What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

Posted by Andi

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will launch in Spring 2022 to aid the decarbonisation of buildings. It will provide upfront capital grants to support the installation of Heat Pumps, and in some circumstances biomass boilers, in homes and some non-domestic buildings. The BUS will be open to properties located in England and Wales. Homeowners can claim £7,500 from the government to help towards the cost of installation.

The BUS aims to drive down the cost to the homeowner of low carbon heating technologies like Heat Pumps, working with industry to ensure that in future they are no more expensive to buy and run for consumers than fossil fuel boilers.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme Grant…

The BUS aims to incentivise and increase the deployment of Heat Pumps by providing upfront grants toward the cost of a Heat Pump for the consumer and hopefully cause an uplift in installs to help the UK meet its net-zero targets sooner rather than later.

Air Source Heat Pump

A one time payment grant of £7,500 towards the cost will be available for Air Source Heat Pumps and biomass boilers in limited circumstances. Grants will be offered at a flat rate and will not vary by the capacity of the installation, which must not exceed 45 kWth. 

The government has pledged £450 million towards the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help install low-carbon heating systems, part of more than £3.9 billion of new funding to decarbonise heat and buildings. The government’s ambition is for all new heating systems installed in UK homes from 2035 to be low carbon.

Who Qualifies?

The BUS replaces the current incentive, the Renewable Heat Incentive which ends on the 31st March 2022. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will then launch in April 2022 to help homeowners afford the cost of a low carbon heating solution.

You will be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme if you meet a few simple requirements:

  • You must be a homeowner or small business owner
  • Your property must be in England or Wales
  • The building must have been issued an energy performance certificate (EPC) or if not you will need to have your property assessed to get an EPC certificate.

How do I apply?

You don’t! From 1 April 2022, we can apply for your voucher on a first-come, first-served basis as only 90,000 homes can benefit from this scheme. After the installation is complete, you redeem your voucher to reduce the overall cost.

Applicants will have a set validity period to ensure the vouchers are utilised in a timely manner and that unused vouchers can be recycled. The validity period will be three months for Air Source Heat Pumps and biomass boiler vouchers, and six months for Ground Source Heat Pump vouchers.

Get in touch today to see how you can claim the £7,500 voucher towards the cost of the new system.