Funding basics.
Grants and funding for energy-efficiency have been available in the UK for many years, under a variety of different programmes. Some have worked well, others less so. What started with affordable-warmth initiatives in the early 2000s evolved through ECO 1, ECO 2 and ECO 3 — and we are now at ECO 4, plus a number of related schemes. Certain programmes are means-tested, based on income or health status, while others are tied to government subsidies to help homeowners or tenants upgrade to more sustainable energy sources. Many of these schemes impose specific conditions on both funding mechanisms and the installers who carry out the work, to offer protection to the people receiving the funding. Be aware: for some installations, the contractual relationship is directly between you and your chosen installer — so it’s very important that any promises made are clearly agreed, put in writing, and documented.
Warm Homes Fund.
This is a UK Government-funded initiative, managed by local authorities in England, aimed at combating fuel poverty.
The scheme emphasizes improving home energy efficiency and increasing low-carbon heating installations for low-income households. It will commence on 1 April 2025 and is anticipated to operate for three to five years.
Replacing the Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant programmes, the scheme introduces a streamlined funding model, intended to promote broader participation and simplify access to energy efficiency upgrades for both on-gas and off-gas homes.
Find out more here.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant is only available in England. You might be able to get funding from a different scheme if you live in Scotland, live in Wales or live in Northern Ireland.
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4).
Find out more here.
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). CLOSED.
The Great British Insulation Scheme is a government energy efficiency scheme (formerly known as ECO+) administered by Ofgem. It is designed to deliver improvements to the least energy-efficient homes in Great Britain to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce energy bills. You can find out more and see if you qualify here.Find out more here.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
It is a program in Great Britain aimed at helping people move away from solid fuels.
It provides upfront capital grants to support the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers in homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales.
Find out more here
Connected For Warmth.
Connected for Warmth is an award-winning grant scheme offering fully-funded heating (as long as you are not currently using a gas boiler) and energy bill support, that can help you reduce your energy use and stay warm and well.
Find out more here
Local Energy Advice Partnership (LEAP).
It is a program in Great Britain aimed at providing help to the most vulnerable of our society. LEAP can provide tailored advice and help to reduce bills and make your home more efficient to run. They run services that can help replace broken boilers and even appliances. It is also run by Agility Eco
Find out more here.
The funded Process.
This could come through your local council, word of mouth, or door-to-door enquiries. Current funding options are listed here. In most cases, when applying for an insulation or heating grant, the installation company will handle the setup of funding, and this process should be explained from the beginning.
You should NOT be asked to pay anything upfront or after installation, unless additional services have been quoted and agreed upon. These extras could include loft boarding, repairing of water services (water tanks, pipework etc) access ladders and plastering of damaged ceilings etc.
Background and extract ventilation if required should be included as part of the installation requirements and covered by the funding.
An insurance backed guarantee is required for ECO measures and is mandatory for those installing insulation through government schemes.
TrustMark registered businesses are also required to provide financial protection to their customers.
Once agreed on funding, the installation company will arrange for an assessment.
Property assessment by retrofit assessor.
Detailed assessment to gather information on condition, ventilation, outcomes, health & safety and EPC data. The retrofit assessor should be someone who has plenty of experience! Assessments can take a few hours depending on complexity of building, condition and proposed insulation/heating improvements.
The retrofit assessor should look into lifestyles and energy use, this is to model energy use as not all households are the same. They should visually examine the roof space condition including timbers and property makeup (system, cavity wall property etc).
The Assessor will take lots of photographs to allow the retrofit co-ordinator and the proposed installers to see the whole picture of what needs to be completed to comply with current PAS.
This will then get compiled and made available to the retrofit coordinator.
Passed to retrofit coordinator.
A retrofit coordinator should carefully assess all information, thoroughly reviewing data, to create a plan that safeguards the homeowner or tenant from potential issues with the proposed improvements. An effective retrofit coordinator may conduct a site visit or visits if they determine the installation deems it necessary, as their role is designed to protect the property and occupants.
Installation phase.
In line with PAS standards, health & safety and ventilation requirements are essential and should be communicated. It’s important to set and confirm dates and times for visits from all tradespeople. Document all agreements, including timelines, and any potential issues in an email or hard copy. Additionally, if possible, take plenty of photographs (date stamped) of the property before installation, capturing areas around loft access, ceilings, water tanks and most importantly the original loft condition and insulation that may already exist.
Installers should also document these areas to protect themselves, especially if the initial assessment has identified any areas of concern. A good video is here to show you the loft insulation installation process from Knauf.
Post Installation and handover.
With all work carried out on funded schemes, a handover procedure exists. The retrofit coordinator and installation company will know the funding mechanism (ECO, GBIS etc) and can advise on the handover procedure. The occupants should be asked to sign the works off. Some examples are within the funding section. Hopefully, by having some knowledge and references this site provides, you will be able to gauge if the work is completed to the required regulations. The standard of the work is really down to the occupier’s perception!
Monitoring. Independent technical monitoring may also be carried out, contractor and installer inspections may be performed by the installation company. More details in the technical monitoring section.
Help if anything goes wrong.
We all know that sometimes things can go wrong, and UK.gov has set up a guide to make complaints.