The British government has announced that grants of up to £6,000 will be available for people across England and Wales who want to deploy a heat pump on their property. This is happening in conjunction with their Heat and Building Strategy.
It’s a great offer, but it can be difficult to know whether you’re eligible for the grants and, if so, what type of heat pump you need and how to go through the application process. We’ve been receiving a lot of questions about it, and so we thought it would be helpful for us to pull together a guide that shares everything that you need to know.
And so with that in mind, let’s dive on in and take a look at everything you need to know about checking your eligibility and applying for a heat pump grant.
Are you eligible for a heat pump grant?
At the time of writing, applications are still open for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), although they close on March 31st 2022 and so you’ll need to get your application in quickly.
The RHI was first introduced in 2014 and was designed to provide people with cash payments in exchange for using renewable energy to heat their homes. This covers both air source and ground source pumps, which we’re going to talk about later, and it also covers biomass boilers and solar panels. The cash rewards on offer relate directly back to how many kilowatt-hours of energy your system produces, and they mean that you can earn around £1,000 per year through an air source or ground source heat pump.
The downside is that payments were made throughout the scheme, and so there’s little to no point in applying for it now. If you’re lucky, you might be able to get one final payment. Instead, we’d point you in the direction of the heat pump grants that are launching in April as a replacement for the RHI. The idea behind the British government’s heat pump grants is to help households throughout England and Wales to replace old gas boilers with low carbon heat pumps.
The UK government is allocating £450 million to spend on 90,000 homeowners looking for heat pumps
The idea is to reduce carbon emissions whilst simultaneously generating demand for the pumps amongst homeowners. But how can you tell whether you’re eligible to get one?
Well, for a start, it should go without saying that if you already have a heat pump installed on your property, you’re not going to be eligible for the grant. If your property is relatively new, it may already be fitted with one. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is essentially trying to ensure that UK homes have new heating systems using low-carbon technologies, and that means updating older properties that are relying on legacy technologies.
You should also note that the goal is to push people to switch to a heat pump once their current boiler needs replacing, and so if your existing boiler is in good working order and isn’t coming to the end of its working life, you’re unlikely to qualify. The good news is that you won’t be forced to remove your existing boiler either, although there are plans to stop the sale of new gas boilers within the coming years and so you’ll need to upgrade eventually.
On top of that, while the grants can provide up to £6,000, many air source and ground source heat pumps cost more than that, and so homeowners may need to provide additional funding of their own to see the upgrade through to completion.
The grants will be made available to homeowners and landlords across England and Wales, although social housing and new builds will be exempt. Bear in mind that competition is likely to be fierce. There are nearly 28 million households in the UK and the funding will only be available for 90,000 homes, which means that only 0.3% of households will receive it. In other words, if you live on a street with 300 other houses, only one of you will get the grant.
The types of heat pump grant
We’ve already covered the RHI, so let’s take a look at the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which is set to replace it. The goal of the BUS, which was initially called the Clean Heat Grant, is to provide funding to encourage people to switch from gas boilers to more renewable heating sources, and air source and ground source heat pumps in particular.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will run from April 2022 to 2025.
Successful applicants for the BUS will receive a voucher to be put towards the cost of their new heating system. They’ll be able to redeem it after the installation of their new system, with different financial incentives available for different types of boilers:
- Air source heat pumps: £5,000
- Ground source heat pumps: £6,000
- Biomass boilers: £5,000
We’ve mentioned biomass boilers here, but we don’t cover them elsewhere in the article. You might be wondering why that is, and the answer is pretty simple. Even though the BUS does cover biomass boilers, it only does so under a super specific set of circumstances, and so it’s not worth considering. Especially when you could turn to air source or ground source heat pumps instead.
Other considerations to bear in mind include:
- The grant is only available if your installation is carried out by an MCS-certified installer. You’ll also need to request an MCS certificate once the installation is complete so that you can prove that the work was carried out and that it meets MCS standards.
- You’ll need to provide a valid EPC certificate to show that your home will be able to run the heat pump. If your EPC certificate recommends any further work, such as installing additional installation, you’ll need to do that before you install the pump.
