying benefit, and plenty of those households don't realise their home's EPC rating opens the door to thousands of pounds in funded upgrades. Even if you're not on benefits, some local authorities run a "flexible eligibility" route under ECO4 that can include households on low incomes or in fuel poverty who don't tick the standard boxes. It's worth a two-minute check.
One thing to watch out for: ECO4 installations are arranged through participating energy suppliers and their approved installer networks, not through your own choice of contractor. The quality is generally good (installations must meet PAS 2035 standards) but you don't get to pick your installer the way you would with a private job.
This one is newer and, frankly, a bit harder to pin down.
Warm Homes: Local Grant replaced the old Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) and is administered by local authorities rather than central government. Each council decides which measures to fund, how much to allocate per household, and exactly who qualifies. The scheme is open until 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan and targets low-income households, particularly those in off-gas-grid properties or homes with poor energy performance.
What does that mean in practice? It depends where you live. Some councils are funding floor insulation and loft top-ups. Others are covering heat pump installations or solar panels for fuel-poor households. The amounts vary because each local authority received a different pot of funding and has different priorities. Sheffield City Council, for instance, has been running active retrofit programmes. Meanwhile some rural councils in the South West have focused heavily on off-grid oil-heated homes.
The Warm Homes Plan guide on our site explains the broader government strategy and how this local grant fits into it.
Honestly, this one depends on your situation and we can't give you a straight answer without knowing your postcode and council. The best route is to check directly with your local authority's energy team or use our eligibility checker, which cross-references your details against all open schemes including this one.
Right, so you've got three schemes, different rules, different measures, different timelines. How do you actually decide what to go for?
Start with what's wrong with your house, not which scheme sounds best.
If your home is draughty and poorly insulated, insulation should come first. Always. A heat pump in a leaky house is like putting a bigger engine in a car with flat tyres. ECO4 or Warm Homes: Local Grant can fund insulation if you're eligible. If you're not, cavity wall insulation typically costs £1,000 to £2,500 privately, and loft insulation is even cheaper. These are the upgrades with the fastest payback.
If your home is already reasonably well insulated and you're looking to cut heating bills long-term, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme makes the heat pump route much more affordable. Combine it with the 0% VAT on energy-saving materials (which applies to heat pumps installed in residential properties) and the upfront cost becomes genuinely competitive with a new gas boiler.
A quick aside: the 0% VAT relief on energy-saving measures has been extended to March 2027 but there's been no confirmation yet on what happens after that. If you're planning a big project, the VAT saving alone could be worth £1,000 to £2,000 depending on the work. But that's a separate issue.
And if you're on benefits and your home has a poor EPC rating? ECO4 first. Every time. The potential value of a fully funded ECO4 installation dwarfs what you'd get from any other scheme. We're talking £5,000 to £15,000 worth of work at zero cost to you.
One more thing we'd flag: these schemes aren't mutually exclusive. A household could get insulation through ECO4, then apply for a BUS grant for a heat pump once the insulation work is done and the home can support one efficiently. Sequencing matters.
The application process is different for each scheme, which is slightly annoying but manageable.
For the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you don't apply directly. You find an MCS-certified installer, get a quote, and the installer applies for the voucher on your behalf through Ofgem's system. The grant is deducted from your invoice. The whole process typically takes 3 to 6 weeks from first quote to voucher approval, though installation scheduling adds time on top.
For ECO4, contact your energy supplier or an approved ECO4 installer in your area. Some suppliers have online eligibility forms. Others require a phone call. You'll need to provide proof of benefits and your address so they can check your EPC rating. If you qualify, they'll arrange a property assessment and then schedule the work.
For Warm Homes: Local Grant, start with your local council. Search for your council name plus "energy grants" or "home energy improvement" and you should find their current scheme page. Some councils have waiting lists. Others are actively looking for eligible households and will process applications quickly.
Or you can skip the runaround. Our eligibility checker cross-references your details against all three open schemes in about two minutes. You answer a few questions about your home, your heating, and your household income, and we show you which schemes you're likely to qualify for. No obligation, no cost, and you'll know exactly where you stand before you make a single phone call.
Energy Grants Scotland 2026: What You Can Claim
Scottish energy grants 2026: Home Energy Scotland loans, ECO4, BUS and Warm Home Discount. Check what you qualify for in 2 minutes.
Read guideEnergy Efficient Homes 2026: Grants & Savings Guide
Cut your bills and access up to £7,500 in grants. Real costs, real savings, and which upgrades actually pay back in 2026.
Read guideEnergy Efficiency 2026: Cut Bills & Reduce Emissions
Cut your energy bills and carbon footprint with our 2026 guide to home energy efficiency. Grants, upgrades and practical steps. Check eligibility free.
Read guideCommon questions