New Energy Efficiency Support

The UK government has committed £6 billion to improve home energy efficiency, particularly for low-income and social households, according to a December 18 press release. This funding will insulate around 500,000 homes and provide grants for heat pumps, boosted by £1.5 billion more after a successful scheme raised heat pump grants to £7,500. Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho stressed the initiative’s focus on lowering energy bills and raising living standards. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt emphasized that it will also strengthen energy security by reducing dependence on international gas prices. The multifaceted plan aims to create green jobs while making homes more energy efficient.

• Around a million homes will be made warmer, with £6 billion allocated to cut energy use and bills  
• Targeted support for 200,000 low income, cold and social homes, as government backs families to reach net zero 
• Extra £1.5 billion for Boiler Upgrade Scheme, after success of £7,500 uplift to heat pump grants

Funding Breakdown

The government has committed to spending £12.6 billion by 2028 on various initiatives. The recently released Future Homes and Building Standards outline these schemes and energy efficiency measures. Specifically, the December 18 press release breaks down the spending as follows:

• the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, allocated a further £1.5 billion, to support families in England and Wales move away from gas to energy efficient, low-carbon heat pumps
• a new £400 million energy efficiency grant, launching in 2025, for households in England to make changes such as bigger radiators or better insulation
• a new local authority retrofit scheme, allocated £500 million to support up to 60,000 low-income and cold homes, including those off the gas grid, with measures such as insulation
• the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, allocated £1.25 billion to support up to 140,000 social homes to be insulated or retrofitted, improving energy performance and lowering bills
• the Green Heat Network Fund, allocated £485 million to help up to 60,000 homes and buildings access affordable, low carbon heating through new heat networks, reducing our use of fossil fuels and providing more reliable heating
• the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme, allocated £45 million to improve around 100 existing heat networks, in a move that will reduce bills and improve reliability
• the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, allocated £225 million, will continue to help businesses transition to a low-carbon future

Everyone deserves to live in a warm, energy efficient home. We have already made excellent progress with nearly 50% of properties in England now having an Energy Performance Certificate of C – up from just 14% in 2010.

Energy Secretary, Claire Coutinho

Funding Allocations

Scheme	Allocation	Years of funding in the next spending review period
Boiler Upgrade Scheme	£1.545bn	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Heat Pump Investment Accelerator	£15m	2025/2026
£400m energy efficiency grant	£400m	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Local authority retrofit scheme	£500m	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund	£1.253bn	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Heat Network Transformation Programme (including: Green Heat Network Fund, Heat Network Efficiency Scheme)	£530m	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme	£1.17bn	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF)	£225m	2025/2026 – 2027/2028
Industrial Energy Efficiency and decarbonisation (further details to be announced in due course)	£410m	2025/2026 – 2027/2028

• further detail on the design of the £400 million energy efficiency grant will be announced in due course, including the naming of the scheme
• the Great British Insulation Scheme and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are set to help up to 700,000 families install improvements such as insulation by March 2026
• eligibility information for the Great British Insulation Scheme and ECO
• the new local authority retrofit scheme will be open to households on low incomes. It is planned to open in 2025
• £220 million of the funding for the Heat Networks Transformation Programme (HNTP) was already announced in March 2023
• the Heat Network Zoning Consultation runs until 26 February 2024
• £185 million of the funding for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) was announced as Phase 3 on 22 November. The rest of IETF funding is being delivered through Phase 2
• the total funding for the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition remains at £30 million but £15 million of this is in 2024/2025
• the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation runs until 6 March 2024
• for more information on improving your home’s energy efficiency, including current government support, go to gov.uk/energy-efficient-home

What grants are suitable for EWI?

1. Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS): The Great British Insulation Scheme is a new government energy efficiency scheme (formerly known as ECO+). It is designed to deliver improvements to the least energy-efficient homes in Great Britain to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce energy bills. As well as supporting low-income and vulnerable households, it will also be available to those living in homes with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D-G, and within Council Tax bands A-D in England and A-E in Scotland and Wales. The scheme offers support for a range of insulation types, including external wall insulation, and may cover the cost in full or require a contribution depending on the property and measure​​​​​.
2. Home Upgrade Grant (HUG): This grant covers at least 60% of insulation costs for low-income households in England that use off-gas grid homes. It also offers grants to landlords. To qualify, applicants must live in England, have homes not connected to the gas grid, meet low-income requirements, and have an Energy Performance Certificate rating between D and G.
3. Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Scheme: The government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme requires energy suppliers to help households lower their heating bills by installing energy efficiency improvements like external wall insulation. The ECO+ scheme expands upon the original ECO by focusing on more affordable insulation options.

SOURCE: Families, business and industry to get energy efficiency support – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)