- If you’re lucky enough to be awarded a voucher, be aware that they only last for 3-6 months, and so you’ll need to have your new heat pump installed within that timeframe. If you delay it, your claim can be revoked so that the funds are available to other applicants.
Air source heat pump grants
Air source pumps work by taking heat from the air and using compressors to increase its temperature before they then circulate that heat throughout your house’s heating system. Any excess heat is transmitted into your hot water cylinder.
Even though air source heat pumps do use electricity, they’re much more efficient than older heating systems and they use way less energy than the heat that they produce. They even work when the outside temperature is below zero, and so you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to heat your house during the winter.
These types of pumps generally cost around £10,000, with the cost varying depending upon the size of the pump and how complicated the system is. You might also need to upgrade your radiators, install underfloor heating or add insulation to the cavities in your walls. You can also expect to save over £1,000 per year by replacing an older, less efficient boiler.
Ground source heat pump grant
Ground source heat pumps work by taking natural heat from beneath the ground and using it to heat water that’s then pumped through your pipes. They follow similar principles to air source heat pumps, except that they take heat from the ground instead of the air. That’s where the “ground” part of their names comes in.
They’re made up from a network of underground water pipes and a heat pump at ground level. Water and anti-freeze is mixed together and pumped through the loop, absorbing the natural heat that’s beneath the ground. That’s then compressed and pumped through a heat exchanger, so that the heat can be transmitted to your regular home heating system.
According to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), ground source heat pumps can save you nearly £1,500 a year. However, it can cost you as much as £18,000 to install, which is why it can be so useful to secure grant funding. Their higher cost is also the reason why the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers grants of £6,000 for ground source heat pumps and only £5,000 for air source heat pumps.
How to apply for heat pump grants in the UK
For your application to be processed, you’re going to need to provide a variety of documentation, and so it’s a good idea to make sure that you’ve gathered this supplementary information into a single place so that you’re ready to go.
By ensuring that you have all of this information before you apply for your grant, you’ll help to expedite the process and avoid any delays. Given that there are benefits to getting your application in as early as possible, it makes sense to ensure that you have all of the documentation ready before applications begin so that there aren’t any holdups. Delays could make the difference between whether you get the grant or not.
To prepare for your application, you’re going to need the following:
- Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) number: Your installer should give you your certificate within two weeks or so of commissioning your system.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) number: Your EPC needs to be less than two years old at the time of your application. You’ll also be required to install any loft or wall insulation that’s recommended on the EPC.
- Details of your metering arrangement: Metering for performance and metering for payment are both accepted. In some circumstances, you may need to install both types of metering.
- Proof of financial contribution: This means invoices or records showing both the cost of the system and how much it’s going to cost to install. Approximations and/or estimates are fine.
- Bank details: These are required so that the grants team can pay you if your application is successful.
What to do next
Once you’re ready to apply, you can go ahead and do that via this link.
It’s a good idea to bookmark it for your records. You should find that the site walks you through every step of submitting your application and so as long as you’ve prepared all of the paperwork, you shouldn’t find it too difficult.
After you submit your application, it will either be accepted, rejected or placed into review. The system itself uses automated checks via third-parties to verify your information, and your application will go into review if they need further information to be able to process it. You should also note that a certain percentage of applications will also be flagged for random review as part of quality assurance.
If your application is successful, an account will automatically be created to provide you with the latest information about your application. You’ll be able to access this from any internet-connected device.
Conclusion
Now that you know the differences between air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps, along with the funding options that are available to you and the steps you’ll need to follow to apply for it, it’s time to hand over to you.
One important thing to remember is that the heat grants scheme is due to start in April 2022, so you’ll want to get your application in quickly. Given that there’s only so much money to go around, it’s a case of the earlier the better so that you maximise your chances of being awarded the grant.
And so now it’s up to you to prepare your documentation and to submit your application. And of course, we’d love to know how you get on, so be sure to come back soon and to leave a comment to let us know how you get on. Good luck!
