Warm Homes Local Grant glossary
- A&A (Administration and Ancillary)
- The part of a council's grant it can spend on running the project: staff, procurement, finding and signing up households, surveys and specialist advice. Up to 15% of total project spend.
- After housing costs (AHC)
- Household income after tax and after rent or mortgage payments (not council tax, energy bills or ground rent). Used as an alternative income test for households above the £36,000 gross threshold. More
- Batch system
- The digital platform councils use to submit groups of homes that are "ready to retrofit" and draw down funding. Under WH:LG it monitors spending rather than policing each batch.
- Consortium
- A group of councils (or net zero hubs) delivering one project under a lead authority, which holds the allocation. More
- Cost caps
- The maximum average spend per home across a project: £16,600 for energy performance and £16,600 for low carbon heating since the June 2026 update. More
- DESNZ
- The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the government department that funds and sets the rules for the Warm Homes: Local Grant.
- ECO4
- The fourth Energy Company Obligation, a scheme funded through energy suppliers. It ends on 31 December 2026. More
- ECO4 Flex route 2
- A council-run way of identifying low-income households through combinations of proxies (such as council tax reduction or being vulnerable to cold). Accepted by WH:LG for homes rated EPC E to G when at least two compatible proxies apply.
- Energy performance measures
- Upgrades that reduce energy use or generate electricity without being heating systems: insulation, draughtproofing, glazing, doors, controls, lighting, solar PV, solar thermal and batteries.
- EPC
- Energy Performance Certificate: rates a home from A (most efficient) to G. WH:LG only funds homes rated D to G (a SAP score of 68 or below). More
- EPR (Energy Performance Rating)
- An assessment used to show a park home, which has no EPC, is equivalent to EPC D to G.
- Expression of Interest (EoI)
- The way councils applied for funding: the window ran from 16 October to 1 December 2024, and every eligible council that completed it was allocated money.
- Grant Recipient
- The council (or lead authority) that receives WH:LG funding and is responsible for delivery.
- Hybrid heat pump
- A heat pump working with a gas boiler. Only retrofit or packaged hybrids in mains-gas homes are eligible, with only the heat pump part funded. More
- IMD income deciles
- The Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks every small neighbourhood in England; deciles 1 and 2 of its income measure are the most income-deprived 20%. Homes there qualify through the postcode route. More
- Infill
- Including connected homes (in a terrace or block) that would not qualify alone, so a whole building can be upgraded. Allowed when average income across the homes is below £36,000, or 75% of households average no more than that. More
- Integrated settlement
- A single multi-year funding deal for certain combined authorities. Greater Manchester and the West Midlands receive their WH:LG money this way, so their 17 councils are outside the national scheme. More
- LAD
- Local Authority Delivery, the council-run scheme that preceded WH:LG for on-gas homes (phase 3). More
- HUG
- Home Upgrade Grant, the council-run scheme that preceded WH:LG for off-gas homes. Phase 2 closed in March 2025. More
- Low carbon heating
- Heat pumps, high heat retention storage heaters, shared ground loops and, in exceptional rural cases, biomass. Funded from its own cost cap.
- LSOA
- Lower Layer Super Output Area: the small neighbourhood unit used for deprivation statistics. Postcodes are matched to LSOAs on a best-fit basis.
- MCS
- The Microgeneration Certification Scheme: product and installer certification for small-scale renewables such as heat pumps and solar panels. Required for low carbon heating, solar and batteries under WH:LG. More
- Measure price limits
- Confidential average price limits for five measures: external and internal wall insulation, double or triple glazing, park home insulation and solar thermal.
- Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA)
- The subsidy route used for landlords: total public subsidy to one landlord must not exceed £315,000 over three financial years. More
- PAS 2030
- The installation standard for energy efficiency measures. Installers of fabric measures must be certified to it.
- PAS 2035
- The whole-house retrofit standard (currently PAS 2035:2023) every WH:LG project follows. More
- RdSAP
- Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure, the method for producing EPCs for existing homes. RdSAP 10 replaced RdSAP 2012 on 15 June 2025.
- Retrofit assessor
- The person who surveys and records the home at the start of a PAS 2035 project.
- Retrofit coordinator
- The qualified project manager responsible for the assessment, choice and specification of measures, inspection and evaluation, and PAS 2035 compliance.
- RISE
- Retrofit Information, Support and Expertise: the free DESNZ-funded technical assistance service for councils, previously the Home Upgrade Hub.
- SAP
- The Standard Assessment Procedure, the government method for rating a home's energy performance; the EPC score comes from it.
- TrustMark
- The government-endorsed quality scheme for trades. Every WH:LG installer must be registered, and every measure lodged in the TrustMark data warehouse. More
- Warm Homes Plan
- The government's overall programme, published 21 January 2026: £15 billion to upgrade up to 5 million homes by 2030. More
- WH:LG
- Short for Warm Homes: Local Grant.
- WH:SHF
- Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, for social landlords. Due to merge with WH:LG from 2027/28.
Want a second opinion, or help with what the grant will not cover?
Apply for the grant itself through the official GOV.UK service or your council: it is free and you do not need a go-between. Use this form if you would also like independent retrofit or installation firms that cover your postcode to contact you, for a second opinion, a quote for work outside the grant, or options if you do not qualify. We pass your enquiry on. We cannot approve, speed up or guarantee a grant.
What happens next
- We read your enquiry and check which kind of firm can help.
- We pass it to relevant independent firms that cover your postcode.
- They contact you with questions or a quote. You compare, and decide — with no obligation to go ahead.