Heat pumps under the Warm Homes Local Grant
How heating is funded
The Warm Homes: Local Grant has a pot reserved for low carbon heating, separate from the one for insulation and solar. Both caps are £16,600 per home, averaged across the council’s project. The guidance says the distinct pot is meant to “incentivise and maximise heat pump deployment”, particularly in homes off the gas grid where bill savings can be large.
Every heating fuel is eligible for the scheme: mains gas, oil, LPG, coal and other solid fuels, electricity, and homes on district heat networks. What changes by fuel is the likely effect on your bills and which heating options are allowed.
Which homes the guidance targets for heat pumps
Low carbon heating is “strongly encouraged where it supports a reduction in energy bills for the household”. The guidance singles out:
- Off-gas homes heated by oil, coal or LPG, which have the highest carbon footprint and where heat pumps often cut bills
- Homes with direct electric heating, where a heat pump’s efficiency can deliver large savings
- Homes on mains gas, where savings are more achievable when the heat pump comes with insulation and solar PV
The order councils follow
The default low carbon heating technology is a heat pump: air-to-water, ground source or water source, including shared ground loops. Where a retrofit coordinator or competent professional decides a heat pump is unsuitable for the home, the guidance sets out what comes next, in order:
- High heat retention electric storage heaters with a responsiveness of at least 0.8 in SAP, in electrically heated flats and small homes only
- Solid biomass, only in rural areas and exceptional circumstances, with users signposted to sustainable fuel from the Biomass Suppliers List
Any other low carbon technology must be justified by the council and meet the same standards.
What is not funded
| Not funded | Why |
|---|---|
| New gas, oil or LPG boilers | Fossil fuel heating is excluded |
| Integrated or compact hybrids | They contain a new gas boiler |
| Hybrids in off-gas homes | Hybrids are only allowed in homes heated by mains gas |
| Air-to-air heat pumps | Not eligible until MCS can certify them (expected in 2026) |
| Heat batteries | Not eligible until MCS certification is possible |
| Heat network connections | Not until quality standards for them are in place |
Hybrids: the narrow exception
In a home currently heated only by mains gas, a retrofit or packaged hybrid (a heat pump and a gas boiler as separate units) can be funded, with conditions:
- only the heat pump part is funded; if a new gas boiler is needed, the grant does not pay for it
- where the heat pump works alongside an existing boiler, the boiler must be A-rated or better and in good working order
- the heat pump must be on the MCS product directory, meet MCS MIS 3005-D, be sized to cover at least 55% of the calculated heat load, and have controls that prioritise the heat pump
Your decision, with proper advice
This is the part of the scheme with the strongest consumer protection. Before any low carbon heating goes in:
- the council must make sure you get clear, accurate advice on the likely bill impact of the whole package, compared with your current bills; the MCS-certified installer should provide this as part of the assessment
- if you have been underheating because of cost, the retrofit coordinator should tailor the advice to how you really use energy
- the final decision on a heat pump, storage heaters or any heating system rests solely with you
After installation, councils can fund aftercare so households know how to use new technology, and follow-up visits for homes with a new heat pump.
Standards
Low carbon heating must be MCS-certified: an MCS-listed product, fitted by an MCS-certified installer to the relevant installation standard. The one exception is high heat retention storage heaters, which are covered by PAS 2030. The whole project follows PAS 2035:2023, and every measure is lodged with TrustMark. How to check an installer.
Heat pumps outside the grant
If you do not qualify, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump in England and Wales with no income test, or £9,000 where an off-gas home is replacing oil or LPG until 31 March 2027. It cannot pay for the same heat pump as the Warm Homes: Local Grant, but the two can sit in the same home for different measures.
Grant estimator: which pots, and what you would pay
Pick your situation and the measures you are curious about. It shows the ceiling that applies, not what your council will offer: the retrofit coordinator decides the package after the survey.
Caps: £16,600 energy performance + £16,600 low carbon heating per home, averaged across the council's project (raised from £15,000 each in the June 2026 guidance). A pot only counts when a measure from it is installed.
Heat pump worries, answered honestly
Will a heat pump put my bills up?
It can go either way, and the guidance is candid about it. It says heat pumps will reduce bills in most homes heated by direct electric heating and many heated by coal, oil or LPG. For homes on mains gas, it says bill savings are "more achievable under current energy prices" when the heat pump goes in alongside insulation and solar PV. That is why the council must give you clear, accurate advice on the likely bill impact of the whole package, compared with your current bills, before you decide.
I have been cold for years to save money. Will the advice account for that?
It should. The guidance recognises that many households underheat their homes because energy is unaffordable, and expects retrofit coordinators to engage more closely and tailor advice so that it reflects how you actually use energy.
Can I say no to a heat pump but still get insulation?
Yes. The decision to install a heat pump, storage heaters or another heating system "rests solely with the household". You can accept insulation or solar from the energy performance pot without taking a heating change.
My boiler is broken. Can the grant replace it?
Not with another boiler: fossil fuel heating is excluded. The grant can fund low carbon heating instead, if the home is suitable and you want it. If you need a like-for-like boiler urgently, the grant is not the route.
If the grant will not cover it
Some households will not qualify, some councils will have waiting lists, and some upgrades fall outside the package. These are the other ways the cost is met, with their conditions:
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500 towards an air-to-water or ground source heat pump in England and Wales, or £9,000 where an off-gas home is replacing oil or LPG (until 31 March 2027); £2,500 for air-to-air. It cannot pay for the same heat pump as the Warm Homes: Local Grant.
- 0% VAT until 31 March 2027: installing insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries in a home is zero-rated until then, and 5% after (VAT Notice 708/6).
- Loans under the Warm Homes Plan: the plan allocates £2,000 million for consumer loans through the Warm Homes Fund. Check GOV.UK for when and how they open; this site does not arrange credit.
- Mix and match, carefully: different schemes can fund different measures in the same home, but never the same measure twice.
Questions people ask
Does the Warm Homes: Local Grant pay for air source heat pumps?
Yes. Air-to-water air source heat pumps are the default low carbon heating measure, paid from the £16,600 low carbon heating cap (a project average). Ground source heat pumps and shared ground loops are eligible too.
Are air-to-air heat pumps eligible?
Not yet. The guidance says air-to-air heat pumps are not eligible until they can be certified by MCS, which it expected to happen in 2026.
Can I combine the Warm Homes: Local Grant with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?
Not for the same heat pump. The guidance says WH:LG funding must not be blended with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, ECO or social housing schemes to pay for the same measure. Different measures in the same home can come from different schemes.
What is a hybrid heat pump and is it funded?
A hybrid pairs a heat pump with a gas boiler. Only retrofit or packaged hybrids (separate units) in homes heated by mains gas are eligible, and only the heat pump part is funded. The heat pump must cover at least 55% of the calculated heat load, an existing boiler must be A-rated and in good order, and integrated or compact hybrids are excluded.
What if a heat pump will not suit my home?
The guidance sets an order: next come high heat retention electric storage heaters (for electrically heated flats and small homes), then solid biomass, only in rural areas and exceptional circumstances.
Do I get new radiators with a heat pump?
They can be included. Wet central heating pipes and radiators are funded as part of the heat pump measure or as ancillary spend, and lodged with TrustMark as part of the heating system.
Sources
- DESNZ, Warm Homes: Local Grant Policy Guidance for Local Authorities (updated June 2026; GOV.UK update 2 July 2026) (read 28 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Notice of approved grant categories and values for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (via reference/sales/urgency-data.json, last verified 2026-09-01) (read 28 September 2026)
- MCS, find an installer (read 28 September 2026)
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.